Thursday, February 27, 2014

Sizzle...

I try to make sure I have breakfast every morning.  All the "experts" (whoever they are) preach on how important breakfast is to your diet.  I don't believe it's necessarily good for everyone's diet but I do feel that it certainly helps me get going in the morning.

This morning, instead of having my usual peanut butter toast, I decided to do something different.  Pancakes!  I love pancakes... I more or less love them because I think of them as a vessel for lots of butter and sugar.  Yes, I'm in the minority that tops their cakes with butter and sugar, rather than butter and syrup.  If you haven't tried it and you don't care about your waistline you neeeeeeeed to do it.  Oh heavens... that's the way it should be done.

Anyway, this morning I wanted pancakes.  I ALWAYS just buy a box of pancake mix and add water and call 'em good.  But this morning I didn't want to make a version that was really terrible for me (although I strongly believe those are the best).

I turned to one of my favorite cookbooks that literally has everything in it... Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book Bridal Edition (just like the red plaid cook book but a special edition).  It just so happens that I have whole wheat flour in my cupboard so I was in search of a recipe for a whole wheat pancake.  Sure enough, there was one.  You can find the recipe below.

In order to make them appealing to my husband I decided I should probably throw in a few chocolate chips.  And because I had a couple overly ripe bananas on my counter I threw those in as well.  It turns out homemade pancakes couldn't be more simple to make if you've got a bit of time to do it.



The result?  Beautiful looking pancakes......HOWEVER..... I'm not completely sold, but I do think I know what my mistake was and have full intentions of making them again.  The problem was the banana.  I wanted to use up what I had rather than throw away.  Well I should have just thrown some away because it was too much banana.  I  mashed 2 bananas and added them to the batter.  What that caused was a pancake texture that seemed as if they were not completely done.  When I make them again I will either use less or leave out entirely.  I have complete confidence that they will be perfect next time.  Give them a try and let me know how yours turn out!


Buttermilk Pancakes made with Wheat Flour

Start to Finish: 25 minutes
Makes: 12 standard-size pancakes or 40 dollar-size pancakes

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (you can, of course, use all purpose flour)
2 tablespoons brown sugar (if you're using white flour, substitute granulated sugar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk or sour milk (if you don't have buttermilk substitute with regular milk)*
3 tablespoons cooking oil

1. In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In another bowl use a fork to combine egg, buttermilk and oil.  Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture.  Stir just until moistened (batter should be slightly lumpy).  If desired, stir in fruit.

2. For each standard-size pancake, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet, spreading batter if necessary.  For dollar-size pancakes, use about 1 tablespoon batter.  Cook over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until pancakes are golden brown, turning to second side when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges are slightly dry.  Serve warm.  If desired, top with syrup.

* If you do not have buttermilk or sour milk it's easy to make.  Take 1 cup of butter and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar.  Let sit 5 minutes.

Per standard-size buttermilk pancake, plain, whole wheat: 117 cal., 4 g total fat (1 g sat. fat), 19 mg chol., 179 mg sodium, 16 g carbo., 3 g pro.

No comments:

Post a Comment