Here's the scoop. Making pancakes should not be difficult or stressful. It should be fun and a way to express your creativity. This recipe is a no measure easy way to make pancakes from scratch (no store bought batter mix here). The recipe is very forgiving so there is no way to ruin it (unless you throw the entire batter to the floor).
Basic Recipe Ingredients:
- Flour (preferably whole grain flour)
- Milk
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Pure maple syrup (or sugar for those who use sugar)
Here's how to make the pancakes.
- Put some flour and baking powder into a bowl. The rule of thumb for baking powder is approximately 1 tsp per cup of flour. If you put too much baking powder, the batter may taste a bit salty (which is easy to rectify). Too little will mean that the pancakes won't rise. Don't fret or worry if you put too much or too little. The pancakes will still taste good.
- Add one or two eggs (I always use 1 egg unless I make an extra large batter), milk, vanilla extract and syrup. Here's how to measure. Pour the egg and milk and stir. If the batter is too soupy, add more flour. If it's too thick add more milk. If you're not used to winging it, pour the milk in slowly until the batter reaches the desired consistency.
- Add the extract of choice. We always use vanilla extract no matter what type of pancake we make. Next add the maple syrup. The syrup will enhance the batter with its wonderful maple flavor and sweetness. Sometimes we like them just slightly sweet to go well with a cup of coffee and other times, the kids like it sweeter. You decide on how sweet to make it.
- Mix well. Take a spoon, dip it in the batter and do a quick taste test. It's the last chance to alter the flavor. Once you approve, cook the batter in a frying pan or skillet.
Congrats, you have just made pancakes using the basic pancake mix. To this basic mix, you can add mashed bananas and a little banana extract to make banana pancakes. Or, add 
chocolate powder (Nestles Quick or the like) and chocolate chips to make chocolate - chocolate chip pancakes. Or, add strawberries for strawberry pancakes, or…(you get the idea). The basic batter is the same. The flavor variations are only limited by your imagination.
The batter is so easy to make that my 11 year old makes 'gourmet' pancakes all the time. We never use store bought batter, nor do we use measuring devices.
Creative baking is a great skill to teach children. It allows them to truly understand the relationship between ingredients and gives them the freedom to be able to cook just about anything anywhere. They won't be limited to the constraints of a recipe book or store bought batter mixes.
Enjoy!
For more easy baking tips check these out:
- Improving a Store Bought Cake Mix
- Christmas Cookie Recipes. One recipe - many variations
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Felicia A. Williams is a freelance writer and webmaster of this website, Visit Hudson Valley.com and No Job for Mom.com. She is also the Insurance Feature Writer for Suite 101.com
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