Mile High Pancakes

Mom! Mom! Mom! I WANT PANPAKES! That’s what my middle child calls them. Every morning of my life. Maybe if I made crappy pancakes it would be a different story, but these puppies are fluffy as clouds and you can literally put anything on the planet in them. I make a boatload and leave them on the counter and they are usually gone by noon and I don’t have to make a mid-morning snack. YAY!

The truth about the perfect pancake (and baking in general) is you have to love the pancake, or at least love the reason you are making them. 12 people can follow the same recipe and the same technique and not get the same pancake. 

Other secrets to the fluffiest pancake are also pretty easy. No crazy ingredients, just 2 bowls and no complex equipment or techniques. There is a lot of chemistry involved here and they make fun lessons for your kids. They are going to be underfoot anyway so put them to work and teach them a little at the same time. 

First, make sure all your ingredients are room(ish) temperature. Chances are you won’t have time to get things to room temp before the kiddos make you crazy, but you can take the milk and eggs out first while you get everything else ready. If you have to microwave your milk for 15-20 seconds to get it less cold, then by all means, please do. Also, you can put your eggs in a cup of hot water while you prep all the things.

Second, make sure everything is fresh. If you have stale flour or baking powder you will have less than stellar results (no matter how much love you dump into that batter). 

Next, think light and airy. Not beaten to a pulp. Don’t over stir the batter. You’ll just beat all the happy right out and make flat chewy pancakes… you might as well have microwaved some frozen ones.

Don’t skimp on fat! While you can make these with a lower fat milk or whatever passes for real butter these days, your flavor will suffer. Will your kids notice? I think I just saw your kid licking the flour canister so I’m going to go out on a limb and say probably not, but you might want a bite and there is no harm in attempting to broaden and refine your child’s pallet. 

Lastly, is patience. Oh, I know that’s super funny when you have hangry kids losing their minds over pancakes. Let the batter rest before cooking and don’t flip them too soon.

Let’s think mix-ins. I’ll put anything in a pancake. Bacon, chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, cat hair. The latter isn’t intentional, but it seems to happen on occasion. Peanut butter I like to melt it a little in the microwave and then gently fold it in. Sprinkles I will fold in as well because they are small and might get hidden otherwise. Everything else I try to add after the pancake is cooking just to keep my batter fluffy. If you want bacon, make sure it’s cooked and crumbled (if its crispy just smack it to crumble, if its flaccid you’ll need to chop it). Chocolate chips (or any baking chip really), fruit (chopped if its large), nuts, whatever else, I pour my batter and let it cook just a little before gently placing them on top. Sometimes I’ll even place a small amount of batter back over the top just to make sure the sugar in the add-ins don’t burn.

OK! Better start making these pancakes before one of these monkeys starts flinging poo. 

Of course, it’s a good idea to measure all of your ingredients out first, but if you have a tiny bowl of sugar on the counter, it’ll be half gone as soon as you turn around and you’ll have a sticky-fingered bandit running away. Do what works for you. Measure all your dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk it until it’s all mixed up. Set this aside, probably up high and out of reach. Mix your wet ingredients in a smaller bowl. Make sure they are super mixed because once you add the wet to the dry you will not get an opportunity to ensure they are homogenous. Make a well, divot, bowl, dent in the dry ingredients. Gently pour the wet mess in the well and slowly stir, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure all the dry get moist. Do not over stir. This breaks down the gluten in the flour and will make for a crepe-y pancake, flat and lifeless. I love crepes, but that’s not what we’re making today. When the dry is mixed in, set the bowl aside and give chemistry some time to do its thing. This is an excellent time to heat your cooking surface, clean up and chop any mix-ins. 

I prefer to use a giant electric griddle because it allows me to make pancakes of any size and shape that I want. Also, I can fit about half the pancakes on the one that I have. This helps tremendously when those starving children are getting angsty after just 1 pancake and they want to know when the next 7 are coming. If you are using a non-stick surface, use equal amounts of butter and the light flavored oil of your choice (usually veggie, canola or extra virgin olive oil), just enough to cover the bottom of the pan, you’re not frying the pancakes. Be sure to re-add this mixture as needed throughout the cooking process. If you are using a non-stick surface then skip the extra goop, it just makes cleanup messier.

You will know your batter is ready when it is covered in bubbles. The baking powder and soda are reacting and doing their fluff magic. Give it a full 10 minutes, don’t be alarmed if the batter starts looking a little dull, it’s just building up to be amazing. Your cooking surface is ready when a flick of water dances.

When your batter and cooking surface are ready, gently scoop and pour your pancakes to be the size you want. Try not to jostle the batter too much or your pancakes will deflate like a flat tire. If you are adding mix-ins, wait a minute or so until the pancakes have cooked a little bit, and the bubbles are just starting. Gently place your mix-ins on the pancake. If they are super sugary (chocolate chips or strawberries) then gently place a little more batter on the top. 

When the top of the pancake is covered in bubbles and the outer edges are dry, use a thin spatula to gently flip the pancake. You don’t want to be crazy about it because it absolutely will deflate. You can gently lift the pancake to make sure the pancake is golden before flipping. If the bottom is darker than you want, reduce the heat. After flipping, the second side takes less time to fully cook than the first side so keep an eye on it. Carefully lift the edge of the pancake to peek at it to see when it’s ready. 

Remove from the heat, plop on a plate. Serve hot with syrup, whipped cream or not. These pancakes are damn good even without any extra fancy dressing. 

Mile High Pancakes

Course: Breakfast

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Total time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour

• 4 Tbsp sugar

• 4 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 4 Tbsp butter, melted

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp almond extract

• 1 3/4 cup milk

• Mix-ins (optional)

Directions

• Start your griddle! Or whatever heating element you are cooking these on. Medium heat
• In a large bowl, mix all the dry stuff with a whisk (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt). If you are stirring in dry mix-ins do it here. Set aside.
• If any of your cold ingredients are not at room temperature see the notes below. In a smaller bowl, mix all the wet stuff with the same whisk (melted butter, beaten eggs, vanilla, almond, milk). If you are stirring in wet mis-ins do it here
• Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet to the well. Stir, scraping bottom and sides, until all the things are wet. Lumps are fine. Do not overmix or you’ll have flat pancakes. Let this rest for about 10 minutes. You’ll start to see a few bubbles form.
• Check your griddle or pan with a few drops of water to see if they dance before evaporating. If you are using non-stick you do not need to add anything, but if you are not, use a little butter and oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
• Gently measure and pour your batter into the pan. The size of the pancake doesn’t matter, but the larger ones are harder to turn. If you are doing mix-ins at this point, wait a minute or so until there are bubbles and some of the gloss is gone.
• Pancakes are ready to flip when there are bubbles on top, the edges are dry and the bottom is golden. Gently flip over, you want to keep them light and fluffy. Continue cooking on other side until the bottom is also golden. If the middle is gooey then your heat is too high, turn it down a smidge.
• Serve with syrup, berries, melted chocolate or just plain (because they are pretty awesome as is).
• Leave on the counter and they will be gone by lunch. My kids munch on these all day.

Notes

• Mix-ins: You can put anything in a pancake. If its sugary (fruit or baking chips) you may want to add after you’ve started cooking and then add a little more batter before flipping. This will prevent burning the sugar. Other items can be added to the flour base of the batter or even just used as a topping instead after they’ve cooked.
• Room temp ingredients: If you weren’t able to get your items out long enough to get to room temperature its ok. Place your eggs in a glass of warm water for a few minutes, microwave your milk for a few seconds.