World's Best Banana Pancakes

After lots of trial and error, I've finally created a genuinely fluffy and light-as-a-feather banana pancake! Please follow my directions EXACTLY AS WRITTEN.

This recipe is quick and easy, and makes the most scrumptious and moist banana pancakes you've ever eaten. Your loved ones will be raving and asking for more!

The ingredients are divided into DRY and WET ingredients. Keep them separated -- this will be explained below in the directions for making the pancakes.

DRY ingredients:

     1 cup all-purpose flour

     2 tablespoons sugar

     2 teaspoons baking powder

     1/2 teaspoon salt

WET ingredients:

     2 ripe bananas, mashed

     1 egg

     2 tablespoons cooking oil (I use canola)

     1 cup milk (I use 1%, but you can use whole, skim, or even nonfat)

     1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat your griddle to 360 degrees.

Meanwhile, into a large bowl, put all of the DRY ingredients, and stir well. Make sure the baking powder is fully incorporated into the flour.

Into a smaller bowl (I usually use my 2 cup measuring cup) put the oil, egg, vanilla and bananas. Mash them completely -- I think a fork does this best. Then add in the one cup milk, and stir until the WET ingredients are fully incorporated.

Pour the wet ingredients ALL AT ONCE into the dry ingredients. Mix them with a large spoon or ladle only until the dry ingredients are moistened. This usually takes about 12 or so strokes. The batter will be lumpy -- this is how it is supposed to look.

You may even have little pockets of dry flour here and there. It's okay. The point is: don't overmix your batter! This is a really important part of making incredibly light pancakes.

Once your griddle is at the right temperature, spray it with cooking spray (or coat it with a little butter) then ladle in pancakes, a few at a time. For large pancakes, pour in about 1/3 cup batter. For smaller pancakes, pour in 1/4 cup batter, or less if you prefer.

Cook until small bubbles appear all over the surface of the pancake and the edges are dry. Flip the pancake and cook for just a moment longer. Move cooked pancakes to a heated plate, cover with paper towels or a dish towel to keep them warm while you make the rest of the pancakes.

Serve these wonderful pancakes with butter and one of the genuine maple syrups above. Your loved ones are going to rave!

For a lower fat version, you can substitute apple sauce for the cooking oil, and use nonfat milk.

This recipe makes 8 large pancakes, or 12 small pancakes.

Yes, the recipe can be doubled if you're cooking for a crowd, or for people with hearty appetites.

Enjoy!