The pancake is, perhaps, the ultimate “dad special.” Whether fat fluffy discs or slim silver dollars, a stack of syrup-drizzled pancakes were once seen as one of the only thing hiding up a dad’s culinary sleeve. Thankfully, this is no longer true. But that doesn’t mean pancakes have become a thing of plate’s past. That’s because they’re friggin’ delicious and pretty much ever kid loves them. Hell, many dads have become social media celebrities du jour thanks to their artful pancake creations, using squirt bottles to form batter into everything from cartoon characters to Van Gogh classics.

Like many dads, Chef Frank Proto, the Director of Culinary Operations at the Institute of Culinary Education, loves making pancakes. When asked to contribute a recipe for “The Dad Special”, he was happy to serve up his take.

“The Dad Special” is a celebration of food, family, and fathers who cook. Featuring chefs, celebrities, and kitchen crazy dads, this collection highlights meals — from family secrets to quick kid delights — meant to honor time spent at the table.

“My family loves my pancakes,” says Proto. “I make them often for any meal — we even had them for dinner last night.”

This pancake recipe from Chef Proto yields about 25 and, boy, are they fluffy (you can thank the addition of apple cider vinegar for that extra oomph). While Proto acknowledges that the recipe makes more than four people can normally eat in one sitting, he notes that they’re ideal to store in the fridge and be eaten as leftovers later in the day. “They reheat well,” he says. “And they never last long.”

Trust us, there’s a reason for that.

Chef Frank Proto’s Fluffy Pancake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ cup milk
• ¼ cup cider vinegar
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup vegetable oil or melted butter
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups AP flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt

Directions

• Mix the milk and vinegar and let sit 5 minutes.
• Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.
• Place all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
• Add the wet to the dry and mix until combined. Do not over mix, there should be a few lumps in the batter.
• Cook on a buttered griddle or pan.

This article was originally published on November 12, 2020