makes: 18 pancakes
baking pan: one large skillet or griddle
temperature: 350° (medium heat)

My son and I whipped up these pancakes this morning. My wife is the pancake goddess, but I finally scored today. Admittedly, we stole the secret ingredient from my mother-in-, but the made-from-scratch factor scores pretty good points. And the results are so tender they literally melt in your mouth.

But watch out! Just because they're so easy on the mouth doesn't mean they're not filling you up.

pancake tips

As I said, my wife is the cat's meow when it comes to pancakes. She learned from her mother and her mother's mother, but I'm catching up. Here are a few tricks I've gathered to get back in the game:

• Not too stiff! After you mix all your ingredients, you should have a fairly thin batter. If it's too thick, add a bit more milk so you don't end up with thick pancakes. Thick batter has to to cook longer (not as light), and everybody makes fun of you.
• Easy on the mixing. As with any baking soda breads, over-mixing is a bad idea. Flour contains a protien called gluten, which gets stickier and stickier the more it's handled. With soda breads, over-mixing tightens the gluten so the soda cannot make the bread rise. That said, stir the ingredients just enough to mix the dry stuff with the liquids.
• The secret ingredient. Kudos to my mother-in-law! Club soda makes super-light pancakes—way better than milk. (Shhh! It's an old family secret.)
• Pure Vermont maple syrup kicks Aunt Jemima's butt. Your best bet is to make good pancakes. But if the competition is close, real syrup from real trees can put you over the edge. Apologies to all the Jemimas out there.

ingredients

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon of butter, softened
1 10 oz. bottle of club soda
1/4 cup milk
a bit more butter
(optional) fresh blueberries, chopped pecans, or chocolate chips

preparation

In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder). Cut in the shortening and butter with a pastry blender, your fingers, or 2 knives.

Pour in all the club soda and mix it all up just enough to blend the liquids and solids. Don't get too concerned about lumps--they aren't going to cause trouble down the road. If the batter is too thick, add a little milk and blend it in.

If you're adding goodies like blueberries, dump them in now and stir once or twice to mix them in.

baking

Before each batch, melt a small pat of butter on the cooking surface. Just a little will do. Use your spatula to spread it around so that it covers the entire griddle.

Using a measuring cup, scoop out 1/4 cup batter and pour onto the cooking surface. The batter spreads out to a circle 5 or 6 inches wide. Don't get too concerned if they touch a little on the edges--they won't stick together when you flip them.

Each pancake is ready to flip after about 90 seconds. You can tell it's time when bubbles form on the top and the edges appear a bit dry.

serving

It is possible to keep pancakes warm in a cool oven (around 200°), but they are much better straight from the griddle. If you want everybody to owe you one, get breakfast started right away and join the meal when the last batch comes off the griddle.