Pancakes From Scratch

1. Sift together the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs thoroughly, then stir in the milk, sugar, and salt, and mix until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the vanilla.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and use a fork to gently, but thoroughly, combine until most of the dry ingredients aren't dry anymore. Make sure not to overmix—you'll still see some lumps. You can gently break up some of the bigger lumps with your fork, but don't mix for much longer than 20 seconds.

1. Let the batter rest for about 20 minutes. Toward the end of that time, preheat your griddle to 375 F or heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Preheat the oven to 170 F to keep batches of pancakes warm.
2. When your cooking surface is hot, lightly spray it with cooking spray.
3. For each pancake, ladle 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle or pan. Cook until the tops of the pancakes are full of bubbles and the bottoms are golden brown. Flip the pancakes and cook until the tops are golden brown, then either serve right away or transfer to the oven to keep warm.

Tips and Variations

The great thing about the measurements in this recipe is that they can easily be halved if you want to make pancakes for 2 people instead of 4. Of course, you can also double the recipe if you have a larger group to feed or want to freeze cooked pancakes for later. (To freeze, once the pancakes have cooled, place in zip-top bags with the layers separated by wax paper.) 

If you are finding your pancakes just aren't turning out right, it could be that your baking powder has gone stale. If it's been more than 6 months since you bought your baking powder, toss it and buy a fresh container. When baking powder gets too old, it won't rise as much as it should, and your pancakes will be heavy and dense rather than light and fluffy.

Another problem could be how you are measuring your flour. Make sure you weigh your flour, not just scoop it out of the bag. If you scoop, chances are your pancakes will be thick and dense rather than light and fluffy.

For some added nutrition, you can substitute plain yogurt for half the milk. Your batter will be thicker, so lower your griddle temperature a little. But the pancakes will still turn out fluffy, and the extra tangy flavor is heavenly. And tell your kids not to worry—you can definitely add chocolate chips to this recipe!