I never buy pre-made pancake mix because I find no need – the ingredients are simple, making the batter takes only a few minutes, and the flavor and texture is superb. Years ago, it dawned on me that baking mixes appear to make your life easier because the dry ingredients are premixed. My mom never bought baking mixes – she made everything homemade.
When I lived in a flat in London, I did not have much space and I did not cook very often. What I did was buy a few airtight containers and made my own basic mix for pancakes and another for cakes. This helped reduce the number of items I had to wash, I wasn’t struggling to find workspace on my counter, and I could have homemade pancakes and baked goods. (Full discloser without getting too off track: the shops all around me had fantastic baked goods that rivaled homemade but finding American-style pancakes was difficult.)
This recipe is all you need to make the best fluffy pancakes and I love to add blueberries, crushed pecans, chocolate chips, or banana to add variety. I also like to double the recipe, make some with different add-ins, and freeze for quick breakfasts or when you want a sweet treat!
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups milk
1/4 cup butter – melted
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
Directions
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large-sized bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, slightly cooled melted butter, vanilla, and egg until smooth (there may be a couple of lumps but that’s okay).
The batter will be thick and creamy in consistency. If you find the batter too thick, and will not pour smoothly, fold a couple of tablespoons of extra milk into the batter at a time until reaching desired consistency. You also do not want it too thin.
Set the batter aside and allow it to rest while heating up your pan or griddle.
Heat a nonstick pan or griddle over low-medium heat and add a little butter to lightly grease pan.
Using a ladle or measuring cup, pour ¼ cup of batter onto the pan and spread out gently into a round shape with the back of the ladle or measuring cup.
When bubbles begin to appear on the surface, the pancake has puffed up a little, and the underside is golden, flip each pancake with a spatula and cook until the other side is golden. Move to a plate.
Repeat with remaining batter. Add a little butter before pouring each batch so the pancakes have a slightly crisp exterior and golden-brown color.
Serve with softened butter, pancake syrup, agave, honey, maple syrup, confectioners’ sugar, fruit, whipped cream, or a combination of toppings.
Notes
• Make sure the sides have a slight crispiness to them before pulling them off. They will soften and this prevents them from becoming soggy.
• If you want to keep the pancakes warm while you make the whole batch, turn your oven on to 200°F, place a cooling rack on a baking sheet and place in the oven. As you remove the finished pancakes, place them on the rack in the oven. If your oven feels too warm, when you place the first pancakes on the rack, turn the oven off. It will hold the warmth but won’t dry out the pancakes.
• Add-Ins: For variety, add blueberries, crushed pecans or walnuts, chocolate chips, carob chips, or bananas!
• Freeze: Place pancakes in a freezer bag and freeze up to one month.