Move Over Aunt Jemima!

I have been meaning to pick up some pancake mix for a while now, and I just keep forgetting. A couple of weeks ago, we had a craving for pancakes and I wanted to attempt them from scratch, but I was missing a couple of ingredients. I ended up making peanut butter banana french toast (under my Breakfast tag) since I was missing key ingredients. I froze the leftover bananas from that recipe and then thawed them for this recipe. But oooohhhh...these were worth the wait! It was easier than I thought, and if I can do it, anyone can. I will never buy the pre-made pancake mix again!



Banana Pancakes
from William Sonoma

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 small, very ripe banana, peeled I used 2 thawed bananas, one to mix in plus the juices as it thawed, and the other banana sliced for a topping
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Maple syrup for serving
Sliced bananas for serving

Directions:
Be sure an adult is nearby to help. Obviously this is a kid-friendly recipe, but I did have Jamie, my favorite sous chef & Breakfast King handy since breakfast is not my forte

Cut the butter into 3 equal pieces. Put 2 of the butter pieces in a small saucepan and set the remaining piece aside. Set the pan over medium heat and stir with a wooden spoon until melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a pot holder, remove the pan from the heat and set it aside to cool.

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix with a fork until well blended.

Put the banana in a small bowl. Mash with a fork until almost smooth. Add the milk, eggs and vanilla and stir with the fork until well blended. Pour the banana mixture and the melted butter into the flour mixture. Mix gently with a rubber spatula until the batter is just blended. The batter should still be a little bit lumpy.

Put a griddle over medium heat until hot. To test if the griddle is hot enough, flick a drop of water onto it. It is ready if the drop dances quickly and evaporates. Put half of the remaining butter onto the griddle and spread it with a metal spatula. Drop the batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the griddle, spacing them about 3 inches apart.

Cook until a few holes form on top of each pancake and the underside is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully slide the metal spatula under each pancake and turn it over. Cook until the bottom is golden brown and the top is puffed, 1 to 2 minutes more. Using the spatula, transfer the pancakes to a serving plate.

Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve the pancakes while still hot with maple syrup and sliced bananas. Makes twelve 4-inch pancakes.