Papa's Pancakes

Papa’s Pancakes
Dorcas Annette Walker

My husband seldom cooks. He has no need as I’m always in the kitchen and he prefers to eat the food instead of bothering to prepare it. Also Dana wasn’t raised where fellows cooked. His mother didn’t bake or prepare special meals as he grew up. So Dana always appeared at our house around mealtime when we were dating. One Saturday morning after we were married and had kids, Dana asked for pancakes. For some reason I wasn’t in the mood for making pancakes. Anyone who works in the kitchen on a regular basis knows the feeling of every once in awhile not feeling like making a certain meal. Now before you start sending my husband sympathy cards let me state in my defense that normally whatever my dear husband asked for culinary wise he got. It was quite a shock to my poor husband when I tried to change his mind and tempt his taste buds with something else. The more I endeavored to change Dana’s mind the more determined he became to eat pancakes. He finally gave me the “look” that all you married folk know what I’m talking about and declared if I wouldn’t make him pancakes he’d make them himself. Instead of backing down like usual and scurrying to the kitchen to make what my dear husband desired, I got a brainstorm. I told Dana that I thought that it would be a wonderful idea for him to make pancakes even though he didn’t know the first thing about cooking.

Shock waves vibrated throughout our house as Dana banged among the pots and pans to find a skillet, hollering for help as he tried to locate the flour, and then a recipe for pancakes. Our youngsters woke up and came running to the kitchen all excited to see their Dad actually trying to cook. Dawn and Dwight asked numerous questions giggling as they perched on stools eyeing their dad’s every move. Our normal Saturday morning turned into a festive occasion as Dana mastered the knack of flipping and frying pancakes. The pancake experience turned into a resounding success and my husband was hooked. From then on every so often our kids would beg for Papa’s Pancakes. Dana would give a big grin, order me out of the kitchen, and announce that he was going to make up another batch of pancakes.

Papa’s Pancakes is an ideal recipe to use as a bonding experience for father and kids. Papa’s Pancakes can be served topped with a favorite fruit pie filling and whipped cream for a hearty meal or add fresh diced fruit right in the batter (my recipe for Apple Fritters is located on my Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog found on my website page). The next time Dana whips up some of his pancakes he plans on adding raisins to the batter. You can also make smiley faces and animal shapes by pouring the batter in different patterns on a hot skillet. Here is Dana’s Papa’s Pancake recipe that makes eight, 6-inch pancakes.

Papa's Pancakes

Melt 1 tb shortening in a skillet on medium heat.

Place in a medium bowl:
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 c milk

Whip with a Wisk and then add:
2 c self-rising flour
3 shakes of cinnamon
Mix well and add melted shortening to the batter. Melt a couple more tb of shortening and pour a dipperful of batter in the hot skillet. Wait three minutes until the bubbles quit coming up and the top looks like a moon full of craters then flip over. Fry for two more minutes and then place on a plate and serve hot with butter, syrup, or fruit!

Weekly tip: Always use medium heat to fry pancakes as a higher heat will burn or cook the pancakes faster, but the pancakes won’t be done in the middle!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com