While I was growing up, like most of America at the time, my family embraced convenience foods. I’ve enjoyed watching the escapades of Don Draper on the Mad Men televisions series. The series depicts how Madison Avenue seduced us with witty jingles and bright packaging, evoking feelings of “sexy” newness every time we grabbed the box or jar off the shelf.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane, throw out some word association phrases and see what images we conjure up:
“Macaroni and Cheese”
“Spaghetti”
“Chocolate Pudding”
“Cheese”
“Cupcakes”
“And of course… Pancakes”
Growing up, the chubby dough boys were always around when we turned on the griddle at home. But guess what? I never really liked pancakes until I tasted my first batch of pancakes made from scratch instead of out of the box. Ditto with the other convenience foods. The box pancakes looked and smelled good, but always disappointed once I popped a bite in my mouth. No matter how much butter and syrup I poured on, they still tasted like cardboard.
Pancakes made from scratch are in a league of their own. They rise until they are light and fluffy on the griddle, but they still deliver some substance and depth when you take a bite. The tangy bite of the buttermilk teases against the sweetness of the maple syrup and creaminess of the butter to create a satisfying wonderfulness in your mouth. They taste like…..well, what I always imagined pancakes should taste like. Once you make these pancakes from scratch, it will be hard to go back to anything else.
I believe I’ve revisited and cooked most of the boxed and jarred foods from my childhood, but this time making them from scratch with real food. I am never disappointed. A lot of these experiences I’ve already featured on my blog. I hope I can inspire you to try the same.
Pancakes made from scratch are easy to make and foolproof….almost. I did have a little “made from scratch” pancake debacle in Italy this fall mostly related to “Italian to English” translation issues at the grocery store while buying baking soda. But I’ll leave that story for another day.
In the meantime, let’s put our thumb on the end of our nose, wiggle our fingers at Don Draper and try these absolutely delicious buttermilk pancakes – made from scratch!
This recipe is adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBSP sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, separated
4 TBSP butter, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Sift dry ingredients together and set aside.
Separate the eggs
Whisk the egg whites until stiff
Combine the egg yokes, egg whites, melted butter, buttermilk and vanilla together in a bowl.
When you are ready to start cooking pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Don't over-beat. The batter will be lumpy. Once the dry ingredients hit the wet ingredients, the baking soda activates and the pancakes should be cooked as quickly as possible to insure light, fluffy pancakes.
Pour 3/4 to 1 cup of batter on a piping hot griddle for each pancake.
Cook for a couple of minutes until batter starts to bubble and bottom is golden brown. Flip pancake and finish cooking the other side.
Serve immediately with butter and syrup
Method
Sift dry ingredients together and set aside.
Separate the eggs
Whisk the egg whites until stiff
Assemble the wet ingredients
Put the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Put the wet ingredients including the egg yolks and egg whites in a separate bowl.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Don’t over-beat. The batter will be lumpy. Once the dry ingredients hit the wet ingredients, the baking soda activates and should be used quickly if you want light, fluffy pancakes.
Pour 3/4 to 1 cup of batter on a piping hot griddle for each pancake.
Cook for a couple of minutes until batter starts to bubble and bottom is golden brown. Flip pancake and finish cooking the other side.
Serve piping hot off the griddle with butter and syrup. Enjoy!!
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I dish up great simple recipes made from scratch using the freshest and tastiest ingredients. Sometimes I serve a little inspiration on the side. Meander around a bit and enjoy your time here. If you like, click on the RSS button or email link below to subscribe to my blog and receive updates whenever I post new recipe.
And what does it mean if five out of the six pictured products are in my Desperate pantry as we speak?
Finally got around to making these for my daughter… They were delish!