Pancakes are probably hands down the most popular food to have with maple syrup. There's just something about a stack of hot flapjacks with melted butter and a generous drizzling of maple syrup over the top. Mm-mm, good.
When the kids were little, Andrew could pack away more pancakes than seemed humanly possible. It was absolutely amazing that this scrawny little kid could eat more pancakes than the adults in the house. We said he had a separate compartment for them, but we never did find out where that was. He can't eat nearly as many now. Strange how that works.
This recipe I've named "Fancy Pancakes", because it has some extra ingredients that you don't usually find in your basic pancake recipe. These pancakes are delicious--*almost* good enough to eat without any maple syrup. But of course, nobody would ever do that.
A few tips from experience:
The batter is thick if you make it by the recipe. I usually add more milk than it calls for to make the batter easier to spread on the griddle.
Once your griddle/frying pan is heated up, it's best to turn the heat way down so these don't cook too fast. Otherwise the outside gets over-browned before the inside is done. This is especially true the thicker your batter is.
I usually heat my oven a little bit and put the pancakes in there on a plate (or two) as I cook them so they are all still hot when we sit down to eat.
Hot syrup is best! Heat your maple syrup up a bit in the microwave just before serving.
Don't overstir the batter. Some lumps are okay. Overstirring leads to tough pancakes.
Most Saturday mornings we have breakfast together--Fancy Pancakes are a family favorite!
Fancy Pancakes
2-1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups buttermilk**
2 Tbsp vegetable oil or melted butter
1 cup yogurt or sour cream
**If you have no buttermilk, put 2 Tbsp of vinegar in your measuring cup and add enough milk to equal 2 cups.
Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
In another bowl beat the eggs lightly, then add the vanilla, buttermilk, oil/butter, and yogurt/sour cream.
If the batter seems overly thick, add more milk until it reaches the desired thickness.
Heat your griddle or frying pan until a drop of water flicked on the pan bounces in good shape. Turn your heat to low so the pancakes don't brown too quickly. You can adjust this as needed. You'll know.
I use one of those handled scoops--the kind they use for ice cream with the little lever on the side to pop the ice cream out--to scoop the batter out of the bowl and onto the griddle. It holds 3 to 4 ounces and keeps the pancakes an even size. You can use anything you want, but this works for me. If the batter doesn't spread enough on the griddle, you can swirl it around and out some with the back of the scoop. Once the edges of the pancake start to set and little bubbles start showing on the top, flip it and cook the other side. It's okay to lift the edge and peek to be sure it isn't browning too much. Try to only flip it once as it keeps the middle light and fluffy.
Keep the pancakes hot until time to serve, and then top them with soft butter and maple syrup.
Recipe adapted from The Sparrow's Home.