Peach Pancakes — The Farmers Market Find That Felt Like Summer in a Stack

Peak summer. The kind of week where it's ninety degrees by ten AM and the air smells like cut grass and sunscreen and everyone in Milwaukee acts like they've never experienced heat before, despite experiencing it every single year. I drove to work with every window down and arrived smelling like the inside of a brewery, which, to be fair, is where I was going anyway.

Megan is officially dating me. I know that sounds redundant — we've been seeing each other for almost three months — but she changed her relationship status on some app and sent me a screenshot with no commentary. I said, "Is this your way of saying I'm your boyfriend?" She said, "Don't make it weird." I am her boyfriend. I am making it weird. I cannot help it.

Summer at Lakefront means the taproom is packed every weekend. Tourists, locals, after-work crowds, bachelor and bachelorette parties. The energy is high. I'm brewing full-time — the schedule is brutal in summer because beer consumption goes up and the tanks don't fill themselves. Long days. Good days. I come home smelling like hops and grain and Megan says I smell like bread. I tell her it's the yeast. She says, "You smell like a bakery." I'll take it.

Made a summer corn chowder on Wednesday. Fresh corn — the good stuff from the farmers market on KK Avenue, the kernels so sweet you could eat them raw off the cob. I cut them off, sauteed them with butter and onion, added potatoes and cream and a little smoked paprika. Thick, rich, golden. It's not Polish. Babcia didn't make corn chowder. But she would have appreciated the idea — take good ingredients, don't overcomplicate them, feed people. That was her whole philosophy, even if she expressed it in pierogi and golabki instead of corn.

Megan stayed over for the first time this week. She has opinions about my apartment. Specifically: it's small (true), it needs a plant (debatable), and the bathroom could use a bath mat (probably true). She slept in one of my brewery t-shirts and looked like she belonged there and I lay awake for a while after she fell asleep just feeling grateful. Kowalski men don't say that word. But I felt it.

The same farmers market run that brought home those sweet ears of corn also put a basket of ripe peaches in my hands before I knew what I was doing with them — the kind of peaches that smell like actual peaches, not the refrigerated cardboard ones from the grocery store. The corn chowder was Wednesday’s project, but Sunday morning had a different energy: Megan was still asleep, the apartment was quiet, and I had peaches and nowhere to be. These pancakes were the right call. Simple, a little indulgent, and exactly the kind of thing Babcia would have approved of — good ingredients, don’t overthink it, feed people you care about.

Peach Pancakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4 (about 12 pancakes)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 medium fresh peaches, peeled and diced small (about 1 1/2 cups)

Instructions

1. Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until evenly combined.
2. Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract.
3. Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined — a few lumps are fine. Do not overmix. Fold in the diced peaches.
4. Rest the batter. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes while you heat the pan. This gives the leaveners time to activate and keeps the pancakes fluffy.
5. Cook the pancakes. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and brush lightly with butter. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto the surface. Cook until bubbles form on the surface and the edges look set, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook another 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter.
6. Serve. Serve immediately with maple syrup, a pat of butter, or a few extra fresh peach slices on top.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 48g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 390mg