Homemade Fluffy Pancakes

Want to make your family happy?  Make them pancakes.  Something about homemade pancakes makes everyone excited for meal time. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner – it doesn’t matter what meal, pancakes are delicious at any time of the day.

But if I was honest with you, or if my kids had the chance to rat me out, they’d tell you that I don’t make pancakes nearly enough.  In full disclosure, I’m not one of those singing moms first thing in the morning.  I’m more of the, “can’t talk till I have drank half my coffee” kind of mom.

Look, I’d love to be the singing morning mom, but sometimes we have to accept we just don’t have certain gifts.  And I’ve accepted it.  So, my kids tend to get their own breakfast, and if it’s a meal that needs to be cooked I’ve made it the night before, like my baked oatmeal casserole.

But, rarely are there pancakes.  And if I do make pancakes, I aim to make them for lunch.  Many hours after I’ve had my coffee.

​So, I give you permission to make these pancakes for ANY meal of the day.

If you’ve used boxed pancake mix up until this point, let me encourage you to make them from scratch.  It’s cheap, easy, and tastes that much better.

Pancakes are a simple, versatile meal to make.  They don’t require too many ingredients, and you can add other things in like blueberries and other fresh fruit, or my favorite, chocolate chips.  You can also smother pancakes in jam instead of syrup, or use whipped cream.  

You can even top them with some peanut butter.  There are so many topping ideas to pick from.

Have a bunch of teens coming over?  Have a pancake bar!  Put out a bunch of different toppings for them to enjoy on their delicious pancakes.  Fair warning, though – if you have a can of whipped cream on the table you WILL have kids spraying whipped cream into each other’s mouths.  Ask me how I know.

You are only limited by your creativity with what you want to do to fancy up your pancakes.  So, let’s get to the details of this perfect pancake recipe so you can start enjoying them as soon as possible and save money by making your own instead of buying a boxed mix.

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST PANCAKES EVER

 

• Let the Batter Rest: Allow the batter to rest for about 5-10 minutes before cooking. This allows the gluten to relax, resulting in lighter, fluffier pancakes.
• Get the Pan Temperature Right: Use a medium heat setting on your pan or griddle. Too high of a temperature can lead to uneven cooking and burnt pancakes.
• Use a Non-Stick Surface: Make sure your pan or griddle is well-greased or non-stick to prevent the pancakes from sticking and tearing when you flip them.
• Perfect Pancake Size: Use a ladle or measuring cup to pour consistent amounts of batter onto the griddle. This ensures evenly sized pancakes that cook at the same rate.
• Cook Until Bubbles Form: Wait until bubbles form on the surface of the pancake before flipping. This indicates that the bottom is cooked and ready to be flipped.
• Avoid Pressing Down: Resist the urge to press down on the pancakes with your spatula while cooking. This can deflate them and make them denser.
• Keep Warm in the Oven: If you’re cooking multiple batches, keep the cooked pancakes warm in a low oven (around 200°F/95°C) while you finish the rest.

HOMEMADE PANCAKE RECIPE

 

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups of Flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1.5 Tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cup of milk
• 2 Large eggs
• 1/4 cup oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  So that’s going to be your flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

​Beat our eggs together in a small bowl.

Add the eggs, oil, and milk (all your wet ingredients) to the flour mixture.  

​Mix it together with a whisk until the pancake batter is no longer lumpy but is nice and smooth.

Heat up a griddle or a large cast iron skillet pan to medium heat.  Add some oil to pan because if you don’t, there’s a good chance your pancakes will stick.  I swear I forget to add some oil to my pan every single time and my first pancake sticks.

Once the pan is heated up, add a scoop of pancake batter to the large skillet.  Want perfect pancakes?  Measure out the same amount of batter for each pancake.  I found 1/3 cup of pancake batter gave me a decent sized pancake – not too big and not too small.

When you see the top of the pancake bubble up at the top and the edges start to firm up and brown, it’s time to flip the pancake.

True confession time – I’ve messed this part up dozens of times.  I go to flip it too early and then it’s a mess in the end.  But that’s okay – kids will eat messy pancakes.  They don’t care what they look like when they are covered with some pure maple syrup.

The pancake is done when the other side is golden brown as well.  This will probably take 2 or 3 minutes.  You can take a peak underneath the pancake with the spatula to see if it’s browned enough.

This basic pancake recipe makes about 8 pancakes that are 4.5 inches in diameter.  they are fluffy, thick pancakes in my opinion, but if you have a bigger family you may want to double it.  It’s always better to make too many than to not have enough.  Just keep them for leftover pancakes.  

You can freeze them and either pop them in the toaster or the microwave to warm them up.  If you freeze them make sure you flash freeze them so they don’t all stick together.  

Flash freezing means you lay them flat on a baking sheet in a single layer, before you stick them in the freezer. You can stick a piece of parchment paper in between the layers of pancakes to put more in the freezer at once. Once they are completely frozen you can stack them up in a container or freezer bag and that will allow you to pull them out one at a time without sticking.

And there you have it!  I hope this will become a favorite pancake recipe in your house.  The fluffy texture makes for a great pancake recipe that the entire family will enjoy.  

I think both pancakes and waffles are the best breakfasts you can have.  You feel like you are eating a dessert for your meal.