You've Met Engagement Chicken, Now Meet "Love You Pancakes"

From Glamour, the creator of Engagement Chicken, comes Love You Pancakes. Here's the recipe.

By Diana Vilibert — Written on Apr 07, 2011

love you pancakes from glamour engagement chicken creator

If the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, the ladies at Glamour must have men lined up around the block. Does Engagement Chicken ring a bell? We're willing to bet it's the most-used chicken recipe in the world: an editor at the magazine made it years ago for her boyfriend, who immediately dropped to his knees and proposed. The editor shared the recipe with the office, published it in the magazine, and to date, the chicken has been attributed to 70 marriages and counting.

Now, you can find that recipe—and 99 more—in Glamour Editor-in-Chief Cindi Leive's new book, 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know: Engagement Chicken and 99 Other Fabulous Dishes to Get You Everything You Want in Life.

Glamour was generous enough to share another tasty recipe from the book: Love You Pancakes. Here's what the mastermind behind the recipe—and Glamour editor—Caroline Campion told us about the from-the-heart pancakes:

"I have had the opportunity to eat many amazingly delicious dishes from all around the world, by some of the best home cooks and in some of the swankiest restaurants; but there is one dish that to me is perfect in every way, and that is the pancake. I love pancakes for many reasons. First, because they are universal (almost every culture has their version, from French crepes to Indian dosas; thin Chinese moo shu pancakes to Canadian-Acadian buckwheat pancakes called ployes). Second, they are a fairly simple and forgiving dish to make—even an imperfect and lopsided pancake still tastes delicious. Third, I believe they have the power to spread joy and happiness to those you love. "Really, a pancake?" you're thinking. But just make your husband, children, mom, boyfriend, best friend, neighbor, UPS guy, a plate of pancakes and you'll see. Nothing says, "I love you, you're worth it" more than a warm stack of maple syrup soaked pancakes (don't even try it with a box of donuts, this says something more like "Eh, you'll do."). So whether you try the very basic recipe that follows or the more ooh-la-la raspberry ricotta version that is my all time favorite to make, you will be spreading the love…I promise. And maybe someone will make you a batch of pancakes in return. You deserve it."

Well, we're convinced. But was my boyfriend? I fired up the skillet and got to work. Read on for the recipe, and to see how well it went over with him.

Love You Pancakes
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder (or ½ teaspoon baking soda if you're going to use buttermilk)
2 large eggs
2 cups milk (or buttermilk)
1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for serving
Confectioner's sugar, for dusting
Maple syrup and/or jam, for serving

1. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, salt, granulated sugar, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with 1 ½ cups of the milk (or see the Glamour Girl Tip for instructions on how to make the pancakes even fluffier by separating the whites and yolks)/ Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and mix until combined. Don't overmix or the pancakes will be tough—blend just enough to get the flour moist, even if the mixture stays a bit lumpy. You can add up to ½ cup more regular milk (not buttermilk) to thin the batter if necessary.

2. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes to settle

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet or lightly oiled cast-iron skillet over moderately low heat. Melt ½ tablespoon butter at the center of the skillet where you will spoon the batter (optional).

4. Spoon about ¼ cup batter into the hot skillet directly onto the melted butter; your pancake should be about the size of a hockey puck.

5. Cook the pancake until the bottom is golden brown and the bubble on the surface begin to break, about 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the pancake quickly. ("Have the courage of your convictions!" as Julia Child used to say.) Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute longer.

6. Transfer the finished pancaked to a plate, cover with foil, and keep warm on the stove while you cook the rest of the batter. Add additional finished pancakes to the plate, cover, and keep warm.

7. Serve the pancakes dusted with confectioner's sugar. Pass butter, syrup, and/or jam at the table.

Variation: Raspberry-Ricotta Pancakes

Ingredients
1 lemon
1 pint fresh or frozen raspberries (thawed)
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 ¼ cups milk
4 large eggs
Maple syrup, for serving

1. Working over a medium bowl, using a box grater or microplane, grate the zest from the lemon, being careful not to remove any of the bitter white pith. Cut the zested lemon into wedges and set them aside

2. Add the raspberries to the bowl with the lemon zest. Stir in 1/3 cup sugar, gently crushing the raspberries with a wooden spoon. Set aside to macerate while making the batter.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, and baking powder. In another bowl, beat the ricotta with the milk and eggs (or see the Glamour Girl Tip below for instructions on how to make the pancaked fluffier by separating the whites and yolks). Add the ricotta mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes. Gently fold in the raspberries with the juices.

4. To cook the pancakes, follow steps 3 through 5 for the classic pancakes recipe