How about some really good pancakes

  

Tonight is Tuesday night, and every Tuesday night I have dinner with my sister.  I really look forward to catching up with the only family I have left!  So, obviously I didn't cook anything in my new kitchen tonight.  I tried to think of something I make that is delicious and would be nice to share with everyone, and I came up with pancakes..... of all things!  But, I really do have a reputation for making some really good pancakes, so here goes!

I am going to share two recipes, the first of which calls for buttermilk, so if you don't have any, you can either improvise or follow the second recipe!   Here are your ingredients:

3 eggs separated

1 2/3 cups buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tbs sugar

3 tbs butter, melted

Here is a simple substitute recipe to make buttermilk (adjust the amounts depending on how much buttermilk your recipe calls for):

• Milk (approximately 1 cup) 
• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice (if making two cups of buttermilk, use 2 Tablespoons...)

Preparation:

1. Place a Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.

2. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line.

3. Let stand for five minute. Then, use as much as your recipe calls for.

Making the batter is pretty much the standard.... beat the egg yokes.  Add in the buttermilk, then the baking soda and mix well.  Stir in the dry ingredients making sure the batter is smooth.  Mix in the melted butter.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into your batter.  Let it stand for about 20 minutes before cooking.

Get your pan nice and hot.  Ladle the batter on the pan.  My kids LOVE chocolate chip pancakes, so I cover each pancake with as many chocolate chips as I can.  I try to cover them with a little more batter so the chocolate won't stick to the pan when I flip them.

You may have to adjust your heat, once you see how fast or slow they cook.

Once I get the chocolate chip pancakes done, I love to make my personal favorites - banana pancakes.  Once you have covered each pancake with sliced bananas, cover the bananas with a little more batter.  These need to cook a little bit longer on each side than the chocolate chip ones do.

When they are done, sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar.  Oh my word.....these are to die for!    There is just something about using buttermilk that makes them so rich and fluffy.

Here is my standby pancake recipe when I don't have any buttermilk:

1 1/4 cups flour
3 tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder (make sure your baking powder isn't too old!  it really makes a difference)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
a splash of vanilla
3 tbs vegetable oil

The key is to mix just long enough to incorporate the ingredients.  If you over-beat the batter, the pancakes will come out flat!