Day 262 - Gossamer Griddle Cakes

For my eighteenth birthday, realizing I had a penchant for cooking and baking, my best friend gave me my first cookbook. It is filled with all-American type dishes for every meal of the day. I found a 'griddle cake' recipe (pancake) and gave it a try; the were scratch and I never thought I would really make the time to prepare these over using a boxed mix. It's the only way I'll serve pancakes now. They were Christmas breakfast : )

This is the quantity produced by a double batch.

Gossamer Griddle Cakes 

(from 365 All-American Favorites by Sarah Reynolds)

Makes 8 fluffy griddle cakes

• 1.5 cups All Purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• .5 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs separated
• 1.25 cups milk
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted

1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a medium bowl.
2. In a small bowl, beat egg yolks and milk together with a fork to combine. In another bowl, whisk egg whites with a hand mixer until they are stiff but not dry.
3. Stir the milk and yolk mixture into the dry ingredients until just moistened, the batter will still have lumps. Stir in the melted butter. Gently fold in the whipped egg whites. (The batter will still be lumpy, this is ok, you don't want to overwork the flour--it will become tough)
4. Coat a griddle with non-stick spray or a very light film of butter and heat to medium. Once a drop of water sizzles on the surface of the griddle, you are ready to pour your batter. I use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to pour even amounts each time. Cook until the edges are dry, the bubbles have formed little holes in the top of cake, and the bottoms have become gold brown, then flip. About 3 minutes per side.
5. Cover with your favorite pancake topping and enjoy!

I love this recipe! They are thick and fluffy and have unbeatable flavor! No other pancake is ever served out of my kitchen, and I get requests for (extended) family breakfasts based on these.

This recipe, portioned into 8 servings (the 1/3 cup each pour) is 4 points per griddle cake for Weight Watcher's. This does not include any toppings you may want to add... and who doesn't want some blueberry compote on these?!?

Serve 'em hot, butter them right away and they just melt in your mouth...  *drool*