Pancakes: Make Them Yourself!

Pancakes

Screw Bisquick! Really! 

for two big appetites or four smaller ones.

Pancakes are this really easy delicious food that people don't know how to make anymore. Everyone uses these pre-made pancake mixes- "JUST ADD WATER!"... and so the art of the real pancake is lost to the masses. Pancakes are so easy, you'll forget you ever heard of jiffy mix or bisquick. This recipe is adapted from a buttermilk pancake recipe i used for years, but i don't always make pancakes everyday, and having buttermilk in the fridge for the recipe meant planning ahead. i am kind of a spur of the moment pancake eater, so i invented and perfected this recipe using things i almost always have on hand...

by the way, Breakfast is the best meal.

*ahem, the recipe.

1 cup flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup PLAIN Greek* style yogurt

1/2 cup milk
1 egg

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs butter

1/3 cup grade B maple syrup

Combine flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl. set aside. in a clear measuring cup, measure yogurt. fill with milk to 1 cup. whisk till smooth. set aside. heat a skillet pan over medium high heat and coat with olive oil. while that is heating, add yogurt mixture to the flour mixture, add egg, stir just to combine, being careful not to overmix. you want the batter lumpy. turn down pan to medium, and add a tsp of test batter. cook pancake, discard or feed to impatient husband/boyfriend, dog, etc... add pancake batter to pan for first pancake. cook till edges are dry, flip. repeat for the rest of the batter. makes about 6 smaller pancakes, or 4 larger ones.

*What is GREEK yogurt?

Greek yogurt is a yogurt that has had a lot of it's water content strained out. it is thicker and richer. this yogurt works best for this recipe, but if you dun have any, you can make some. Recently i have been doing this all the time because organic plain greek yogurt is impossible to find, and i get regular organic yogurt for cheap at work anyhow. Just strain it with a coffee filter or cheese cloth overnight. i will put up a how-to soon.

What if i don't have/can't find Greek yogurt?

+You can substitute regular plain yogurt in this recipe, but you will have to cut out a lot of the milk. i think the right ratio would be 2/3 cup regular yogurt and 1/3 cup milk. Many yogurt brands are different, so adjust as needed for a nice thick mixture. You are aiming for a "buttermilk" consistency.

+you can also substitute sour cream for yogurt if you are in a pinch, but the results are not gonna be as great. So, you have to increase baking soda to 1 tbs, and use 2/3 cup sour cream to 1/3 cup milk.

Healthier version:

This recipe makes your pretty basic pancake. You can cut a lot of fat out of the recipe by using fat free milk and yogurt. You can use whole wheat flour to up fiber, but you will have to add more liquid, perhaps a tbs or two of water/milk. also you could skip the butter topping and go for maple syrup. By the way, if you use "conventional" syrup, like Mrs. Butterworth's or something, look at what you are really eating! it's all super sweet dense sugar may eventually kill you! (ha ha). Grade B Maple Syrup, by contrast is a natural sugar, closer to that which is found in fruits. it also has vitamins and such. and, a little goes a long way! so, save yourself from diabetes, and use a little maple instead of corn syrup.

Blueberry Pancakes

add a few fresh blueberries to a pancake once you have poured the batter to the skillet. if you can't find fresh blueberries, always thaw frozen blueberries, or they will create pockets of raw batter around them.