Secret Ingredient Pancakes

I am going to give you all a special treat at the end of this post, but for those of us who are on the fly in the mornings, I'm going to share my Secret Ingredient Pancake recipe.  By adding just two simple, secret ingredients to any pancake mix, your family will be raving about your "homemade pancakes" to all their friends.  Promise!

 Oh. My Stars!  If you all think that the end of harvest signals official down time for farmers, then you need to get to know a farmer better.  We have been going non-stop it seems since the last kernel of corn and soybean went into the bins.  Fall ground work, cleaning up equipment, putting said equipment away in "ready-to-go" condition, working on books and numbers to see just how much grain we have to market, adding a few more calves to our herd of feeders cows, checking on the pregnant mommas out in the pasture, getting two calves and two kids ready for Hoosier Beef Congress in three week (gasping for air!), and then there are the girls, basketball practice fall musical, AND I am leaving tomorrow for three days in Indy for the Indiana Farm Bureau State Convention! Whew~!  Oh!  Did I mention Bear has a birthday on Monday that I am going to miss? Tink's falls on the 30th, and we just celebrated my great-nephew's Big FOUR year old birthday earlier today!  Fun times at the Wallpe Farm!

That part about me leaving for three days had me busy in the kitchen this morning making everyone pancakes and bacon, enough to last them a few more breakfasts while I'm gone.  Cereal is ok for breakfast, but as the mornings get colder, I like for everyone to have a hot breakfast option.

A bit further in the post I am going to share with you my mom's delicious homemade pancake recipe. I love them, my best friend from school can only make these for her crew, or they protest.  They are that good.  BUT........ Sometimes a mom just has to grab the mix off the shelf and get down to business.  We used to be Bisquick mix pancake eaters until I felt the pull of an old familiar face from the mix shelves.  Aunt Jemima called my name, and she is back on my shelf to stay.

To make pancakes with this lovely lady taste like you whipped it all up from scratch, all you have to do is add my two secret ingredients

Ta Da!!!!

It is that easy!  Just follow the directions on the box, and once you have mixed the egg, oil, and mix together, add a bit of Watkin's Double Strength Vanilla and Pure Almond Extract.  I know some of you out there are waiting with baited breath for me to tell exactly how much to add of each, but honestly I just pour in a small bit, taste, and add more if needed.

Results?  My girls say it's like eating toasty angel food cake!

Here are the other ingredients I use, minus the eggs and oil.

I use Fairlife whole milk because it makes Tink's tummy feel better, and the Nestle mini chocolate chips also go in her pancakes because......well because she loves them, and that's what mommas do for their favorite oldest daughters.

What to know another secret?  When I add the mini chips to her pancakes, I spread a bit more batter over them so when I flip them, the chips don't burn from the hot skillet.

Now, if you have the time, and you want to make heavenly pancakes from scratch, here is my mom's To. Die. For. Pancake. Recipe.  

And...Don't forget to add those two secret ingredients to make them even better!  

ENJOY!

Printable Recipe

Becky Lyons' Griddle Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1/4 Cups flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Cup milk

Cooking Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together, and beat with a mixer until smooth.
2. Pour into a hot griddle, and flip when edges look firm and bubbles form through the pancake. Check the second side, and remove when golden brown.
3. Makes 10 small or 5 large pancakes.

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