Bring out your imagination with a griddle and pancakes

Pancakes are a blank canvas, so bring out your inner artist. You can work your magic at the table with maple syrup, honey, confectioners' sugar, cinnamon sugar, fresh fruit and/or softened butter. Or you can cook your artistry right into the pancakes by adding chocolate chips, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, sliced bananas or raspberries instead of the blueberries. Use 1 tablespoon of add-ins per pancake. Have fun and try your own combinations.

Pancakes 101: If you have an electric griddle, it's perfect for this recipe. Just set the griddle to 350 F. You should be able to make all eight pancakes in one batch. This recipe can be doubled if you want to cook for a big crowd. Follow this recipe with your kids.

ANYTIME FLUFFY BLUEBERRY PANCAKES

Serves 2-4 (Makes 8 pancakes)

Start to finish: 35 minutes (Active Time: 15 minutes)

Prepare Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1 large egg

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vegetable oil spray

1/2 cup blueberries

Gather Cooking Equipment:

2 bowls (1 medium, 1 small)

Whisk

Rubber spatula

12-inch nonstick skillet

1/4-cup dry measuring cup

1 tablespoon measuring spoon

Spatula

Plate

Start Cooking:

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In small bowl, whisk milk, egg, oil and vanilla until well combined.

Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir gently with rubber spatula until just combined (batter should remain lumpy). Let batter sit for 10 minutes before cooking.

Spray 12-inch nonstick skillet with vegetable oil spray, and heat over medium heat until hot, about 1 minute.

Use 1/4-cup dry measuring cup to scoop 1/4 cup batter into skillet. Repeat 2 more times, leaving space between mounds of batter (you want 3 pancakes to cook up separate from one another).

Sprinkle each pancake with 1 tablespoon blueberries. Cook until bubbles on surface begin to pop, 2 to 3 minutes.

Use spatula to flip pancakes, and cook until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer pancakes to plate. Repeat with remaining batter in 2 more batches. Turn off heat. Serve.

Nutrition information per serving: 260 calories; 87 calories from fat; 10 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 58 mg cholesterol; 681 mg sodium; 37 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 10 g sugar; 6 g protein.

For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Blueberry Pancakes in "Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs ."

America's Test Kitchen provided this article to The Associated Press.