Me + Pancakes ≠ Awesome

My buddy Mike came over for breakfast this morning, and I decided to try my hand at pancakes. I remember on special Sunday mornings (special to me, anyway), I'd wake up to the delicious smell of sweet, griddled justice. However, no justice was to be had today. What should have been golden-brown toned childhood memories ended up worse than the Boston Bread Riot of 1713.


 

Fig 1: normal, syrupy goodness

Fig. 2: normal, syrupOH DEAR GOD WHAT IS THAT THING

Here is the recipe from AllRecipes.Com:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot. 

This is a straight-forward recipe. No frills, no messing around, just...pancakes.

However...

Due to it being 7am and me not having coffee, I confused a tablespoon with a teaspoon of sugar. Bland pancakes? Not a big deal! Still, I think things began to head south when I substituted the remaining sugar with some scoops of vanilla yogurt. It made sense; the yogurt has sugar, and I'm pretty sure The Joy of Cooking has a recipe that calls for vanilla extract.

I mixed everything together, fired up the pan, and tossed some butter in. Pancakes: Go! Five minutes later, Mike and I are chewing on a breakfast abberation that's crispy black on the outside, pale and doughy batter-y on the inside.

Mike's a good friend, the kind of friend that'll tell you those pancakes are okay, even though you both know you just should have stuck with toast instead. One day, I'll make him some awesome pancakes. One day...

Fig 3: if only Williams-Sonoma made some for Mario...