I'm a slacker, but I grew up in the 90's, so it's normal...

Okay, so I barely went near a computer this weekend, except to drop a few comments. Saturday was a blur, but I did manage to make some pancakes that morning, at the suggestion of Jane. I love pancakes! As I've mentioned before, I have a lot of trouble with pancakes. I can't really explain why, it's just something I've had to live with. This is my best pancake recipe though. I can usually count on them to come out great, unless I do something to mess it up. I call these Labor Day Pancakes, and here's the reason why- When I was a kid we would go to my Uncle Sammy's dairy farm in Louisiana for Labor Day weekend. One of the highlights of our visit would be Aunt Carol's pancakes. They tasted like sugar cookies, in my opinion. And as someone who always ate their pancakes topped with butter and sprinkled with sugar, it only helped to enhance the cookie flavor for me. This recipe is a basic recipe from Everyday Food, with the addition of 1 teaspoon of vanilla, which is Aunt Carol's not-so-secret ingredient. I guess that might be a common ingredient in most people's batter, but as someone who grew up eating Bisquick pancakes (which I still like, not hatin' on the 'Quick) adding the vanilla really puts it over the top for me.

Labor Day Pancakes
Variation of Everyday Food Recipe; Makes appx. 12
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, butter (or oil), vanilla and egg. Add dry ingredients to milk mixture; whisk until just moistened (do not overmix; a few small lumps are fine).
• Heat a large skillet (nonstick or cast-iron) or griddle over medium. Fold a sheet of paper towel in half, and moisten with oil; carefully rub skillet with oiled paper towel.
• For each pancake, spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter onto skillet, using the back of the spoon to spread batter into a round (you should be able to fit 2 to 3 in a large skillet)
• Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter; cover loosely with aluminum foil, and keep warm in oven @ 200 degrees. Continue with more oil and remaining batter. (You'll have 12 to 15 pancakes.) Serve warm, with desired toppings.

My notes: I cook pancakes on my large electric griddle, which is very helpful for me. I also use a 1/4 c measuring cup per pancake, which makes them a bit bigger. I usually use vegetable oil instead of butter, just cause it saves me the step of having to melt it. I will probably try it with butter sometime, but I'm happy with the results I get, so I don't worry about it much. One of the best tips I've gotten about making pancakes is using a very thin, very large spatula to flip my pancakes. I plan to try this recipe with half white whole wheat flour, buttermilk, and the addition of different fruits, but this is the basic recipe that I go by.

On a side note, I have a post coming up on my weekend shows, but I haven't watched them all yet. We got our new satellite television on Friday, and I am loving it! We got DVR and I'm in heaven. So, I just gotta watch my shows and I'll have an update on them. I've also got some fun stuff on the menu this week, so hopefully I'll have some good stuff to blog about.

Thanks to everyone who stops by here! I appreciate everyone who visits and comments, sorry I wasn't around much this weekend.