There are few things better than waking up to a big stack of hot pancakes. Especially when they were made by someone hot. Ryan D’Agostino of Esquire knows the power of pancakes, and has a very simple recipe he carries in his wallet for any time he needs to whip up a batch. We haven’t tried that recipe yet, but I can vouch for this one — it’s good.

We only had skim milk, but you should really use whole. The rest of the ingredients are probably in your house right now.

Yes, that is Toby’s hand. And yes, I am a horrible person for making him use a pink bowl and rainbow whisk.

I didn’t make him use the penguin spatula, though. That was all him.

A few notes: Wait until little bubbles appear and start bursting in the batter (above left) before flipping. If you turn it and the bottom is too brown, turn the heat down. And if you are going to add berries, make sure they are thawed — frozen berries will make the batter cook unevenly. Drop the berries in the pancake batter on the skillet instead of stirring them into the batter to avoid purple pancakes. Banana chunks or chocolate chips can be stirred into the batter or dropped in, whichever you prefer.

Serve with berries, syrup or our favorite — a mix of butter and (Maryland) maple syrup, heated in the microwave for a few seconds.

Rich, buttery pancakes (Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook — makes about 8 pancakes)
1 cup whole milk (the world will not end if you use lowfat, but whole is best)
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (plus more for cooking)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Melt the butter and allow to cool slightly.

Whisk together milk, eggs and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a medium bowl. Whisk in cooled butter. Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in another medium bowl. Whisk egg mixture into flour mixture until just combined (there will still be lumps).

Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot (but not smoking). Add about a 1/3 cup of batter to the skillet for each pancake (start with one at a time and work up to three at a time). Drop thawed berries or other items into the batter on the skillet. Cook until bubble form on the top of the batter and burst, about 2 minutes. Flip pancakes with a spatula and cook about 1 more minute — until the other side is golden.

Serve immediately* with maple syrup.

*If you want to serve them all at once, store the cooked pancakes on a baking sheet in a 200-degree oven until the rest of the pancakes are ready.