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Thursday, April 17, 2014

red velvet, sandra lee-style

like her mother, the bean is a big fan of red velvet everything. so when i suggested whipping up a batch of red velvet pancakes for breakfast last weekend, she was an enthusiastic sous chef.


when she was all done mixing up the batter, she stood on the stepstool to watch as i poured and flipped pancakes. they look pretty good, yeah?


as much as i enjoy cooking from scratch, these are way too easy to whip up using pancake mix as a base. they turn out perfectly every time, and i can bust them out in no time flat. wanna make some of your own? here's what you need:

1 1/2 cups buttermilk pancake mix. make sure it's the "just add water" kind. 
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
red food coloring

note: if you have a picky ass kid who refuses to eat veggies, you can add some puréed carrots, or squash, or sweet potato. you could even throw in some applesauce if you want, but just a little or it changes the flavor completely. also, i like to throw in 2-3 tablespoons flaxseed meal for shits and giggles. 

mix everything together, adding water until you get the right consistency for pancakes. as long as you've made some sort of pancake batter before, you should be able to eyeball it. and if it ends up too thin, just add a little more pancake mix until it's just right. 

oh! i also like to toss in a handful of mini chocolate chips, just for fun. and my sous chef loves to sneak a few into her mouth as she mixes them in. 

get your nonstick pan or griddle nice and hot. i usually melt a little butter in there to sort of "prime" the pan for the first pancake. and then you can take it from here, yes? cook each pancake until it bubbles and the edges are somewhat cooked through before flipping to finish it off. 

since the chocolate chips add a good bit of sweetness, i don't serve these with syrup. instead, i dust the top of the stack with a little powdered sugar. 



so there. now you know my secret shame. but i'm telling you..."just add water" pancake mix is where it's at. go get you some, pronto. 

1 comment:

  1. Yum! Now did you get my email re salt water taffy here for you?

    ReplyDelete

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