Warm Pancakes For A Cold Day.

I simply adore pancakes, they really are one of my favorite foods. I especially love pancakes when they are slightly crispy on the edges and still a little undone in the center - a technique I have yet to master. It's a technique my Grandpa had down pat and is generally served in the best greasy spoon diners. Even though I haven't mastered this technique yet, these pancakes still delivered a hearty and delicious breakfast. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combination would also work wonderfully in this recipe.

Blueberry Pancakes with Maple-Orange Syrup

1 egg

1 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. milk

1 Tbs. sugar

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (thawed and well-drained)

Margarine, butter or shortening to grease griddle

1. Make maple-orange syrup (below).

2. Beat the egg in a medium bowl with a fork or wire whisk until yolk and white are well mixed. Beat in the flour, milk, sugar, oil, baking powder and salt just until smooth. Gently stir in the blueberries.

3. Heat the griddle to 375 or heat the skillet over medium heat. To test the heat, sprinkle the griddle with a few drops of water. If the bubbles jump around, heat is just right. If the griddle or skillet is non-stick you can cook the pancakes without any margarine. Otherwise, melt 1-2 teaspoons of margarine each time, before pouring the pancake batter onto the hot griddle.

4. For each pancake, pour a little less than 1/4 cup batter from a measuring cup or pitcher onto the hot griddle. Cook 2-4 minutes or until edge of pancake is golden brown and slightly dry and bubbles begin to appear on the surface. Run a turner under edge of pancake, and flip pancake over. Cook other side of pancake about 2 minutes or until golden brown. Repeat with remaining batter.

5. Serve pancakes immediately, or keep warm by placing pancakes in a single layer on a wire rack in a 200 degree oven for up to 15 minutes. Serve pancakes with syrup.

Maple-Orange Syrup

1 c. maple-flavored syrup

3 Tbs. orange juice

3 Tbs. margarine or butter

1. Heat the maple syrup, orange juice and margarine in the saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until warm.

Yield: 4 servings (two 4-inch pancakes each)

Recipe obtained from: Betty Crocker's Entertaining Basics

Nutritional Information: Calories 580 (calories from fat 180), fat 20 g. (saturated 5 g.), cholesterol 60 mg., sodium 780 mg., carbohydrate 94 g., fiber 1 g., protein 7 g.

What I did: Using a little less than 1/4 cup of the batter this recipe made 11 pancakes. Next time I would half the syrup recipe, it made a lot.