It is so easy to make pancakes from scratch! All you do is mix and cook. In this recipe, the rich flavor of the buttermilk is perfectly balanced by whatever sweet thing you choose to drizzle on top.

Of course maple syrup is the perfect thing to have with pancakes, but you may want to try a fruit sauce too. I made two over the weekend, just to try them, and was surprised by how good they tasted with the pancakes. If you try them, make them before you start mixing the pancake batter — you can even make them the night before.

Special thanks to my husband, mom, and toddler who tested this recipe with me for a weekend pancake brunch. We ate so many of these that we barely needed dinner that night.

One note: If you want everyone to eat pancakes together at the table instead of eating as you make them, plan on an hour between the time you start mixing and the time you sit down to eat. Keep the pancakes warm in the oven in the meantime.

Serves 5-6

2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
2 eggs, separated
1 cup milk
1 ½ cups buttermilk
4 Tbsp. butter (half a stick)

Preheat oven to 170F/76C degrees. Put a cookie sheet in the oven while it heats. Preheat a large non-stick skillet to medium heat.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, stir together the egg whites, milk, and buttermilk. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a small pot over low heat, then remove from heat and add the egg yolks, mixing quickly and thoroughly. Stir the yolk mixture into the milk mixture. Pour this into the dry ingredients and whisk until just blended and still lumpy. Do not overmix or the pancakes will be tough.

Using a ladle, pour a scant ¼ cup of batter for each pancake onto the non-stick skillet. Cook about 2 minutes per side until golden brown, turning to cook the second side when the pancakes have a bubbly surface and the edges look dry.

Keep pancakes warm in the oven until ready to serve.

(This is another recipe I cut from the newspaper, maybe in 1997 or -98 or so. It was adapted from “A Cozy Book of Breakfasts and Brunches” by Jim Brown and Karletta Moniz.)