Basic Pancakes — from scratch!

Impress your family and simplify ingredients, all in one fell swoop.

Prep/Cook — 20 min
Makes 8-10 medium-sized pancakes

Combine:
1 c flour
1 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt

In separate small bowl, combine:
1 c milk
1 egg
2 T oil

Make a well in the center of the dry mixture; add wet to dry. Gently fold/flop ingredients together until uniformly moist. WALK AWAY and do not touch batter for at least 5-10 minutes; longer is better, up to 30 or even 45 minutes.

Spray skillet or griddle with cooking spray, or use grease of choice. Heat to medium. Add pancake batter, ~1/4 c at a time, to form pancake-shaped puddles around pan. Cook until edges begin to appear set (~2 min). Try to slide spatula under pancake. If spatula slides under smoothly, pancake is ready to flip. Be still and know that It is a Pancake; do not get feisty and flip prematurely. Once flipped, cook for 1 min, or until a yummy toasty blonde. Remove to serving platter.

Now, for the second round — TURN THE HEAT DOWN TO MEDIUM-LOW. **Then** add another round of ~1/4 c pancake puddles and repeat. This way, you avoid the dreaded Curse of the Burnt Second Pancake. Continue to adjust heat slightly up or down as needed for speed and quality until batter is used up.

Specialty pancakes:
*Maple-brown sugar: swap sugar brown sugar, add 1 T maple syrup, 1/2 t cinnamon
*Chocolate chip: fold in handful of chocolate chips to final batter
*Blueberry: fold in handful of blueberries (fresh or frozen) to final batter

Ingredient swaps:
*flour — 1/2 all-purpose, 1/2 whole wheat; alternatively, for chocolate pancakes, 3/4 c AP + 1/4 c unsweetened cocoa (add another T or 2 of sugar, to taste)
*sugar — 1:1 sub brown sugar, or maple syrup (add with wet)
*milk — can swap all or part for buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream, but also then must decrease baking powder to 1 t and also add 1/4 t baking soda.

Notes:
*For best taste, use non-aluminum baking powder (such as Rumford). I use it in everything I bake, but you need so much of it in pancakes that having something without a tin-foil aftertaste really makes a difference!
*Leftovers, if any, freeze fantastically. They make quick breakfasts by zapping in the microwave for 30 sec (1 pancake) or 30 sec-flip-30 sec (single-layer plate of pancakes). They also make great PB&J for those terrifying emergencies when you must pack lunches and have run out of bread.