Home Made Pancakes vs Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix

I don't eat pancakes often, because of how fattening they are – not because of the time it takes. A friend of mine really loves pancakes, so occasionally I'll invite him over late on a Sunday morning for a batch of home made pancakes.

You can whip up a batch of pancakes in about 15 minutes from start to finish. Pancakes are a nice treat once a month, if you're having company or as part of a brunch, they're so easy to make. They're versatile too – you can add fresh apple & cinnamon, pecans, walnuts or blueberries to the recipe or top them with sliced strawberries or sliced peaches.

Please do me a favor if you make these pancakes for yourself - please, do not use artificially flavored syrup. If you're trying to be healthier, top these pancakes with real maple syrup, honey or a little butter & sugar...

Here's my recipe for pancakes:
1 ¼ c flour (white, whole wheat or a combination, I usually use 1 c white and ¼ c whole wheat)
2 Tbl sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt (optional)
1 ¼ c milk
1 egg

Into a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl whisk together the milk and egg. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until slightly lumpy.

Lightly oil a griddle or frying pan (I like to use an iron skillet), put over medium/medium low heat. Pour about ¼ c batter into the pan. Cook until the tops are covered with bubbles and the edges look dry. Turn and cook until the bottoms are golden brown. Serve hot, makes about 14 pancakes.
If I add fruit to the recipe I usually add about ½ – ¾ of a cup, and/or about ¼ – ½ cup of nuts. If I add cinnamon, I only add about ¼ tsp. Really, when you add fruit, nuts or spices – make it the way you like it. That's what's so nice about making your own food from scratch, you're in control and you can make it the way you like it.

You can also use the same recipe for waffles, just increase milk to 1 1/3 c and add ¼ c oil. Add batter to a preheated waffle iron and follow manufacturers directions.

Comparison:
Price per batch: .67 cents for home made
Price per batch: $1.10 for Aunt Jemima

Ingredients for home made: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk and egg

Ingredients for Aunt Jemima: flour, sugar, baking powder, dextrose, partially hydrogenated soybean oil with mono and diglycerides, nonfat dry milk, salt, dried whole eggs, calcium cabonate, corn syrup solids, defatted soy flour, soy lecithin, corn starch, sodium caseinate, cultured whey, soybean oil, carrageenan, wheat gluten, guar gum and natural flavor.

Time to prepare – cooking time is the same:

Mixing ingredients for home made: About 5 minutes
Adding water to Aunt Jemima: About 1 minute

So, it takes about 4 more minutes to make from scratch. You save about .43 cents and you're not eating partially hydrogenated soy bean oil, corn syrup solids, defatted soy flour, soybean oil or guar gum, among other things.... It doesn't make this a healthy breakfast, but it does make it healthier.

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