Pancakes? For Breakfast????

I'm a waffle girl. With waffles, both sides cook at the same time and the little light on the machine turns a happy green when the waffles are nice and brown. My waffle iron even makes a little clicking noise when it changes from red to green. It's brainless, which is my kind of cooking.

On the other hand, pancakes you gotta pay attention to. I in the almost 8 years Mrblocko and I have been married, I've only ever made pancakes once, and it was for dinner, not breakfast. They were less than scrumptious. OK, they were gross and I refused to eat them. I'm pretty sure they went into the garbage and we went out to dinner instead. We did that a lot back then, before I could cook.

I've had the baking/cooking bug lately, but I've been fighting this cold and just haven't had the energy for much of anything past breakfast. So I had an idea last night to make something for breakfast other than the usual cold cereal. Mrblocko said he didn't have to be into work until late and offered to take Blockette to Bible school in the morning. How perfect was that! We wouldn't be rushed to eat and I would have more time since I wouldn't have to get myself ready along with Blockette.

I didn't want to make waffles since I still had leftovers in the freezer from when Mrsthunder was over last week. Reheating leftovers wasn't going to do anything to sate my cooking bug. I decided that more than enough time had passed since I had made pancakes and my kitchen skills had greatly improved since then.

Last time I made pancakes, I used a box mix. I don't know if that was part of the problem. 9 times out of 10 when I make waffles I use a mix and they turn out fine. Just in case the mix was the culprit, I decided to make the pancakes from scratch. I thought the Chai Spiced Buttermilk Pancakes from Amelie Eats sounded particularly delicious. I even had the Fireside Chai from Zhena's Gypsy Tea the blogger suggests. (This is the best caffeine free chai I've ever had, plus it comes in a way cool tin.)
I was extremely proud that the pancakes were neither raw nor burnt! Mrblocko and Blockette loved them. Blockette even had seconds. She NEVER asks for seconds. Ever. Mrblocko made a comment that she could have a peanut butter and jelly pancake sandwich for lunch and Blockette's eyes got so huge I thought they were gonna pop right out of her head. She's a pretty dramatic girl and I don't think I've ever seen her that jubilant about anything, let alone food.

It took me some getting used to the chai spices, but once my palate became acclimated to the unexpected, I thought they were pretty good. If I had been thinking, I would have topped them with honey instead of the traditional maple syrup. The honey would have been more complimentary to the chai flavors.

I still like waffles better. There is something about the slight crunch of a waffle's exterior that I miss while eating a pancake. While I was eating breakfast, I couldn't help thinking how this batter would fare in the waffle iron. The next time I get the breakfast baking bug up my butt I just might give it a whirl.

Chai Spiced Pancakes from Amelie Eats
2 eggs
2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
healthy pinch of ground cloves
scant 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns (or a dash of freshly ground black pepper)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or 1.5 tbsp white vinegar and remaining amount milk)
1/2 cup brewed chai tea
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
½ teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large bowl beat eggs. Add buttermilk, chai tea, butter and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Mix well until mostly smooth. Let batter set for a few minutes.

Heat non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Pour one ladle of batter onto the pan, make sure it's not too thick as I've had issues with the pancakes not cooking properly in the middle. Cook on the first side until bubbles that form start to pop. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. Repeat as required.