IHOP Copycat Recipe

My husband LOVES pancakes.  Let me rephrase that.  My husband LOVES pancakes from IHOP.  Any other pancake he has tried--be it Cracker Barrel, Waffle House, Mimi's--pales in comparison to those from IHOP.  Me?  I can't really tell the difference between any of them.  However, he swears there is just something special about that International House of Pancakes.  So, in an effort to show him how much I love him (and to try out a new recipe), I figured that I would search for a recipe to match them.  Surely someone somewhere has spilled the beans about how to make "the" pancakes from IHOP.  It didn't take but one quick search for me to find one, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.  They tasted great to me....Jonathan said they tasted great too, however he didn't convince me that he liked mine more than IHOP's.  That's okay, though!

IHOP Pancake Batter (Copycat)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 1/4 cups buttermilk  (****key ingredient)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cooking oil
pinch of salt
butter or nonstick spray for cooking

1.  Preheat skillet over medium heat.  Be sure to use a pan with a nonstick surface or use butter or nonstick spray to prevent pancakes from sticking to pan.
2.  Combine all ingredients with a mixer or in a blender until smooth.
3.  Ladle approximately 1/3 cup of batter into heated skillet.  (I use my 1/3 measuring scoop)
4.  Flip pancakes when edges appear to harden, approximately 1-2 minutes.
5.  Cook pancakes on other side for the same amount of time, or until both sides are golden brown.

Variations: 
I love to take some ripened bananas and smash them with a fork, adding them to my pancake batter for a delicious and sweet treat.  Chocolate chips and bananas are also delicious!  Any fresh berry added to the batter makes for a great, fruity breakfast.  And, my dad's favorite are pecan pancakes!  Yum!