Whole wheat pancakes (chocolate chips optional)

So maybe this isn't the healthiest recipe, but it is healthier than pancakes out of a box!  It is also a fun recipe to make with my two year old.  I measure the dry ingredients, then she loves tipping the measuring cups into the bowl and mixing it all up. 


First, put 1.5 tablespoons vinegar in a measuring cup.  Then add enough milk to reach the 1.5 cup line.  Set this aside for later.  This is an easy substitution for buttermilk.  If you have buttermilk, just use 1.5 cups (later on in the recipe).

Mix together in a medium bowl:
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (I prefer white hard wheat, freshly ground)
2 tablespoons Sucanat (evaporated cane juice) or sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a smaller bowl:
Beat one egg, slightly
Add in your milk/vinegar or buttermilk
Add 3 teaspoons vegetable oil

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until  moistened.  You DON'T want to get rid of all the lumps.  Lumps=Fluffy pancakes.

Heat your griddle to 350 F.  You'll know it is ready when you sprinkle water and it sizzles away immediately.  (That is a tip passed down from my mom and Grandma).  :)

You can put a little butter on the griddle, then pour your batter. 

Make your pancakes as big or small as you like. 

This is where you put some semisweet chocolate chips onto the cooking pancakes if you like.

 

As they cook, small bubbles come to the surface of the batter and pop.  This process starts on the edges, then progresses to the center.  Once the center is all bubbly, they are ready to flip.


Mmmmm, golden brown. 

They are finished when the edges are dry.

Once they are finished you can either eat as is (which is what we do when we add chocolate) or spread some butter and maple syrup (the real stuff) on top.

Fluffy!

Compare to pancakes from a boxed mix:
ENRICHED BLEACHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), SUGAR, DEXTROSE, BAKING POWDER (BAKING SODA, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM ALUMINUM PHOSPHATE), BUTTERMILK, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: SALT, POTASSIUM BICARBONATE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, EGGS, CORN STARCH, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, COLORED WITH YELLOW 5 AND RED 40, IRON, NIACIN, VITAMIN B6, RIBOFLAVIN, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, FOLIC ACID, VITAMIN B12.