Add the flour, protein powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined, making sure to fully incorporate the dry ingredients. The batter should be slightly lumpy.

Preheat a large griddle over medium-low heat. Add about a half tablespoon of butter to the griddle and spread it around while the pan heats up, so that the whole cooking surface is greased.

Once the pan is hot, use a quarter-cup measuring cup to scoop pancake batter onto the griddle, spreading each scoop out into a roughly 5-inch diameter pancake. Leave a bit of space between the pancakes so they don't run into each other (this will also make it easier to flip them later on).Cook until you see bubbles beginning to form and pop on the top surface, about 3 to 4 minutes. Check the bottoms of the pancakes - they should be lightly golden brown at this point (if they're not, wait until they are before flipping). Then, carefully flip the pancakes and cook until both sides are lightly browned, about 2 to 3 more minutes.

Continue cooking the pancakes in batches until you’ve used all the batter, lowering the heat if they start browning too quickly and adding more butter to the pan between batches as needed.

Serve hot, topped with a pad of butter and maple syrup.