Homemade scratch pancakes

Growing up, I was a challenging kid to feed. It took me until my twenties to decide that there was a lot of value in trying a variety of vegetables….or much else, for that matter. No sauces, no greens, picky about meats…all of it! My sisters and mom did what they could, and I can say that there were a lot of bowls of cereal and stacks of pancakes in my life! hahaha. However, I cannot remember if there was any homemade scratch pancakes or not! 😉

So, you would think that some of these childhood staples would be the last thing I would ever want to go to now, but pancakes, are still a, now and then, indulgence in my life. I have found that homemade scratch pancakes are even better than those out of the box and are not that much more of an effort. Most ingredients are in the cabinet and you can take them straight up, or add any fruit of your choice. As a matter of fact, no one should judge if one were to do pancakes for lunch or dinner every now and again!

I will warn that this recipes turned out about 16 or so pancakes, so throttle it up or down in size based on the group you are feeding. However, I now have about 8-10 of them wrapped in 2s in parchment paper, frozen in freezer bags and they freeze amazingly. They cook directly from frozen in the toaster when you want that extra treat with your coffee or tea!

Also, this recipe uses cake flour. I had purchased King Arthur cake flour to make my almond angel food cake. It has a lower amount of protein than all purpose flour, which amount to fluffier, lighter consistency. With this flour on hand, I was very curious what else I could do that would benefit from using it! This is how I arrived at homemaade scratch pancakes. If you do not have cake flour on hand, go ahead with the all purpose…very few pancakes are not edible, as far as I am concerned!

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cups cake flour
• 1 tsp table salt
• 2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk
• 6 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Butter (to cook with and to top finished cakes)

Instruction

1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl, using a whisk to fully combine
2. In a large bowl, mix eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla
3. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the large bowl of wet ingredients, whisking to combine. Do not overwork. Simply whisk until smooth. The batter will be a bit on the thin side. If you prefer thicker cakes, add just a bit more flour and combine
4. Heat a large skillet or griddle. Be sure you have medium to high heat that will quickly cook the first side to golden brown before turning to brown the 2nd side. Keep a stick of butter at the ready and add in a pat and allow to melt out before pouring each batch of batter. Add 1 pancake to start and test to ensure your heat is high enough, but not burning the pancakes. When tester is perfect, Rock n Roll!!
5. Continue to add only as much butter as needed to coat the pan and provide the yummy browning. I used a 1/3 cup measuring cup and filled it about 3/4 to arrive at the perfect size pancake

Pancakes can be doled out as you go, or lightly cover with foil and sit in a 250 degree oven until all are ready to go.

Adding the extras!

What does not go with a pancake? If you prefer to add ingredients into the batter, all the usuals are on the table. Strawberry, apple, berries of all kind, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips. So many options. But, for this recipe, where the work was put in to make them from scratch, I went straight up NH Maple Syrup and a tab of butter on each cake. Simple and delicious!

If you like this recipe, try my recipe for almond angel cake. It is a perfect slice of heaven to have with a cup of coffee or tea!