Quick No Fail Pancakes

   It has been a loooong while since I've posted to my blog, but life has been super busy!  I hope everyone had a great holiday season (New Year's being my favorite).  With the new year comes many new and exciting things in our house.  We are now well into the "married club."  That means that it's time to look for a house and think about kids....exciting, busy, scary, nerve-wracking.   I'm sure I'll be posting plenty of things on those subjects as the time goes on!  For today, I'm sticking with ol' faithful...the kitchen.
     For today's "in the kitchen..." post, I'll be sharing a recipe for something that honestly terrified me when I first starting cooking for myself and my husband.  Pancakes!  Yes, I said pancakes!  Maybe they're not as scary to you, but for me, these little disks of batter were the bane of my existence.  My husband (then boyfriend) would always request pancakes for Saturday morning breakfast.  I would always make them with false confidence, not wanting to seem incompetent, and fail.  They would either burn to a crisp or come out dough and inedible.
     Well, the good news is, I have conquered the pancake!  I have actually already posted my Pumpkin Pancakes but this is the standard pancake batter that comes out perfectly every time!  Of course, you can add blueberries, chocolate chips, or really anything you like in a pancake.  Many times, I make the plain pancakes then top them with whipped cream and a variety of fruit.  So yummy!

Quick No Fail Pancakes
Ingredients:
margarine (for buttering the skillet)
cooking spray (for the skillet also)
2 cups plus 2 heaping tablespoons of all purpose flour
1/3 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 and 1/5 tablespoons baking powder
1 egg
1 and 3/4 cups of fat free milk
3 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Directions:
Make the batter first so that it can sit a minute before cooking.  In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients.  Whisk these together so that they are thoroughly combined.  You could also sift the dry together if you're worried.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk completely.  Some lumps are okay but you don't want huge balls of flour in the batter.  Let the batter sit while you prepare the cooking surface.  This will help everything come together for the perfect pancake.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  You don't want it to get too hot, then the pancakes with become burnt and crispy.  I use cooking spray and margarine just to ensure a clean flip.  I do spray about every two pancakes, but butter under each pancake.

After the skillet is hot and buttered, use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to dollop the batter in the center.  If you're using blueberries or chocolate chips, now is the time to sprinkle those on top.  When the edges of the batter begin to form bubbles, gently flip your pancake.  Allow a couple of minutes to cook on the other side.  Remove this pancake and begin the next with the same procedure.  If you have a griddle, you can do more than one at a time.  Enjoy!