I've been eating and cooking in much healthier manner ever since I've gotten away from the pre-made mixes and processed foods. However, one thing that I havn't been able to replicate is the corncakes I used to make with Jiffy corn muffin mix. What I loved about them is that they didn't have that spongy texture of most pancakes but more of that grainy, almost crumbly mouthfeel. You know, like cornbread. I've made Bittman's Polenta pancakes with coarse-ground cornmeal but they still revert back to that old sponge taste.

Does anybody have any recipes, ideas or techniques to help capture that processed yet delcious Jiffy flavor? Do I just griddle cornbread batter?

Did you make any modifications to the Jiffy mix in order to make griddle cakes? If so, make similar changes to a cornbread recipe. If you want them to be grainier and less fluffy, use a mix of fine and coarse ground cornmeal and less white flour than in the Bittman recipe. Try looking for Jonnycake or hoecake recipes. Have you tried making corncakes with some fresh corn mixed in? They're really good.

the recipie in How to Cook Everything for corn waffles might be what you are looking for.

Funny you should mention cornmeal pancakes. I just made a batch this past Sunday. What I usually do is just make a cornbread batter with a bit more milk than usual - cornmeal, flour, eggs, oil, baking powder, salt, milk & yogurt, and a touch of sugar. I usually use a 1:1 ratio of cornmeal to flour so that the batter has enough gluten in it to not fall apart when being flipped on the griddle. You can try going heavier on the cornmeal for a more crumbly mouthfeel.

I didn't make pancakes out of them, but the corn muffin recipe on pg 119 of Crescent Dragonwagon's Cornbread Gospels kicks much ass and has that toothy, not-quite gritty texture with just the right chew to hold together. I used the sweet milk variant and leaned toward the high end on the sugar. It's a quick mix-and-use batter, which should not be rested.

1 C unbleached flour
1 C cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/3 C melted butter
1/4 to 1/3 C unrefined sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 C milk

I used KA bread flour to get sufficient gluten content. What put it over the top was fresh yellow cornmeal from the George Washington Gristmill across from Ft. Belvoir...it's moist, perishable, and must be stored refrigerated or frozen. Not sure what equivalents might be more readily available; the Peirce Mill hasn't milled cornmeal since breaking down in 1993, and it's a long drive to Williamsburg. For a more abrasive rendition, any stone-ground dry cornmeal should suffice.