Pancake Hilarity

Pancake Tuesday is this week!  Hooray!  I was thrilled to inform my Jewish kids that Tuesday we can eat pancakes for dinner.  I have no idea why, but who am I to question a higher power who decrees we must eat pancakes?  I remember going to church basement pancake parties as a kid, and would blame that tradition for encouraging my sweets for dinner, except that I know that sweet tooth was put there by the higher pancake power.

My kids think it quite hilarious to have a designated pancake eating day.  I let myself give in to 7 year old humour and played the “what if pancake tuesday was on wednesday, what would happen then” game.  Secretly though, I fear that chaos.

I am making Carrot Cake Pancakes this Tuesday.  I offer that recipe below.  First though, this morning’s pancake production is my usual Sunday-Blueberry-Bonanza.  I make enough batter to get us through Monday too, on the theory that Monday mornings are bbbbaaaadddd and require a little cheer to get me up.  My favourite pancakes in the world are “Gingerbread Pancakes”.  That recipe is being held hostage by my ex, but I hope to liberate it on moving day, March 23rd, when I am finally reunited with my beloved things.  Stay tuned and I will post it!

So first the Bluebs, then the carrots.  Happy Pancake Week everyone!!

Blueberry-Bonanza-Pancakes

Dry:

1 cup unbleached white flour (I actually use 1/2 whole wheat flour.  I am, one in a while, healthy!)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsps baking powder

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 cup quick cooking oats (I use regular oats and love the texture)

Wet:

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup milk

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsps maple syrup or sugar

loads and loads of blueberries (for those of you who like precise measurements, I apologize.  My love asks that the pancake batter be a mere tool to hold the blueberries together. So “loads” is about as precise as I can be.)

Note:  My kids aren’t so crazy about blueberry pancakes.  For them, I mash a banana into the wet ingredients (hidden!), leave out the blueberries, and sprinkle a half-dozen chocolate chips onto each pancake before flipping it.

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Stir together the dry ingredients.  Stir together the wet ingredients.  Add the wet to the dry.  Voila!  Do not over mix.  Heat your griddle to a high temperature.  A sprinkle of water on the grill should dance and immediately evaporate.  Use about 1/4 cup for each pancake and cook until bubbles form on the surface.  This usually only takes 2-3 minutes.  Flip once.  Serve hot with lots of maple syrup.  (And bacon.  Always bacon.)  This recipe makes about 8 pancakes.  I double it for Monday-Madness-Pancakes.

Carrot Cake Pancakes

1-¼ cup flour (you should use 1/2 whole wheat here, but since these are special occasion pancakes, feel free to use unbleached white flour.  But don’t use the bleached variety please cuz bleaching flour is just wrong.)

2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon (the recipe actually called for “ground cinnamon” but I figured you knew that.  Right?  I mean, without the word “ground” you wouldn’t throw in a cinnamon stick, would you?)

¼ tsp salt

⅛ tsp ground nutmeg (I left the word “ground” in here just in case.)

⅛ tsp ground cloves (again.  “ground”.)

⅛ tsp ground ginger (do people actually get confused and use whole spices?  Really?)

¼ cup light brown sugar, Packed

¾ cup lowfat buttermilk  (I don’t usually have buttermilk on hand, so I use 3/4 cup of milk into which I stir 3/4 tbsp of vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes.  I don’t know why I do this– but I have always done it in recipes that call for buttermilk so I think there must be a reason.)

1 tbsp canola oil

1-½ tsps vanilla extract

2 whole Eggs

2 cups Finely Grated Carrot (about 1 Pound)

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Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through ginger) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar and next 4 ingredients (through eggs); add sugar mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in the grated carrot.

Get your griddle nice and hot. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Use about 1/4 cup per pancake.  Cook for 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook for 1 minute or until bottoms are lightly browned.

I intend to serve this with a little cream cheese icing.  For that I will beat a package of cream cheese into creamy submission, add about a 1/2 cup of icing sugar and a little milk to make it pourable.