Breakfast
Not to be outdone by his little brother, Madaug also had an addiction to Cracker Barrel pancakes. Being Southern, I take pride in my cooking and having my sons say that they prefer ANYONE'S cooking to mine is a direct insult. That's just bad form.
Case in point, back in the day, my ex made the mistake of having me take my Chocolate Cream pies to his mother's party before we were married. When his family kept coming back for my pies and scarfing them up like there was no tomorrow while bypassing his mother's pies and cakes, it set a very bad precedent for my relationship with his mother who never got over the fact that I really was and still am the better cook.
The being said, I'm not the best cook in my family. My mother was incredible and my sister will give me a run for my money, any day of the week, both in taste and presentation. After all, she was a caterer and I learned much of what I know while working with my sister and at my mother's apron strings.
So I refused to have my Bug prefer anyone else's food to mine. Even something as simple as a pancake. Needless to say, like Ian, he was stubborn at first and refused to yield his claim. But after a few batches and experiments, I finally won him over, and he prefers Cracker Barrel no more! I emerged triumphant! However, he does still eat there as I make him clean the kitchen whenever I make his pancakes so his laziness will win out over his tastebuds.
Granny Mae Wisdom--First two years you'll want to eat 'em up. After that, you'll wish you had.
As with everything, my boys can never agree on how they like their food. Ian prefers his pancakes with chocolate chips so I usually spoon his into a smaller bowl to put the chips in before I cook them. Meanwhile Madaug likes his with fruit, so I top that after cooking or spoon into a bowl to add crushed bananas or strawberries to the basic batter recipe. Get creative! Never be afraid to experiment!
Recipe
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda (yes, TWO tsp)
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 1/3 cups low fat buttermilk
1/2 tsp. butternut (or cake batter) extract
Optional
Melted Butter Whipped Cream
Syrup
Powdered Sugar
Fruit
Chocolate Chips
1. If you're using the stove, I set my heat between medium and high or preheat your griddle to 350.
2. Cut up a stick of butter into tablespoon pieces to use as grease for each "session" or pancake.
3. Beat eggs.
4. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Do not sift them.
5. Add eggs, extract and buttermilk to dry ingredients. For best results, don't use any buttermilk that has more than 1% fat.
6. Whisk together until combined. Don't over mix.
7. Melt butter in a pan or on griddle.
8. Add batter into small or large circles.
9. Flip once the edges brown and the center isn't too wet.
10. Cook until the second side is golden brown.
11. Serve with topping of choice.
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