Scratch vs Bisquick: The Box is Goin' DOWN...

I just realized that I never shared my recipe for buttermilk pancakes like I said I would...how thoughtless of me! I'm really hungry right now, and thinking about a steaming hot, light as a feather, slightly crispy and brown around the edges flapjack with a big pat of butter melting all over it makes me HOT. No one, and I mean NO ONE can beat this recipe....I defy any and all of you to try. They are hands down the best of the best, and ridiculously easy - anyone who thinks they are saving time by making them from a mix is sadly and tastelessly mistaken.

Growing up in a large family, pancakes were cheap to make - and I believe my mother used Bisquick to do so. BUT then they discovered sourdough starter, and made those now and then - nothing lighter than a sourdough pancake, and with that special tang...woof. Sometimes Mom would make animal pancakes, or maybe your initials etc....shapey cakes always tasted better. And toppings were always butter, maple syrup, cinnamon sugar, and on occasion a delicious berry coulis with powdered sugar sprinkled on top - coulis is just a fancy word for mashed up berries cooked with a little sugar until thickened. And we never ran out...you could eat as many as you wanted, which didn't happen often in a family of 7. But sourdough is a pain in the arse....I needed easier.

When our kids were pretty young, we had a salesman come to the door to try and sell us encyclopedias...yes, I am THAT old. We listened to his schpiel, took the free "A" volume and the 3 free gift certificates, and told him we couldn't afford to buy any. Which he should have figured out before he rang the doorbell of a 2 bedroom duplex in an older part of town with a 68 El Camino and a Chevy Nova with the headliner partially blocking the back window and the stuffing boiling out of the top of the rear seat back. Duh. I don't recall what the other "prizes" were, but the one that we still have today was a set of 2 Doubleday Encyclopedic Cookbooks. They had EVERYTHING in them, and have been great references over the years...you never know when you're going to have to kill a lobster or make a creme bouche, but it was in there if you ever did. And that, my friends, was where this recipe was born. I do not change it one iota, and that is saying a LOT....I cannot help myself and will dink with pretty much any recipe I get, but this has always been utter perfection - how I would LOVE to make them right now!!

And breakfast for dinner is always popular with kids...it feels deliciously naughty to eat something at the wrong time, doesn't it? Add some sausage or bacon, some eggs over easy/medium and your preferred topping, and you will sleep well tonight my friend...it is quite a carb load if you go whole hog on these babies, but soooooo worth it!

Best. Buttermilk. Pancakes. EVER.

1 C. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 T. sugar
1 egg
1 C. buttermilk (shake gently...)
2 T. oil

Heat griddle to about 300, stir dry ingredients together with a whisk and create a well in the center. In a separate bowl whisk egg, buttermilk and oil, pour into well and whisk just until blended...pancake batter should be lumpy! If you beat it until it's smooth, they will be tough and not as light and fluffy. It should spread into a circle when you pour it on the griddle...if it mounds up and requires you to spread it a little, add more buttermilk because they will take too long to cook the centers, making the outside dark. Put a small amount of butter on the griddle and spread it all over with a spatula, pour or ladle about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of batter for each pancake. Let cook until bubbles that form on top just start to break, carefully flip and let cook a couple minutes - they are done when you lightly press the center and it springs back. If it leaves a dent, let it cook another minute or so...it's still raw in the middle. You only need to butter the griddle the first time....but mine is non-stick so whatever you do for yours. If you use a frying pan, turn the burner midway, but you may have to turn it down...experiment based on the color when you flip em. And only turn them ONCE...have patience, they will cook through.

Also, if you don't have buttermilk handy, you can make your own....put 1 T. white vinegar or lemon juice in a one cup measuring cup, then fill with regular milk and let stand 5 minutes. That's IT!! And it works...it's been a while because I use bmilk for lots of stuff, but I didn't used to - scouts honor. My fave as a kid was butter with lots of cinnamon sugar, then rolled up into a tube and eaten with my hands. Unless there was berry coulis....I am still a berry freak. But now? I would trade my little brother for one of these babies hot off the grill, and loaded with just butter...but I would probably also trade him for a handful of magic beans, so not sure if that adds to their image. Breakfast...it's the new dinner.