Great, Great, Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose bleached flour
• 2 tsps. sugar
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Vegetable oil for brushing the griddle

Directions

1. Warm a large non-stick skillet or griddle on low while you put the batter together. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda; if your butter is salted, use 1/4 tsp. salt instead.
2. Pour the buttermilk and milk into a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup and microwave until they lose their chill, 20 to 30 seconds. Whisk the egg, melted butter and vanilla into the warmed dairy.
3. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture, then whisk just until the batter comes together. Transfer the batter back into the measuring cup. If it is too thick to pour, stir in a teaspoon or so of water until it is still thick but pourable.
4. Turn the heat up to medium and coat the skillet or griddle generously with vegetable oil. Once the oil begins to spread in little legs across the surface, but is not smoking, pour on the batter in about 1/4 cup portions. Cook in batches if the pan is getting crowded. When the undersides are golden brown and bubbles appear on top, 2 to 3 minutes, turn the pancakes over and cook the other side until golden brown. Continue with the remaining batter, oiling the skillet or griddle again as needed. Serve hot.
5. For Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes, make the basic pancake batter, adding 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest and 1 tsp. poppy seeds to the dry mixture.
6. For Orange Cardamom Pancakes, prepare the standard batter, mixing 1 tsp. finely grated orange zest and 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom into the dry mixture.
7. For Gingerbread Pancakes, use the basic method, but replace the sugar with 4 tsps. molasses and add it with the wet mixture. Into the dry mixture, blend the spice trio: ground cinnamon at 1/2 tsp., ground ginger at 1 1/2 tsps., plus ground cloves at 1/8 tsp.
8. For Chocolate Chip Pancakes, make the basic recipe and scatter 1 Tb. miniature chocolate chips onto the uncooked top of each pancake while it cooks.
9. For Ginger Pancakes, prepare the basic recipe, stirring 1 tsp. ginger into the dry mixture. As the pancakes cook, sprinkle 1 Tb. finely chopped crystallized ginger over the uncooked side of each one, using about 1/2 cup total.
10. For Almond Pancakes, make the basic recipe with 1 tsp. almond extract in place of the vanilla extract.
11. For Corn Pancakes, prepare the basic recipe with the flour reduced to 3/4 cup, and add 1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal to the dry mixture. While the pancakes cook, scatter 2 Tbs. frozen corn over the uncooked side of each one, using about 1 cup total.