There is definitely a time to make pancakes. If my nephew is to be believed, it’s anytime he come to my house because, according to him, his mom only buys the ready made frozen ones. Not to knock my sibling but frozen pancakes, really, come on, frozen ones?? How hard is it to make the real ones? All ya gotta do is mix a bunch of dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt) and then a bunch of wet ingredients (milk or buttermilk or sour cream, eggs, melted butter), and then you add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Voila pancakes or waffles. Ok, so sometimes it’s a tad more complicated and I add a mystery ingredient, like chocolate chips or bananas and pecans or wait for it…… blueberries. According to my nephew, I’m a culinary genius.
Waffles are almost as easy as pancakes. To my nephew waffles are kind of a mix between pancakes and cookies because they’re crunchy and sweet and he can eat them with his hands (ok, don’t anybody tell my sister I let him do that).
He loves the grids and pokes his fingers through them. Yes, I know, I’d never let my 21 and 24 year old sons do it but hey, this is my 9 year old nephew and I get to send him home after he’s done eating.
The following recipes are a great mix of easy and a little bit more complicated. Some call for buttermilk. Use it if you can. It gives a wonderful rich flavor to the pancake or waffle. You can, of course substitute milk or 1/2 and 1/2 but the flavor will be different. You can use almost any pancake batter for waffles, just reduce the liquid by about 1/4 to 1/3 cup. Some of these recipes use ready made baking mixes and others are from scratch. Don’t worry, they’re all delicious and kid friendly, even if the kid eating them is your 56 year old husband who’s wresting his 9 year old nephew for the last one on the plate.
NOTE: please do not write, email, text or otherwise let me know that the frozen pancakes and waffles have a place in this world. I do know they serve a purpose for those whose schedules are jam packed so just ignore that part of the column and just skip to the recipes.
.
PEACHES ‘N CREAM PANCAKE
2 cup Bisquick baking mix
1 egg
1 1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 (29 oz.) can sliced peaches, drained
3/4 cup whipping cream, whipped (you can use the stuff from the can)
In a bowl combine the baking mix, egg, milk, brown sugar and cinnamon. Whisk to combine. Pour by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto hot griddle (grease griddle if necessary). Cook until pancakes are dry around edges. Turn; cook until golden brown. Top with peaches and whipped cream.
PUMPKIN LOVERS PANCAKES
2 cups flour
6 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
4 tablespoons (about) butter
maple syrup
Preheat oven to 250. In a bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cloves and salt. In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, pumpkin, eggs and melted butter until well blended. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls into skillet. Cook pancakes until bubbles form on top and bottoms are golden brown, about 2 1/2 minutes. Turn pancakes over. Cook until bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to baking sheet; place in oven to keep warm up to 20 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more butter to skillet as necessary for each batch. Serve pancakes hot with maple syrup. Serves 4.
PUFFED UP APPLE PANCAKE
1 large Granny Smith apple
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Lemon juice
Confectioners’ sugar
Preheat oven to 450 and place rack in center of oven. Peel, core and slice apple. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, flour and vanilla until smooth. Melt butter in a 10-inch cast iron or other ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Spread apples in pan and cook for 4 minutes. Turn apples and continue cooking 3 minutes. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over apples and cook another minute or until sugar begins to melt. Remove pan from heat, stir apples lightly to coat with sugar, and then top with batter. Bake 15 minutes or until mixture puffs up and turns golden brown around edges. Remove from oven and cut into four wedges. Sprinkle with lemon juice and serve with a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar. Serves 4.
MINI CHOCOLATE PANCAKES
1-1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup Hershey’s Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons oil
your choice of sliced strawberries, sliced almonds, mandarin orange segments, sliced kiwi fruit, pineapple chunks, and maraschino cherry halves
Frozen whipped topping, thawed
In a bowl stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl combine buttermilk, eggs and oil and whisk to combine. Add the liquid mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Pour about 1 tablespoon batter onto preheated, lightly greased griddle or non-stick skillet. Cook over medium heat until bubbly surface on top; turn and cook just until set. Serve each pancake topped with heaping teaspoonful whipped topping, topped with selection of fruits. About 40 small pancakes or 10 large ones.
Modified from the Hershey’s web site
OATMEAL APPLE PANCAKES
These pancakes are more nutritious than your typical pancakes.
2/3 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large apple, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup pecans (optional), chopped
In a large bowl, mix together the oats and buttermilk. Let stand for 10 minutes. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk together the egg yolks, brown sugar, and melted butter. Add this to the oats and buttermilk. Stir in the grated apple. Slowly add in the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Stir in the pecans. Whip the egg whites until soft peaks are formed. Fold the egg whites into the pancake batter. Heat up a large fry pan or griddle over medium high heat. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan. Ladle the pancake batter into the hot oil. Cook each side until browned (about 3 minutes). Serve with maple syrup. Serves 4 to 5
ORANGE CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 rounded cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
Whisk together all ingredients except chips until just combined. Heat a griddle over medium heat until hot and lightly brush with additional oil. Working in batches, pour a scant 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto griddle and sprinkle each pancake with about 1 1/2 teaspoons chips. Cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden-brown, about 1 minute. Flip with a spatula and cook other side, about 1 minute more. (Lightly oil griddle between batches.) Makes 4
SWEET POTATO PANCAKES WITH CINNAMON HONEY BUTTER
For the honey-cinnamon butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the sweet-potato pancakes
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk, plus more if necessary
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup store-bought pancake mix
1 small pinch ground nutmeg
1 small sweet potato, boiled, peeled, and mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
Beat together the butter, honey, and cinnamon until smooth. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and oil. Stir in the pancake mix and nutmeg until just combined. Fold in the sweet potato. If the batter seems too thick, add more buttermilk until it reaches the desired consistency (it should be thick but still pourable). Place a large, greased griddle or pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches, spoon the batter onto it and cook until the surface of the pancake is covered with bubbles, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden, 1 to 2 minutes more. Serve, topped with the honey-cinnamon butter and a little maple syrup. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Tip: As a time-saver, substitute 3 ounces of sweet-potato baby food for the cooked sweet potato (try the organic sweet-potato blend from Plum Organics, available at most Whole Foods stores). And if you don’t have time to make the honey-cinnamon butter, serve the pancakes with plain unsalted butter and dust them lightly with confectioners’ sugar.
From epicurious.com
STRAWBERRY PANCAKES
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Sliced strawberries (about 1 cup)
In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl combine the eggs, sour cream, water, and vanilla and whisk to combine. Whisk in the melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until moistened. Fold in sliced strawberries. Preheat griddle skillet over medium heat; grease lightly. Pour about 1/4 cup butter onto hot griddle for each pancake. Cook until tops of pancakes are bubbly; turn and cook until browned. Serves 4 to 6.
BACON CHEDDAR WAFFLES
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine
2 cup Bisquick baking mix
6 cooked and crumbled bacon strips
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat waffle iron. In a medium bowl, beat together 1 egg, milk, sour cream, melted butter or margarine. Stir in the Bisquick and mix well. Fold in the crumbled bacon and cheese. Mix to combine. Spoon the batter onto a hot, greased waffle iron and cook until golden brown. Serve with maple syrup. Serves 4.
Submitted by Archie Davis age 10 Detroit
BANANA AND SOUR CREAM WAFFLES
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg — separated (beat egg white until stiff)
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 banana, mashed
Preheat waffle iron. In a bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In separate bowl whisk together egg yolk, sour cream, milk, butter and banana. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients, stirring just until blended. Fold in beaten egg white. Pour batter from cup or ladle onto center of hot waffle iron. Bake about 5 minutes or until steaming stops. Remove waffle carefully. Makes 4.
Cuisine by Eileen 