recommendation: easy pancakes

Weekend breakfasts normally consist of brunching out or pancaking it in. It’s a nice break from the toast/oatmeal/cereal routine of weekdays. I’ve become a self-professed ‘pro’ at pancakes – but let me share my secret – Aunt Jemima Original Add Water kind only. Anything else tends to be a disaster.

The thing I love about these pancakes is you literally add water only and THAT’S IT. Stir together (do not overbeat! will make pancakes tougher!) and throw in a pan.

I use a square non-stick griddle pan that I bought at HomeGoods, I’ve found that no other pan works quite the same. Pancakes tend to stick pretty bad on a normal skillet. Recipe is on the box but here’s how it goes:’

2 cups of pancake mix
1.5 cups of water (I always add a little more so that they can pour easier)

Mix together.

Heat skillet to medium/high (5 or 6 on a dial). Test with a drop of water to make sure its hot enough, if it is, water will sizzle. Spray hot skillet with PAM or oil spray. Spoon on pancake mix. If you add a second ladle to the middle of the pancake, it will push it to extend bigger evenly.

Wait 30-60 seconds, use spatula to check underside, when golden brown, spray open space on skillet with more PAM, flip pancake onto this spot. This makes each side toasty golden brown. And yes, that means I cook one pancake at a time.

Keep cooked pancakes between two plates to keep warm. Serve with syrup..that is syrup in my espresso cups, not coffee… gotta make use of them somehow since we never manage to make espressos these days! Plus they are the perfect size. Pour syrup in and microwave for 20 seconds to warm up.

Best parts of this recipe are its quick, easy, and you can pretty much add anything to it. Today I made with a handful of chocolate chips. Here are other add in ideas:

- Bananas & Pecans
- Blueberries
- Chocolate Chips & Pumpkin (Take a spoon or two of canned pumpkin, stir into pancake mix & water… this will make the pancakes a different consistency, they will take a little longer to cook and are thicker but its super yum in fall!)
- Bacon (think sweet & savory)
- If I’m not adding special ingredients, I normally just add a few dashes of cinnamon to the mix to add a little more flavor.

I'm sure you could get super gourmet on these with fresh herbs and cheese with the bacon or different berries and vanilla or almond flavoring and powder sugar - this box mix is such a great base for building anything your stomach desires.

Bon Appetite!