Best pancakes – a beautiful mess

If you’re looking for the best pancake recipe, this is it! These homemade pancakes are fluffy, sweet, and buttery. And I have to give credit to this recipe because it was perfected by my husband, who makes pancakes at our house.

My kids know these as (dad’s) pancakes, but I also grew up calling them griddle cakes or flapjacks. Whatever you call it, it’s probably one of the easiest and most loved breakfasts. My husband always made pancakes on a griddle, and I grew up frying them in a pan. I’ll show you the (slight) differences, but both methods are great.

relevant: Next, learn how to make the best French toast, crepes, or whole grain protein pancakes. And if you have a little more time, try my classic cinnamon rolls!

ingredient

• all purpose flour
• brown sugar
• baking powder
• salt
• milk
• vanilla extract
• egg
• unsalted butter

We usually keep our pancakes simple, but you can also add blueberries, raspberries, chocolate chips, or a little cinnamon to the batter.

How to make pancakes

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then stir in the wet ingredients (milk, vanilla extract, large egg, and 2 tablespoons melted butter). The dough should be cohesive, but doesn’t have to be 100% lump-free.

If using a nonstick electric griddle, heat to approximately 350°F-375°F. Once heated, pour 1/4 cup of pancake batter onto the hot surface. After 1-2 minutes, you will see bubbles forming in the dough. Use a spatula to flip the pancakes.

Continue cooking the second side for 1-2 minutes. When the pancakes are done, they will be golden brown. Place the cooked pancakes on a plate and spread with the remaining melted butter.

If you’re cooking pancakes in a pan on the stovetop or in a nonstick skillet, heat the pan over medium heat. Then melt some butter and oil in a pan and place 1/4 cup of pancake batter on the hot surface. After 1-2 minutes, you will see bubbles forming in the dough. Use a spatula to flip the pancakes.

Continue cooking on the other side for 1 to 2 minutes. Place the cooked pancakes on a plate.

Continue cooking until all the batter has been used. Enjoy warm with your favorite side dishes such as maple syrup, peanut butter, Nutella, etc.

Tips and Substitutes

• You can substitute brown or white sugar if needed, but I like the taste of adding brown sugar to the batter.
• You can substitute with milk or a non-dairy milk alternative such as soy milk or oat milk.
• You can use non-dairy butter substitutes like margarine/vegan butter instead of butter in this recipe.
• To make 12 pancakes, or to keep them the same size, use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to spoon batter into pancakes. But you don’t have to measure, you can make the pancakes a little bigger or smaller. If yours are a little larger or smaller, you may need to adjust the cooking time.
• When cooking with children, we often have them add food coloring to the milk when making the dough. So in our house, pancakes are often blue or green. 🙂

More Breakfast Recipes

stove top and electric griddle

Most often we electric griddle Trying to cook pancakes. Yes. This is another kitchen tool you should have in your home. We use it at least once a week and love the pancakes it makes. The benefits are:

• Uniform cooking surface – results in even, fluffy pancakes every time.
• Non-Stick – No need to add additional butter, oil or cooking spray to prevent pancakes from sticking to the surface while you work.
• A larger work surface – The largest pan on your stovetop will make 2-3 pancakes, but you can easily make 4-6 pancakes at a time.
• Free up stovetop space – We often cook bacon on the stovetop (in a large skillet) at the same time as we make pancakes, so having some extra space makes the job much easier.

Stovetop works well too! I grew up eating pancakes made this way. I think it evokes nostalgia because it’s a bit more pan-fried. I love the crispy edges that melted butter and oil in a hot pan create. Crispy edges paired with a fluffy interior is how I define pancakes growing up, so this method will always get an A+ from me. 🙂