Pancakes for Breakfast

As a child, I was a really big fan of the Tomie dePaola book Pancakes for Breakfast. Do you all know this book? It has no words, just illustrations, and depicts one woman's quest to make.... pancakes for breakfast. Her road to pancake paradise is not easy-- after she collects all of the ingredients (including tapping a maple tree for fresh maple syrup) they are ruined and her dreams are dashed. (Don't worry, though-- she finds a way to get those pancakes she's been dreaming of.) I don't what it is about that book that I loved so much-- maybe it was an early sign of my interest in cooking. Or maybe it's because I just happen to REALLY like pancakes. (And I do-- more on that in a second). Regardless, Pancakes for Breakfast was a must have on our baby registry-- I am really excited about sharing this book with our daughter (sounds so crazy to say)...who incidentally,  is "scheduled" (as much as due dates can be considered a schedule) to make her appearance in a little less than 8 weeks. Eek!

I always think of this book whenever we make pancakes at home, which is actually pretty often (most weekends in fact). After several years of trying various mixes and recipes, we've found a from scratch recipe that is now our go-to. I am pretty sure I've shown you pictures of the fruits of this recipe in the past, but never shared the recipe itself. And I thought this (very hot) Sunday morning would be a good time to let you in on our secret, so that you too can enjoy pancakes for breakfast.

Sorry for the repeat picture, I was sure I had taken pictures of pancakes in the past but can't seem to find them this morning!

The Best Buttermilk Pancakes
From The Kitchn

Note: The only update I've made to this recipe is to halve the original amount of butter-- from 5 TBL to 2.5-- and salt--from 1 teaspoon to just a half. If you decide you want your pancakes super buttery, add the full amount of salt. Other than that, it is all thanks to the The Kitchn. If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute some yogurt per The Kitchn's suggestions; we've tried that to varying degrees of success. Instead, we pretty much buy buttermilk on a weekly basis. It really does make a huge difference! They say this serves 2-3 people. I'd say 2 hungry pancake lovers at best! They are great with blueberries too!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 TBL butter
1 1/4 cups flour
1 TBL sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, white and yolk separated
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup milk

1. Melt the butter and set aside. Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda) in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together buttermilk and regular milk. Add egg yolk and butter, mix until everything is incorporated.
3. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir until all the dry ingredients are moist. Add egg white and mix until everything is just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX! Seriously-- this is an important secret to making good pancakes; it is ok if the batter is lumpy looking. If you overmix, you will end up with tough pancakes. And nobody wants that!
4. Heat a griddle (we like to use an electric griddle for even heating) over medium heat (325 if you are using an electric); coat with cooking spray. Cook pancakes per usual (or have your partner do it; in our house, I make the batter and Jason cooks the actual pancakes!).