Fluffy Pancakes

I wanted to make heart shaped pancakes for our Valentine's day dinner, and I didn't want to use Bisquick. I just thought I should put a little more effort into it than that. So...I pulled up the Taste of Home website again and found this yummy recipe. Definitely worth the extra effort!

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup shortening, melted

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the egg, milk and shortening; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto hot griddle (I didn't need to grease mine). Turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes and edges are dry. Cook until the second side is golden brown.

Yield: 8 pancakes

*When making pancakes, the most important thing to remember is not to overmix the batter! I know - it's tempting to get all those lumps out of there, but those lumps are what make it fluffy (just be careful not to leave gigantic lumps). The baking powder bubbles pop while cooking and there you have it - fluffiness! At least, that's what I learned from a cooking segment on a morning talk show :) The other thing that was suggested was to only turn your pancakes once. I've followed this advice ever since and it's worked every time.

Making heart pancakes was super easy - thanks to MarthaStewart.com. All you need to do is fill a pastry bag with the batter (use a plain, round tip) and pipe it onto the griddle in the shape of a heart. Do the outside first and then fill in the middle - easy peasy!

Pumpkin Pancakes with Hot Cider Syrup

Eating a stack of pumpkin pancakes at IHOP last Saturday inspired me to try making my own at home. I also had a little nudging from my 5 year old - he's been bugging me to make some almost nonstop.

After a quick search on tasteofhome.com, I found this recipe that looked promising. I just have to say, Look out IHOP - my pumpkin pancakes are better! The kids went back for seconds and then thirds; I couldn't ask for anything more than that. :)

Ingredients:

Hot Cider Syrup

3/4 cup apple cider or juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs, separated
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 Tbsp canola oil

Directions:

In a large saucepan, combine the syrup ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes or until slightly thickened. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving.

For pancakes, in a large bowl,combine the dry ingredients In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks, milk, pumpkin and oil until smooth. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form; fold into batter.

Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot griddle (I didn't grease mine). Turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Cook until second side is golden brown. Serve with syrup.

I added a scoop of whip cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon to my pancakes. Delish! This is now officially a family favorite!

Syrup makes approximately 1 cup. Batter makes 15 pancakes.

*The syrup never did thicken for me, but it was so good I didn't really care :)

Cinnamon French Toast

Chris found this fantastic French Toast recipe and made it for me on Mother's Day. It's amazing with strawberries and whipped cream too :)

Ingredients:

1 egg

2 egg whites

1/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

6 slices of Texas Toast

Directions:

In a shallow bowl, whisk egg and egg white until foamy. Whisk in milk, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture, turning to coat thoroughly, and cook on a hot skillet until both sides are nicely browned.

*My Mom's version of French Toast is really yummy too - just substitute maple flavoring for the vanilla.

Cinnamon Apple Muffins

My boys love muffins - they'd eat them every day if I let them; but as convenient as boxed muffin mixes are, they're also expensive. I've decided to be brave and try making muffins from scratch. I had a recipe I wanted to try, but Andrew vetoed that; apparently he was in the mood for some apple muffins. I found this recipe on Taste of Home's website and amazingly enough I had all of the ingredients (except for applesauce, but I didn't realize that until I was in the middle of the recipe).

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp canola oil
3 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1 medium McIntosh apple, peeled and grated

TOPPING:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp cold butter
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats


Directions

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk the egg, milk, oil and applesauce. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apple. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups half full.

For topping, in a small bowl, combine brown sugar and flour; cut in butter until crumbly. Add oats. Sprinkle over muffins.

Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve with Cinnamon-Honey Butter.


*Since I didn't have any applesauce, I increased the amount of canola oil from 3 Tbsp to 1/4 cup. I used a Gala apple rather than a McIntosh, but that's all I had on hand. I just realized that the recipe said to grate the apple - I cubed it. Guess I should be a bit more careful when reading the directions. They turned out yummy though - I liked the bits of apple :)