My dad often made pancakes for our family when we were growing up. On lazy Saturday mornings, I remember that delightful sizzle of pancake batter hitting hot butter on the griddle. With a mug of coffee in one hand and a spatula in another, he’d stand by the stove, sipping and flipping, until the batter was gone. Still today, there’s nothing quite as cozy as the smell of hot pancakes and freshly made coffee filling the kitchen.

These pancakes are just like my dad used to make — fluffy and soft with slight tang from the buttermilk and a hint of sweetness from the sugar. Sometimes we spread blackberry jam and butter across the top and rolled them up for hand-held snacks. But usually, we enjoyed them the old fashioned way: dotted with butter and drenched with maple syrup.

This recipe uses buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own! (Simply add 2 Tablespoons lemon juice to 2 cups milk and let that sit for about 10 minutes.) The acid in the buttermilk or lemon juice is the key to fluffy pancakes; when the acid reacts with baking soda, the combination forms bubbles, which create lighter, fluffier pancakes.

For other breakfast ideas, check out our Baked French Toast Casserole, Easy Baked Egg Cups, Sausage and Egg Casserole, or Our Favorite Coffee Cake.