Pancakes - Make, Eat and Freeze

For a couple years I searched for the perfect pancake recipe. I wanted one that was light, fluffy and delicious.  And one that would freeze and reheat well.  Oh, and did I mention it had to be egg free for my oldest son?  That's a long list of demands.  But I persevered and tried several so-so recipes before I found this one from the Food Allergy Mama cookbook.  And it met all my demands!  This really made me happy.  So I am sharing with you. 

We have pancakes now at least 2 mornings a week.  I usually make a big batch on the weekends and freeze the leftovers to eat during the week.  These reheat very well, so it makes school mornings much easier.  I'll show you how I made and freeze these pancakes.  You can make these pancakes with white or wheat flour.  I was blessed with a big bag of freshly milled flour which is what I used for this batch.  Freshly milled flour has a slightly sweet and nutty flavor to it.  We loved it best in pancakes, but seriously, these come out great with white or regular wheat flour too!

Pancakes
recipe from The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book
makes about 18 pancakes

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour (or whole wheat)
4 Tablespoons granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
4 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
2 Tablespoon water

Directions:
Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat, or preheat a large flat griddle to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine the flour....

sugar,

baking powder,

and salt.

Mix until well combined.

In a large measuring cup, mix together the milk, water and oil.  Add to the bowl with the dry ingredients.

Mix until JUST combined.  Do not over mix; some lumps are fine.

Pancakes taste much better if you have a cute helper.

Just don't let your helper over mix!

Drop 1/4 cup of batter into rounds on your hot griddle. (My griddle is non-stick, so I don't butter or spray it.  For regular skillets or griddles without the non-stick feature, you should spray with baking spray first.) I think you can fit 8 at a time, but I like to leave a little room for flipping them over, so I do 6 at a time.

Cook for about 3 minutes, until the edges start to lightly brown and set and

you see small bubbles on the top of the pancake.

Flip them over and cook for another 2 minutes until the bottoms are cooked.

And that is a perfect pancake.

Light and fluffy.  Move to a cooling rack.

Or eat while they're warm!

Add a little butter. Yum.

Now add some maple syrup.  REAL maple syrup.  No fake stuff in our house.

And eat.

Ethan couldn't even wait for the butter and syrup on his.  He loves pancakes.

Now, this is what really saves me time on busy school mornings - freezing extra pancakes.

You will need squares of wax paper, or parchment paper.

Stack the pancakes with a square of wax paper in between each one.

Place the stacks of pancakes into freezer bags, label and freeze.  To reheat, place in the microwave for about 1 minute or the toaster oven for 3-4 minutes.

These pancakes taste just as good reheated as they do fresh!