Growing up, pancakes were a special Sunday morning treat. No homemade pancakes from scratch for us—not when Bisquick could do the trick. Mom used an electric griddle, making lots of pancakes at once. My favorite were the tiny pancakes made from the stray drips. I love anything miniature.
A stack of hot cakes came with dabs of margarine between them, and homemade syrup from sugar and maple flavoring or imitation maple syrup from the store. We were too poor for real butter and maple syrup. Sometimes we had strawberry jam that hadn’t set well which made a good syrup substitute.
With our own kids, we made pancakes from Bisquick but had real butter and maple syrup, though my youngest preferred powdered sugar on top instead. French Toast was preferred over pancakes and we used a recipe in the Cooks Illustrated cookbooks.
Their paternal grandmother made Swedish pancakes, either the traditional dollar-sized ones from a special pan or larger ones from a crepe pan. She served them with butter, powdered sugar, or lingonberry jam. This was a favorite over the Christmas weekend.
I wish I had photos of the pancake days of the past but memories are all I have. It’s been a long time since I have had a pancake breakfast. We’re eating less sugar now, but when I do have some, I serve it with fruit such as sliced bananas and strawberries, or plump blueberries and omit the syrup.
Image by Ирина Ирина from Pixabay
#52Ancestors: Week 18 – Tradition
This is my ninth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’sSouthern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.
Your tradition of pancake breakfasts made my mouth water! Our family also used Bisquick but these days we make pancakes from scratch...and also love French Toast using cinnamon swirl bread :)
ReplyDeleteOoh, cinnamon swirl bread sounds great for French toast. I forgot my mom used Hawaiian sweet bread for French toast. That was yummy.
DeleteMy mouth is watering, thank you so much for all your research.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful tradition to share and continue with your family. Thanks for sharing this fun memory. I was a strange kid and never liked pancakes, french toast, waffles, or donuts, and still do not till this day. ;)
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