by Sandra Merville Hart

My preschool grandchildren love to cook with me so I often search for easy recipes to involve them. This recipe for griddlecakes (pancakes) from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook fit this criteria. So with a few messy adventures along the way, the three of us made blueberry pancakes.

Wash ½ cup of blueberries and set on paper towels or a cloth towel to drain.

Sift 1 cup of flour in a separate bowl. Mix in 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 tablespoons sugar, and ½ teaspoon of salt and set aside.

In another mixing bowl, stir together ½ – ¾ cup milk (you’ll add more if needed for the right consistency as you combine all the ingredients later,) 1 slightly beaten egg, and 2 tablespoons melted butter.

Add the flour mixture all at once to the wet ingredients. Add more milk, a little at time, to achieve the desired consistency.

Fold in ½ cup reserved blueberries. (I doubled the recipe and poured half the batter into a separate bowl and then added the berries to only one of the batters. This way we had plain pancakes for family members who preferred that over blueberry pancakes.)

Spray your griddle or skillet with cooking spray, or use enough vegetable oil to barely coat the bottom. Heat to a moderate heat. Two tablespoons of batter make a small pancake. Use a ¼ cup of batter for larger pancakes.

Cook the pancakes on one side until the top is full of bubbles and then turn with a spatula to brown the other side.

You can keep them in a 200-degree (Fahrenheit) oven so they stay warm until all the griddlecakes are cooked.

We actually served these with bacon for a fun brunch meal with the children. It was a big hit. Both children cleaned their plate and ate every bite of pancake! I can’t often say that about them. 😊

I think that perhaps another tablespoon of sugar would have enhanced the flavor of the blueberry pancakes. Perhaps another ¼ cup of berries—or a heaping ½ cup—wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Though it was a tasty meal, it seems I am always looking for ways to improve new dishes I try.

Making pancakes from scratch is nearly as easy as using a boxed mixture—and you probably have the ingredients in your pantry.

This is a good and easy recipe if you’d like to try it.

Sources

Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.