Pancakes are happiness

I loved when my mom would make us pancakes. It was a rare weekend treat, especially if she’d add some chocolate chips! The boys love them and it’s become a favourite around here when my niece has a sleepover. It’s so cute how she will, at some point in the afternoon or evening, somehow work it into the conversation and make sure I’ll be flipping flapjacks for her in the morning. Sometimes she asks me if we remembered to buy syrup, sometimes she asks if I’d like her help in the morning – once she even promised to do the dishes.

I make them with love, hoping that my sweeties enjoy them as much as I did when they were made for me.

Pancakes, in my opinion, should be thick and fluffy. Over the years I’ve maxed out my mom’s recipe and found a way to get them to rise to over an inch thick without altering the flavour.

What you need:

– 1 1/2 cups flour
– 3 1/2 tsps baking powder
– 1 tsp salt
– 2 tbsps sugar
– 1 1/4 cup milk
– 1/2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
– 1 egg
– 1/4 cup butter, melted

What you do:

Start by souring the milk – you add the vinegar or lemon juice to the milk and set aside. It takes about 5 minutes for the milk to sour. You can use buttermilk or even plain yoghurt in a pinch instead of sour milk.

Put all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together to mix well.

Add the egg to the soured milk and whisk together.

Melt the butter in the frying pan you’ll be using to cook the pancakes. Make sure the frying pan is well greased on bottom and sides. Get it to the ‘barely melted’ point – over medium heat, not too high. Using a rubber scraper, scrape the butter into the egg/milk mixture and whisk together leaving just enough on the pan so that it’s lightly greased.

Pour liquid into the dry mix. With a spoon mix it all together, but don’t beat it. You want it lumpy. Seriously, lumpy is the secret to great pancake batter. Let the batter sit for a few minutes to let the baking powder do it’s thing. That’s the secret to the fluffy factor.

You can make one big pancake at a time or three to four smaller ones – or 6 to seven “Silver Dollar” pancakes if you like. These are great when you’re feeding a crowd.

Fry pancakes on medium heat. When bubbles start to come through and dry out it’s time to flip them. Don’t burn them but make sure they’re cooked through.

Serve with butter and maple syrup.

This recipe works well when you double it.

Variations, just mix into the batter:

A cup of blueberries – fresh or frozen

A cup of chocolate chips

A banana, sliced thin

A cup of butterscotch chips

An apple, sliced plus 1-2 tsps cinnamon

Enjoy!