Pancakes

It seems like kids hardly go to school at all in the month of March and since I desperately needed a day off myself, I took the opportunity to stay home with my son for the day. To make it extra special, I promised him that we would make pancakes for breakfast and much joy ensued. When I told him that we could add chocolate chips to his short stack he said, “Best day EVER!”

I found this recipe years ago and have never been tempted to try any other because this one works so well and I think you’ll like it too. When we eat pancakes with my husband who has many food sensitivities, we use gluten-free flour and non-dairy milk and yogurt – they still taste amazing. I like to use yogurt in this recipe because it makes the pancakes thicker and more filling. Although my son was excited about chocolate chip pancakes, I prefer mine plain or with fruit added so I always use 2 pans at a time to prevent “cross contamination”, plus you can make them in half the time that way. How do you like your pancakes?

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter

2 cups flour

¼ cup sugar

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups milk or 1 cup milk and 1 cup yogurt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

chocolate chips or fruit (optional)

Turn your oven on to the “warm” setting or set it to 180 degrees and place an empty oven-safe plate on the center rack. Melt the butter and set aside. Heat 2 skillets over medium heat. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl stir together the milk/yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient bowl and stir together just until they start to incorporate. Add the melted butter and stir just until the batter is evenly moistened. (Do not over-mix because this will make your pancakes tough instead of light and fluffy.) Add enough oil or butter to lightly coat the bottom of each pan and after 30 seconds add a scoop of batter. If you are adding the optional chocolate chips or fruit, now is the time to sprinkle them on. The tricky part is waiting and knowing when to flip. Small pancakes are easier to judge so I suggest making small pancakes the first few times and once you master them, move on to making bigger pancakes. You want to see small bubbles forming around the edges of the pancake and when you peek at the bottom, it should be a golden brown before you flip. Once you’re on the second side, you want to wait until the middle of the edges start to look dry and again the bottom looks golden brown. Remove the pancake from the pan and place it on the warmed plate in the oven. Add more batter to each pan and repeat the steps above until you run out of batter. Serve with butter and maple syrup or honey.

Yield: This recipe feeds 3-4 people and can be cut in half easily.