Pancake Traditions

My family doesn't have a lot of "traditions," but one of us kids' favorite things growing up was having Daddy make us pancakes on Saturday. Sometimes much to his digress, since this usually began way earlier in the morning than he wanted and started with 3 children jumping on him in bed, with permission from Mommy. Poor guy, I kind of feel bad for him that I did that, now having a dog that refuses to sleep past 7. Anyways. As many of you know, I'm rather a purist with baking. Or I try to be, anyway. I do not make anything from a box. Boxed brownie and cupcakes mixes to not ever enter my house. Now, pancake mix will occasionally make an appearance, but I DO NOT MAKE PANCAKES WITH THEM. I usually use them for recipes that call for a bake mix and I don't have time to try and figure out how to go about making that substitute (read: I probably worked that day and am pretty tired and stressed and have a hyper dog to entertain and a hungry husband to feed). For those of you who don't know, you can make pancakes without a box mix (I have been asked this question before, not kidding, but usually by a male). We grew up with buttermilk pancakes, the same recipe every week, but hey, it's the one thing my dad can make and not burn, so we certainly enjoyed it (and I think he did, too). But I have gotten older, sophisticated my palette a little bit, and while that buttermilk pancake recipe will always be in my arsenal for use, I have begun branching out to try other pancake recipes. This is the one part of my life where I'm learning change is ok every once in awhile. I thought I had a favorite pancake recipe. Until I came across this recipe this morning while I was reading my new cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks. It's a recipe for sour cream pancakes and they are delicious, I always have everything on hand for them, and they're seriously quick to make! They honestly take no longer than a box mix. SCORE! So so so yummy. Light, fluffy, and best part, NO BUTTER! So they're not THAT bad for you. :) Try these pancakes, you'll never go back to boxed pancakes again. Honestly. These might even have beaten out the old family favorite recipe. (And this recipe doesn't make that many, so it's perfect for just two people). All copyright goes to Ree Drummond, from The Pioneer Woman Cooks (read her cookbook, it's awesome). Ingredients: 1 cup sour cream 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 large eggs 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Place the sour cream in a bowl. Dump in the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix gently. Stop before the ingredients are completely combined, this adds texture. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, add the vanilla. Stir together the sour cream and egg mixture. It's ok if not everything is combined. Melt some butter (or just use cooking spray) on a skillet, and cook! Voila, yummy pancakes that are not from a box and super easy and delicious!