Rain Man and pan(cup)cakes

"Of course, you can't have pancakes without maple syrup." So says Dustin Hoffman as Raymond Babbitt, in the 1988 movie, Rain Man. I'm not sure I totally agree with Dustin on the syrup thing but I do love me some pancakes. My favorites are really thin, made with buttermilk and drenched in butter. My dad makes excellent pancakes. He doesn't use a recipe, he just tosses stuff in a bowl and it all magically works out to tender, darn near crepes-style pancakes. Pancakes must run in my family. My grandmother tells a story of waking up her father in the middle of the night (this would be during the Great Depression) and telling him that she was hungry. Grandpa Les got up and made a batch of pancakes for his daughter.

There is something so satisfying about a good pancake. There is also something really satisfying about a good movie. Rain Man fits the bill. It won four Oscars, totally deserved in my opinion. In honor of this Oldie but Goodie, here's a little pancake cupcake recipe. Of course, Raymond Babbitt probably would balk at the different shape of the pancake, but I hope he'd enjoy these drizzled with maple syrup.

Pan(cup)cakes

2 cups Bisquik mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tsps baking powder
2 tsps sugar
1 tsp vanilla extra
Maple syrup
butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12 cup baking pan with nonstick spray. Mix Bisquik, milk, eggs, baking powder, sugar and vanilla until just blended - it will be lumpy. Scoop the mixture into the cupcake tins, filling almost to the top. Pour a small dollop of syrup on the top of each (about the size of a dime), swirling it in the batter with a wooden skewer. Bake cupcakes for 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Top will not be brown, but sides of the cupcake will be. Remove from pan, frost lightly butter and drizzle with maple syrup. Serve immediately.