Pancakes worth flipping over

Pancakes can be an easy thing to make for breakfast. If you’ve always been using a mix from a box, you are missing out on great flavor that is so simple to achieve. I don’t understand why some breakfast places don’t serve pancakes all day, as they are so inexpensive to make and provide a great return, but I digress.

A tip that I sometimes use for the buttermilk recipe is to mix all the ingredients together the night before and let it sit in a covered bowl overnight in the fridge. This makes for an even tastier pancake as the flavors mingle and the flour gets fully hydrated.

One variation I came up with was to use some leftover eggnog for part of the milk. This way you get a hint of the flavorings, but it’s not so strong to overwhelm the flavor. This variation may not work so well for those who like fruit on their pancakes, so conduct yourself accordingly.

I’ve got one small frying pan in the house that is a cheap non-stick style. It works really well if the batter is reasonably thin, but will burn just about any thick batter poured into it. Make sure your batter will slowly pour, instead of glopping into the pan.

We do prefer real maple syrup in this house. It can be hard to tell the difference between a commercial pancake syrup and real maple syrup once you get it in place on a pancake with butter. Use what you like, as pancakes made from scratch will taste amazing no matter what you top them with.

BASIC PANCAKES

1 1/2 cups flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Sift together the dry ingredients. Mix well. In another bowl, combine all the wet ingredients. Mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir just enough to moisten the dry. Do not over mix, as this will cause the pancake to become tough. A few remaining lumps in the batter are okay. Heat a frying pan or griddle to 375 degrees. Coat with a light amount of vegetable oil. Pour on 1/4 cup of batter. Allow to cook until bubble appear and just start to harden on the edges before flipping. Brown evenly on both sides before serving hot.

BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

3 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups buttermilk, allowed to warm slightly

1/2 cup milk, allowed to warm slightly

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs, at room temperature

1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled

Sift together the dry ingredients. Mix well. In another bowl, combine all the wet ingredients. Mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir just enough to moisten the dry. Do not over mix, as this will cause the pancake to become tough. A few remaining lumps in the batter are okay. Heat a frying pan or griddle to 375 degrees. Coat with a light amount of vegetable oil. Pour on a 1/4 cup of batter. Allow to cook until bubble appear and just start to harden on the edges before flipping. Brown evenly on both sides before serving hot.

OVERNIGHT YEAST PANCAKES

2 1/4 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise yeast

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups warm milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 egg

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and yeast; mix well. Add vanilla, milk, butter, and egg until well blended. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan to 375 degrees. Stir the batter with a whisk. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.