I was really hungry for pancakes yesterday morning and I was thinking what I could do to make them a little healthier. I have yet to try the sweet potatoe recipe that someone submitted here because I keep forgetting. I've tried the whole wheat pancake mix and I really don't like it. I love pancakes and I do sometimes make them from scratch, but a lot of the time I just buy the cheap mix and "doctor" it up. I almost always add cheese to the batter and usually a fruit, too. I love pineapple pancakes, something my dad used to make for us when we were kids. You just make your regular recipe, decrease the milk a little (by about a 1/2 cup, I think) and add crushed pineapple. They are delicious and you can still add the cheese. I've always added cheese because it gives the pancake a little more oomph that if they are just made with the regular ingredients. You can also add sour cream, yogurt and any number of other things that will give them a little more food value. I experiment with pancakes all the time because it's easy! Generally speaking, if there is something that you would add to cookies, cake, or bread, it can be added to pancakes.
I like my pancakes a little thin. In order to cook them thin you need to be sure you have the temperature just right on the pan. Otherwise they spread out and take over the whole griddle. I use a paper towel to lightly grease my griddle, even if I use non-stick cookware. It helps with the friction factor. You want to reduce the friction between the surface of the pancake and the pan. I heat my pan on med-high until water splashed on the pan dances. By dancing I don't mean sizzle. The water should actually jump around on the pan in droplets. It's a fine science, but it makes all the difference in whether or not your pancakes stick, especially if you make corncakes. Once you pour your pancakes, especially if you like them thicker, LEAVE THEM ALONE. That is the hardest part for most people. I taught all my kids to cook pancakes and they all had trouble with this step and made quite a mess of their griddle until they learned to follow this one instruction. If you have your temperature right, they will be fine and if you wait to turn them until they are completely set, your pan will be as clean when you are done, as it was when you started. The rule of thumb for turning pancakes is when they bubble and the bubbles start to break. I usually wait a little longer because I like mine really brown.
The pancakes I made yesterday were delicious. In fact, they were so good, that they were delicious as a stand-alone snack later in the day, straight from the refrigerator. They were almost better cold than they were hot. Yummy!
Here is the basic recipe with absolutely no measurements because I always forget that little step. I'm sure you can figure it out, though. Just go for the consistency you want. The only important step is to be sure to add oil. I have found that the oil really makes the difference in both flavor and how easily they cook. I use canola oil, myself. I'm not sure how olive oil would taste in pancakes. (I use olive oil for other foods, but in my baking I use canola.)

For basic pancakes I never use the mix with just water. I always add oil (from a Tablespoon to 1/4 cup, depending on how big the batch is going to be), an egg, and some milk. Then I add water to make it to the consistency I like.

For the recipe yesterday I added the following ingredients.
Corn meal
Corn flour
Rye flour
Oatmeal
Raisins
Lowfat Sour cream (probably about 1/4 cup)
1 egg
1/4 cup oil
approximately 1/4 cup fat-free Half and Half.
I would say the dry ingredients I added were roughly equal to the amount of dry mix. If I had to guess I would say I probably used about 1/4 cup of each type of flour or grain and a cup of mix. Then I decided to add a little more oatmeal, so probably the oatmeal was closer to 1/2 cup. You can experiment. As long as you use at least a cup or so of the mix, you should be fine. I didn't add cheese to yesterday's recipe because I had no lowfat cheese, but you could. The important thing is to mix it with all your added ingredients before you add the water. Then add your water a little at at time until you have the consistency you like for either thick or thin pancakes.
I also make my syrup from scratch, something we did when I was growing up. I really don't care for REAL maple syrup, probably because we always had "army" syrup which was strong in molasses and corn syrup. I make mine to taste somewhat like "Log Cabin". The basic syrup recipe is a 1:2 ratio. You want twice as much sugar as water.
You bring the water to a boil, turn off the heat, add the sugar, stir until dissolved and then add "Mapleine" imitation maple flavoring. It only takes a drop or two of the flavoring. Then I add corn syrup, both light and dark and a little molasses. This makes the syrup thick.
I don't worry about using syrup because I use very little, but these pancakes were absolutely delicious just plain. I'm sure they would be equally delicious with applesauce or any fruit compote. They are moist and don't need any butter or margarine. They also make really good peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. (I tried them to be sure.)