Bon Appetit's May Cook the Cover Challenge - Blackberry Farm's Griddle Cakes

What is it about luxury ranches and farms serving the most amazing stack of pancakes you've ever tasted? When the rooster crows at the first hint of morning light, you had better roll out from beneath those Egyptian cotton sheets and goose down comforter, slip on a soft flannel shirt and faded pair of jeans, and make your way to the lodge for a steamy cup of java and towering stack of buttery, syrupy griddle cakes. You'll be thankful you did before setting out on that morning hike, horseback ride, or fly-fishing float trip.

Blackberry Farm, a pastoral 4,200-acre estate in the Great Smoky Mountains, captured the #1 spot in Bon Appetit's Top Ten Food Lovers Hotels in America list, most likely with a little help from these drool-worthy griddle cakes. I can call them drool-worthy because Trapper polished off this stack when I was done photographing it. I nibbled a few as I was cooking them and made a second batch the next morning to enjoy piping hot right out of the pan. Best. Pancakes. Ever.

Blackberry Farm's Griddle Cakes

These healthy and gluten-free pancakes corral wonderful taste and texture from buttermilk, egg, and four different flours - oat, buckwheat, corn, and brown rice. Instead of corn flour, I used polenta for a more rustic and grainy texture. You can even ditch the warm maple syrup on top (there's a little in the batter for sweetness) and stay healthy with a pat of butter and fresh berries.

Dry and Wet Ingredients

Whisk up each in separate bowls 

Combine the wet with the dry and whisk again

Add melted butter and whisk again 

Corporate Chef Josh Feathers demos preparation of the Griddle Cakes in this YouTube video:

Bon Appetit published the recipe here. Now go make some pancakes and plan a vacation to one of the 10 Best Hotels for Food Lovers. These luxury hotels and resorts focus on quality food made with locally grown ingredients and prepared simply. My choices would be #1, Blackberry Farm, TN; #3, The Willows Inn, WA; #4 Dunton Hot Springs, CO; and #9 Manka's Inverness Lodge, CA. What about you? Have you been to any of these places?