They're not chocolate chips, but they're not bad: Pancakes

Generally speaking, I am decidedly against raisins in baked goods.  I love raisins.  They make a great snack on their own.  They're good on salads.  They're excellent in trail mix.  But they have no business, as far as I am concerned, in baking.  It just does nasty things to their texture.
But there are some exceptions.  Mostly, they involve alcohol.  No, I don't mean getting drunk enough that you don't care what went into the cookies.  I mean soaking the raisins in alcohol.  (Oh yeah, this is another bourbon blog.)  The only way I like to cook with raisins is when they have been partially re-hydrated in booze, because that not only changes their texture, but it gives them some lovely flavor.  I first grudgingly made this concession with a recipe for scones, which suggested using raisins soaked in orange liqueur.  It wasn't half bad.  So I've since tried a few more things.  This latest is pancakes!  Pancakes made an ideal guinea pig for bourbon-soaked raisin use.  Since pancakes can be cooked one at a time, I got to taste it right away and decide if I liked it, or if I was just going to have some "grown-up raisins" as a snack.  I liked it.

Bourbon-Raisin Pancakes
Skimpy 1/4 C Raisins
Hearty 1/4 C bourbon
1 C flour
1/2 C sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp oil
1 egg
1 C milk
1 tsp vanilla extract



Combine the flour, sugar and baking powder, then add the oil, egg, milk, and vanilla.  It might be worth noting that I never measure the vanilla in this recipe.  I just splash it in.  Give everything a good mixing, making sure you don't have too many clumps lodged on the bottom of you bowl.  It doesn't need to be smooth as silk, but biting into a baking powder blob is not tasty.  Trust me.  Also, if you prefer a fluffier pancake, measure a little heavier on the baking powder.  Add a little extra milk for a thinner cake.

Now, if you just wanted regular pancakes, go ahead and skip this paragraph.  But if not, this is the part where you add the raisins.  I went ahead and dumped everything in, including the excess bourbon.  Alternately, you may want to wait and sprinkle them on after pouring the pancake, because the raisins don't spread with the batter.  In this case, you could drain the excess bourbon into the batter if you wanted (it just gives a hint of flavor, like the vanilla does).

Start warming up your pan (or griddle) over medium heat.  You'll also want to grease it.  Here's where I get in disagreements.  I prefer to have a minimally-greased cooking surface, so I pour maybe 1 Tbsp of oil, then use a paper towel to wipe up the excess.  I then give the cooking surface a quick rub with the oily paper towel between pancakes.  I do this to avoid a splotchy appearance-- my pancakes come out a uniform, matte brown.  If you have excess oil, you wind up with rings or splotches that are lighter than the rest of the pancake (see photo at left).  I know people who prefer their pancakes to look like this.  I don't really mind (they taste great either way!), but I try to avoid it nonetheless. 

If you have a mixing bowl with a spout, you can pour directly into the pan.  I don't have one right now. So I either use a ladle or a measuring cup.  For smaller pancakes, I usually use the 1/2 C measure, because it's already dirty.  For larger ones, I get out the ladle (those things have surprising capacity).  Pour your pancake, and take a few deep breaths, because now you have to wait a bit.  I have gotten in the habit of making sure I have something else to do, because I hate waiting for food to cook.  Growing up, my mom always told me to look at the bubbles.  When the pancake starts looking spongey (see photo, right), it's probably ready to flip.  Check by lifting an edge.  If it's golden-brown or brownish, you're in great shape.  Flip it!  If it is burnt, you're checking too late or cooking on too-high heat.  If your batter is thick, you're more likely to have problems with burning, because that center will take a long time to cook.  (Experience:  I love a fluffy pancake, so I added extra flour once.  I had to cook those cakes at a low temperature so that the center wasn't raw, and it took about 2 hours to finish all the cakes.  WAY too long!)

After flipping, it doesn't take long for the pancake to be finished.  When the edges look set, peek underneath.  If it is dry and brownish, you've got a finished pancake.  Pull it off, and if you're using the minimal greasing technique, swab the pan with some fresh oil (if you had excess oil, you don't need to re-grease every time) and pour the next one.

A couple more great things about this recipe: it freezes well.  Whenever I make pancakes for myself, I end up freezing most of them, because this recipe makes enough to feed a family (assuming they're not ravenous).  I also frequently find myself making double or triple batches-- this recipe multiplies well.