Bananas Foster Pancakes

Yesterday morning, I made the most delicious pancakes for Howie and I!  You got to admit, there's no better way to kick off a relaxing Saturday then a big breakfast!  These weren't just any old pancakes, they were my sinfully sweet bananas foster pancakes.  I heat butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and a ripe banana together until it forms this melt in your mouth "syrup" that will make you never want to buy the store-bought kind ever again!  I came up with this creation a few years ago, back when I was in undergrad, but never really wrote my recipe down.  Told you guys that's my downfall with cooking...I love winging it and seeing what happens!  Yesterday I measured everything in this breakfast treat, and want you guys to be able to make it in your own kitchen too.  Let's just say I've come a long way since Flapjack Friday at the Miami University Architecture School!

I started by melting 3/4 stick of butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  I added about 2/3 cup of brown sugar, and stirred the mixture until the sugar was completely dissolved.  I then added a pinch of ground cinnamon, and an even smaller pinch of salt, to balance the sweetness of the sauce.  The last ingredient to add before the bananas is 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract, which will make the mixture bubble up like crazy once you add it!

Time to put the sliced bananas in the mixture!  I cut up one large, ripe banana into 1/8"-1/4" thick slices and let them soften in the liquid, infusing the sweet banana flavor into the sauce.  This will take about 3 minutes, and then it's done!  Usually, I get the bananas foster sauce done just before I start making the pancakes, and let it sit over the burner (in "off" position) to keep the sauce warm so it doesn't thicken up too much.



I know you're probably expecting some fancy pancake recipe to go with the bananas foster sauce.  You're wrong!  I never make homemade pancakes.  My trick is to add a teaspoon of vanilla extract into store bought pancake mix, which gives it all the flavor of homemade pancakes with none of the added effort.  So delicious and easy!

Once the pancakes were finished cooking, I spooned a generous amount of the bananas foster sauce on top.  Be sure to eat them right away, because the sauce thickens as it sits!

Actually, the "eat them right away" step isn't too difficult because they taste better than any banana pancakes I've ever had at a brunch restaurant!  YUM.