Pancake Squares

Oh my goodness! I think I've really ventured out into the territory of laziest mom of the year, with this one. But it worked!

I love the idea of pancakes for dinner on a busy evening. But what about when you don't even have the time to flip pancakes on the griddle. I had a meeting to get ready for and go to on Thursday evening. I thought about leaving the batter and griddle, hot and letting everyone make their own, as they came in the house. However, the last person to come home, sometimes doesn't even walk through that door until 8 or 8:30. I didn't want to leave pancake batter out on the counter for 2 hours, and the griddle going the whole time. So, while I got ready, the pancakes cooked themselves, and they didn't need flipping. How's that for efficiency? They tasted great, everyone had their share, and I was able to make dinner with less hands-on time.

• jelly roll sheet pan, with raised edges
• oven at 375 degrees F
• 2 tablespoons oil and butter combined, for best flavor, for ease you can just use 2 T oil
• pancake batter that uses about 2 cups of flour, total, enough to make pancakes for 5 adults

Have your batter ready to go. Once the baking sheet and oven are hot, you want to pour/spread it all in the pan, quickly. If you are baking pancakes for more than 5 or 6 people, you'll want to use 2 jelly roll pans, to ensure the cakes are not too thick.

Begin to preheat the oven to 375, with the pan and butter/oil in the oven. When oven is hot enough, the pan will be, too.

Take the jelly roll pan out of the oven, once hot, and use a metal spatula to spread the oil and butter over all of the bottom of the pan. Pour the batter into the pan, spread as needed. (It doesn't need to come all the way to the edge of the pan, but close to it.)

Return to hot oven and bake for 15-18 minutes or until baked all the way through. Cut into squares and serve.