I love pancakes. Nice real fluffy ones, with some taste to them. Ideally with mini chocolate chips.

In junior high home ec class, my teacher had a cookbook (from the 70s) called Make a Mix Cookery. Being the cool junior high schooler I was, I was obsessed with this book. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. You could just MAKE MIXES. You didn’t have to buy mixes OR make things from scratch. Magical!

Now it costs 4 times retail on Amazon. But I bet its still awesome.

My mother, sensing an opportunity, got it for me for Christmas. Not the vintage 1978 edition but the current one (current at the time, which means I have the 90’s edition and the new one is from 2006. But I’m sure its still awesome!)

I’ve really only used four mixes from the book, but two of them are such standbys it has more than paid for itself. My favorite (and a recipe I’m known for) is buttermilk pancake & waffle mix.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dry buttermilk powder (I use Saco brand, in the center below, which is available at both major grocery stores in the area)
• 8 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 8 teaspoons baking powder (which is 2 T + 2 t)
• 4 teaspoons baking soda (which is 1 T + 1 t)
• 2 teaspoons salt (that’s, um, 2 t)

Directions: Put in large bowl (mine is a 5 qt, which is the largest I own). Stir together with a whisk to really mix it thoroughly. I always do flour and sugar first, because the buttermilk powder can stick to the sides of the bowl a bit. And I mix the little dry ingredients in with a partially dumped cup of flour because I think they blend better that way. But I may be making that up.

After the mix is done, I put it in the medium Rubbermaid canister.

Making the mix takes ten minutes tops, so its really easy–but even ten extra minutes is no fun when you just rolled out of bed on Saturday morning and want some breakfast. Which is why this mix is so awesome–now its like making Bisquick but better!

Just add:

• 1.5 cups mix
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 1 egg

And mix! I leave a 1/2 cup scoop in my mix, so its just three quick scoops, then a cup of water and 2 tablespoons of oil. If I’m feeling fancy I crack the egg into the empty measuring cup and beat it quickly, but usually it goes right in the bowl. Mix until its all incorporated, but not any longer than you need to, scraping down once or twice for lumps.

THEN turn on the stove. You can go wash your face or something now–leaving the batter to sit for a couple minutes while the pan is warming up gives the baking powder and buttermilk powder a chance to activate and make your pancakes fluffy and delicious. T

You can see the bubbles trying to rise to the surface in this bowl that has been sitting for about three minutes.

These are a specialty on church retreats, and I always bring my own pan AND make a test pancake (why, yes, people do tease me for this. But they also love my pancakes). On my own stove I don’t need to make a test pancake, because I know that 7 is the right setting, but its well worth the time. Know when to flip! The test I always do is to throw a little water on the pan. Its never a good idea to put food (of any type) on a pan that isn’t finished heating (you won’t notice as much with a nonstick pan, but that doesn’t make it a good idea). If the water sizzles and evaporates, the pan is ready for some pancakes. If it takes a little bit, adjust the heat if needed or just be patient. It will be warm soon.

If you have any mix-ins (mini chocolate chips! blueberries! walnuts!) throw them in now. I actually don’t do them all at once, and stir IMMEDIATELY before pouring–otherwise they just sink, so the first one will have three sad little mini chips and the last one will be chips barely held together by trace amounts of pancake. It isn’t cookie dough–batter doesn’t suspend things well. So I throw in a small handful of mini chocolate chips, give it a quick stir with my scraper and pour out some pancakes.

I love my square pan. Much better than the pair of 8 inch fry pans we used our first semester in our college apartment.

They are ready to flip when you see a good number of bubbles, as above.

Delicious! Keep a plate on an adjacent burner to stack up the pancakes on–and if something is in the oven, close to the vent. The added heat will keep them warm and ready.

What’s your favorite breakfast food? Pancakes? Eggs? Bacon? (I can’t even make eggs–that’s what Lesley or Boyfriend are for!)