Psst.... Wanna hear a secret?

Drama is very important in life: You have to come on with a bang. 
You never want to go out with a whimper. Everything can have drama if it's done right.
 Even a pancake.

- Julia Child

Southerners love pancakes. It's a known truth. Any tourist area you go to in the South is going to be riddled with pancake houses. What I have never quite figured out, though, is how those pancakes houses make their pancakes so good! Well, I'm going to let you in a little secret: I've finally figured it out!

Use these simple tried and true tips and surprise your family with a vacation worthy pancake house breakfast at home:

• I use a standard box mix (gasp!)  I know, boxed mix?!? Really, it works. A standard buttermilk mix that you add water to. That's it. It's what we do next that counts...
• Heat your electric griddle to 375 degrees.
• WHISK up your batter according to directions making sure not over mix (just until the large lumps disappear). I stress using a whisk because whisking imparts air bubbles into the mix which will make for a fluffy pancake as long as you do not over mix. 
• Let pancake batter stand for 2 minutes to thicken up.
• Lightly grease your griddle with shortening. That's right. Shortening. Good ol' southern crisco! 
• Pour about 1/4 cup pancake batter onto greased griddle and let the magic begin. The crisco will lightly fry the pancakes to a crisp golden brown on the outside while keeping the insides light and fluffy.  
• When the pancakes start bubbling and the edges are set, use a flat spatula to flip.
• Only flip your pancake once to keep the insides fluffy! If you turn more than once, the pressure from the cooked exterior will flatten your pancake and ruin the pancake house quality.
• Pancake is cooked when both sides are golden brown and set 

  Feel free to add any yummy mix-ins your family may enjoy such as seasonal fruit or chocolate chips when initially mixing the pancake mix . One word of advice: If using fresh blueberries, gently fold into batter AFTER the initial mixing as fresh blueberries will burst easily and leave your batter purple and soggy. (Does it sound like I may know this from experience?)

That's it! Pancake House quality pancakes at home. 

Who needs Gatlinburg, anyway?