Confession: Growing up in Massachusetts, I never ate jonnycakes. That was a Rhode Island thing, like the coffee cabinet (coffee-flavored milkshake). We did eat corn cakes, or Indian slapjacks, for breakfast, however: pancakes made with cornmeal. Served with maple syrup, they were our favorite weekend breakfast treat. A recipe for Indian slapjacks can be found in the first American cookbook, American Cookery, published in 1796. It calls for one quart of milk, one pint of Indian meal, four eggs, four spoons of flour and a little salt, all beaten together and baked on a griddle.
Here is my recipe for slapjacks:
Corn cakes
1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
¼ cup cooking oil
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, milk and oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix or the pancakes will be rubbery instead of fluffy. Allow batter to stand for about five minutes to allow the cornmeal to absorb some liquid. If too thick, thin batter with more milk.
Drop batter by the half-cup onto a hot, buttered griddle. Flip when the edges begin to dry and bubbles form. Makes approximately a dozen pancakes.
