Pink Princess Pancakes - a/k/a Pancakes colored with Beet Powder

I will never understand the widespread use of artificial colorings in our food supply - and not just in candy, but in medicine, condiments, etc., etc. And the "natural" alternative to red coloring is carmine, which is apparently ground up insects!! In an effort to avoid them, I bought red beet powder from Amazon.com, and when my daughter requested Red Velvet Pancakes (i.e. pancakes colored like Red Velvet - she doesn't actually seem to enjoy the taste of Red Velvet!) this morning, I whipped up a pancake batter using a basic recipe from Allrecipes, and then threw in some beet powder:

Pink Princess Pancakes (basic recipe adapted from the Fluffy Pancakes Recipe on www.allrecipes.com)

Ingredients
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon red beet powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
cooking spray

Directions
Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda,and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg, vanilla, and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, add in beet powder, and whisk until lumps are gone. It'll make a beautifully pink batter!




Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side. Serve and enjoy!