By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills
How do I love thee, dear pancake? Let me count the ways. Your fluffy texture and many toppings make my mouth water. Hot maple or sweet fruity syrup, and I’m blinded by the incredible taste treat.
I so appreciate National Pancake Day. While I can head to my favorite restaurant for their breakfast specialty, I can also whip up a batch of my own to enjoy at any meal.
Recipe
My go-to recipe for pancakes comes from my mother’s vintage Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, the 1953 edition. Yes, the pages are yellowed, but the pages are all there. Their pancake (griddle cakes) recipe never fails.
Favorite Griddle Cakes
1 1/4 cups sifted enriched flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil
Sift flour with baking powder sugar, and salt. Combine egg, milk, and oil. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until flour is moistened. The batter will be lumpy. Bake on ungreased griddle. Makes 6 to 8 pancakes.
*I never sift the dry ingredients because today’s flour is the perfect consistency for me.
Yummy Additions
As a mom of four boys, the ONLY way for them to eat pancakes was with chocolate chips. Lots of them.
Other options
Any kind of berries
Chopped bananas
Chopped apples
Crushed pineapple
Orange juice and grated orange peel
Cinnamon
Raisins
Chopped nuts
Cheese
Honey
Powdered Sugar
Whatever suits your fancy
Toppings
My sons lavished peanut butter all over their chocolate chip pancakes. Rich, thick, and gooey.
All the yummy additions to the pancake batter can also be toppers for those hot treats. As a lunch or dinner item, consider creamed chicken, ham, mushrooms or cheese. Even diced, cooked vegetables are amazing.
Syrup
As a child on a small farm in Ohio, Dad used to tap a maple tree for the syrup. Absolutely the nectar of angels.
Now we can select our syrups from the grocer’s aisle—blueberry, blackberry, strawberry, boysenberry, and including sugar-free varieties.
Syrup Recipe
This came from All Recipes, and it’s very close to the homemade syrup my mother used to make
1/2 cup butter – the real stuff
1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Bring butter, sugar, buttermilk, vanilla, corn syrup, and cinnamon to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Once simmering, whisk in baking soda, and cook for 10 seconds before removing from heat. Serve warm
Be creative and enjoy your pancakes any day of the year, not just on National Pancake Day.
What’s your best pancake tip?
