Griddlecakes or Pancakes

Adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Twelfth Edition, edited by Marion Cunningham (Alfred A. Knopf, 1979)

The Twelfth Edition of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, edited by Marion Cunningham, is my favorite all-purpose cookbook. She did go on to edit a Thirteenth Edition, but by that time she had given up hope on Americans turning to metric measurements and eliminated them, so I continue to use the Twelfth Edition.

Makes about 12 to 16 pancakes

1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
140 g all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
A splash of club soda or seltzer
Vegetable oil, for greasing the griddle

Beat the egg in a small bowl. Melt the butter and add it to the egg, mixing quickly so the heat of the butter does not begin to cook the egg.

In a medium bowl, combine the milk with the egg and butter mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the milk mixture all at once and stir gently until just combined; a few lumps are fine. Add a small splash of club soda or seltzer and stir briefly.

Heat a griddle or frying pan over moderate heat and grease lightly with vegetable oil. When the surface is hot, ladle the batter onto the griddle (about 3 tablespoons per pancake).

Cook until bubbles form on the surface and the undersides are lightly browned. Turn and cook the other side until golden.

Serve hot.

Note: I use a 1½-ounce ladle (about 3 tablespoons) for each pancake.