Monday, January 31, 2011

Mancakes

I thought long and hard about what I should blog about today. Actually, I didn't. It came to me immediately. I have been making a lot of pancakes lately, and I wanted to share the recipes. I have made lots and lots of recipes for pancakes, and usually the ones worth repeating have some pretty tedious processes, and usually involve the inclusion of buttermilk. You can make your own buttermilk for recipes, by adding a tablespoon of vinegar to room temperature milk, but it never tastes very good in pancakes.
I got this recipe from the Food Network's website, actually, to be quite honest, it was in my cooking game, "Cook or be cooked" and I read the recipe and decided to try it. (Yes, I have a cooking game for the Wii. Please don't judge me). Anywho...I tried this recipe and loved the way it turned out.
The pancakes are quite fluffy and light, and have great texture and flavor.
Before you read this recipe, I have something to say. I know there are a few separate steps, but these pancakes are worth it. This isn't bisquick, its pancakes. If you desire, you could mix up the dry ingredients the night before, and then add the liquid in the morning, but I urge you to follow the steps. These really are quite good.
I looked up the word 'mancakes'. It can be used to refer to food that men fix that is considered inedible by women. It also refers to cupcakes that are geared toward men, in unassuming flavors like beer and bacon (that would be one flavor, beer and bacon).
Mancakes is also the word my 2-year old uses for pancakes. I'm not really sure why, but it is.

Perfect Pancakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon, or pumpkin pie spice
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons butter, melted
cooking spray

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl Beat eggs in a medium bowl. Whisk in 3/4 cup of the milk and the vanilla.
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter with the remaining milk, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Whisk into the egg mixture.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir using a whisk until a thick, slightly lumpy batter forms; set aside for 10 minutes.
Heat a skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray and add a sliver of butter to the pan. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan for each pancake. Cook until bubbles break on the surface of the pancakes and the undersides are golden brown, about 2 minutes (this usually takes longer on the first batch). Flip and cook for about a minute more.
If you wish, you can transfer the cooked pancakes to a 200 degree oven to keep warm. I usually just serve them up as quick as they come off.
Also, you can freeze any leftover pancakes, in an airtight container, and reheat by placing the entire frozen pancake in the toaster.

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