Unlocking the secret pancake

I've got lots of posts coming about our trip to Georgia for my grandmother's 100th birthday, but thought I start with the pancake experiments I've done that begun with Chip putting the "why can't all pancakes be as good as Cracker Barrel" wish into our world.

My first reaction was to answer - because we're not on vacation everyday and I can't spend $8 a person every time we eat breakfast. But then I began to ponder, really, why not? It's pancakes and syrup. I make a good version, but if Chip particularly likes the Cracker Barrel version, I'll give it a shot. As always......to the Internet!

I'd bought a bottle of their maple syrup/cane sugar combo so that Chip would have the same syrup the restaurant serves to comparison taste my attempts at home. Then I googled Cracker Barrel pancake recipe and came up with a couple to start with.

And it boils down to this: Add a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar to ANY buttermilk pancake preparation (store bought or homemade) and cook on a 375 degree hot griddle SWIMMING in unsalted butter and you will get a pancake comparable to the Cracker Barrel version. Even if you don't use their $9 bottle of specialty syrup.