2tablespoonsvegetable oil(plus more for cooking the pancakes)
Maple syrup(or softened butter or jam or jelly, for serving)
Instructions
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and vegetable oil until well blended. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir everything together with a spoon until just barely blended; there will still be a significant amount of little lumps in the batter, but this is fine. Overbeating will cause the pancakes to be tough.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add about 1 teaspoon of oil. Swirl the skillet to make sure the bottom is covered with the oil. Pour 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake, making sure they don't touch.
Cook for about 2 minutes, until you see bubbles forming on the top and the edges start to look cooked. Using a spatula, flip the pancakes, which should be golden underneath, and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes (you can peek to see if the underside is golden). Adjust the heat as necessary, and repeat adding additional oil as needed, until all of the batter is used.
Serve hot with maple, syrup, butter, or jam or jelly, or whatever toppings you like!
Notes
The reason you want to avoid overbeating your batter is because over-mixing activates the gluten in the flour, which means that the proteins get developed and make the batter tough. Also, stirring activates the leavening capacities of the baking powder, and you can squander those lifting properties by stirring those little bubbles to the surface instead of keeping them in the batter where they can do their work.Variations
Make as much as you need: This recipe makes about 12 pancakes, but doubles, even triples easily.
Thinner Pancakes: If you like thinner pancakes, add another 1/4 cup of milk to the batter.
Bigger Pancakes: Use 1/2 cup batter instead of 1/4 cup - you may need to spread it out a bit with the back of a spoon as the batter is thick. You can make them even bigger if you want! You will likely need to increase the cooking time by a minute or two on each side.
Silver Dollar Pancakes: Use 1 to 2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake. These should just take about 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Chocolate Chip Pancakes: For the whole batch, you'll need about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Simply sprinkle a generous tablespoon of chips over each pancake as the bottom cooks, then flip as directed to finish cooking. The cooking time should be the same.
Blueberry Pancakes: For the whole batch, you'll need about 1 cup of blueberries. Simply sprinkle about 10 blueberries over each pancake as the bottom cooks, then flip as directed to finish cooking. The cooking time should be the same.