Welcome back, hungry college students, to the new quarter — and a third consecutive quarter of dorm food. Who’s excited?! Me neither, but that’s what I’m here for! My name is Ben and I am majoring in nothing to do with writing or cooking, but I will be posting simple, weekly recipes that aren’t too strenuous for the lazy or overcommitted college student. With a quick trip to Whole Foods Market or Jewel-Osco and a few pots and pans, it’s easy to make delicious meals in your dorm or apartment. This week, I took over the kitchen in Allison Hall to make this staple of my childhood: buttermilk pancakes.

Last quarter’s salmon, quinoa wrap and chimichanga recipes were all yummy, but typically not something I would ever eat for breakfast. This pancake recipe is something I’ve been making since I was a wee lad, and is perfect for breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, supper and also make great snacks if you get hungry between meals.

One of the best things about these pancakes is that you can add anything to them. Nutella, fresh fruit, Nutella, spices or essentially anything else will make a tasty addition to the batter, to one side of the pancakes while they’re cooking or just to top off a finished stack of pancakes. Some family favorites include semi-sweet chocolate chips, blueberries, bananas, cinnamon and whipped cream.

A final note: This recipe scales well, meaning one batch will serve 2, two will serve 3-4, three will serve 4-6 and so on.

Serves 2 | Hands-on time: 10 minutes | Total time: 30 minutes | Source: Betty Crocker

Ingredients:

• 1 egg (substitute 2 egg whites for low cholesterol)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 pinch of salt (totally optional, I never add more even when I scale up the recipe)
• 2 teaspoons butter to season the pan (prevent the pancakes from sticking)

Directions: 

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract.
2. Add flour, sugar and salt and whisk until smooth.
3. Put frying pan on the stove on medium heat and add butter, spreading it across the pan.
4. Add the baking powder and soda and whisk just until smooth. Whisking too much will make your pancakes flat, and unblended pockets of baking powder or soda taste absolutely horrible.
5. Pour 1/3 cup of the batter for each pancake, and make as many as will fit in your pan.
6. This is typically where I will add chocolate chips or blueberries.
7. Flip the pancakes with a spatula (or without a spatula if you’re a badass) when the bottom of the pancake is golden brown to brown.
8. The pancakes are done when both sides are golden brown to brown.

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