the pleasures of pancakes

I've been making home-made pancakes for my son at least once a week for several years now. At this point he has helped me so often, he's all but taken over the process by himself. My recipe calls for whole wheat flour and non-fat dry milk which makes them healthy AND tasty. Here's how I do it:

Spray the griddle with cooking spray and set on burner at medium high to warm up while you....

Place your flour sifter in a large mixing bowl. In the sifter, put:

1 scant c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. white flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tbsp. sugar

Sift these ingredients into the mixing bowl.

In a large (2 cup) glass measuring cup, mix

1 c. non-fat dry milk

Add to the milk:

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 egg

Mix liquid ingredients with a fork and add to dry ingredients. Mix well, but not too much. There will be a few small lumps in the batter, and that's OK.

Even though I've been making these pancakes for years, I always start with one "test pancake" to see if the griddle is hot enough. The batter should sizzle just a bit when it hits the griddle. I like to make silver dollar pancakes, because they're easier to flip. You'll know it's time to flip the pancakes when the tops stop looking glossy and little bubbles appear.

I cool the pancakes we don't eat on a baking rack, then store them in a ziploc in the fridge. Microwave for a few seconds the next day, add butter and syrup, and you're on your way to another healthy, delicious breakfast. (I like to add some ham or cheese on the side for protein, as well as a glass of juice. And coffee, of course!)