Abby Lab's Weekend Eats - Banana Bread Pancakes

Cooking for me is always an adventure.  I regularly get ideas for recipes by surfing the web, cookbooks, or other blogs.  But I never leave well enough alone and end up with part of a recipe that gets taken in a different direction, or at least tweaked.  With rare exception (the time I forgot self- rising flour in making a new pancake recipe and ended up with what resembled paper plates and the day I made the Amoebasaurus Dinosaur pancakes) the results are fun and tasty. And though we limit her grains to one treat a week as she is sensitive (i.e. you will have to sit upwind for at least 24 hours after giving her a pancake) Abby Lab LOVES pancake days, as did Angel Barkley (pictured here with his trademark orange collar).

Here's the latest adventure.  It tasted just like banana bread, but with a soft, fluffy pancake texture. A hint of cinnamon and nutmeg, paired with vanilla infused syrup was the perfect topping. My husband ate a HUGE stack and gave them two thumbs up between bites. The recipe serves 2-3, and would easily double

Indiana Jones:  Marion, don't look at it. Shut your eyes, Marion. 

Don't look at it, no matter what happens!

In a small bowl combine:
3/4 cup milk at room temperature (I nuked mine for 20 seconds)
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
set aside

In a larger bowl (big enough for the final batter) combine
1 cup flour
3  generous Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Penzey's Vietnamese Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt.

In a third (and final) small bowl.
Mash 1 and 1/2 large or 2 small very ripe bananas (skin turning black)
whisk in one extra large or jumbo egg until smooth and fluffy
Continue to whisk in:
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 Tablespoons melted butter (add slowly in a stream while whisking).

Stir banana mixture into milk mixture and blend.
Add to flour mixture and stir JUST until combined

Cook by 1/4 cup measures on an oiled griddle.

Tips:  The batter is a bit stickier than your normal pancake batter so make sure your cast iron griddle is well oiled, adding a little extra oil  between batches if it looks dry

The pancakes may not bubble up quite as much as you're used to, check the bottoms and the temp to avoid burning.

Serve with:
butter and 1/2 cup maple syrup warmed with 1 teaspoon vanilla added in