Recipe: Light and Fluffy Pancakes

Nothing is better for a Sunday morning breakfast than light and fluffy pancakes…well… okay.. if you’re a breakfast lover like me.. the list of perfect Sunday morning breakfasts is long…. BUT… you do have to admit that light and fluffy pancakes are on the list... light as in light as a feather...not light as in Weight Watchers light... after all.. it does have butter in it.

I’ve posted my Buttermilk Pancake recipe previously… I like the taste of buttermilk and the taste it gives pancakes... but sometimes light and fluffy pancakes are what I crave...

And for some reason I never realized I hadn’t posted my other pancake recipes… probably because Warren is not a fan of pancakes.. he claims they lay like lead in his stomach.. well.. there are two things wrong with that… 1) he probably ate too much.. but we won’t mention that… and … 2) probably the recipe used was not as good as this one.. which is really the better answer…

So what makes my pancake recipe better than others??… several things… in my somewhat humble opinion… (I’m fairly proud of my light and fluffy pancakes… because they ARE light and fluffy)… here are some tips for making the pancakes light and fluffy…

TIPS

The recipe calls for a significant amount of baking powder… 3 ½ teaspoons… which as most bakers and cooks know.. that is a lot.. you need it…. furthermore …. make sure your baking powder is not expired… I can’t impress on you enough the importance of fresh baking powder..

I sift the dry ingredients twice… it takes just a few extra seconds and is well worth the effort.

I put the milk in the microwave just long enough to take the chill off it…

Mix the batter lightly.. don’t whisk it… just stir it until it’s fairly smooth … mine has tiny lumps left but nothing too sizeable… don’t over mix it.. but don’t under mix it either.

I use vanilla sugar… adds a little flavor without overpowering it.. see my post about vanilla sugar for information about it… you can use regular sugar also.

I add a teaspoon of vanilla… again.. it adds flavor without making it obvious… it’s optional.

I use a ¼ cup dry measure to scoop the batter… I fill it to about 1/8 inch from the top.. it makes 3 ½ inch pancakes…. you can make them larger but… this is a good size.

Flip the pancake only once.. any more and you toughen it.

This recipe makes about 14-16 pancakes… figure at least 3 per person…

The leftovers keep well in an airtight container.. just put them on a plate with a piece of waxed paper over them and give them a quick nuke in the microwave to reheat them… great for quick breakfasts during the week.

That’s it… trust me.. you’ll put this batter on a hot griddle and watch them puff up … just delicious!







Recipe: Light and Fluffy Pancakes

All you need:

1 ½ cups flour
3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar or white sugar * see Tips
Pinch of salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 ¼ cup warm milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
Butter flavored cooking spray

All you need to do:

Sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt… then sift it again into a large bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and milk… then add the melted butter and vanilla, whisk until mixed well.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing with a spoon. Mix until fairly smooth with tiny lumps.

Let the batter rest for 20 minutes.

Spray a griddle pan with butter flavored cooking spray.

Heat the griddle over medium high heat. Scoop scant ¼ cup measure of batter onto the griddle for each pancake.

Check the bottoms of the pancake periodically so they don’t get too dark.. adjust the heat if necessary…. when the top has lots of bubble.. flip them over and cook until light golden on the bottom.