Best Pancakes – A Beautiful Mess

If you are looking for the best pancake recipe, this is it! These homemade pancakes are fluffy, sweet and buttery. And I must give credit where credit is due because this recipe was perfected by my husband, who is our home pancake maker.

Although my kids know them as (dad's) pancakes, I also grew up calling them griddle cakes or flapjacks. Whatever you call them, they're probably one of the easiest and most beloved breakfasts. My husband always makes pancakes in the grill, while I grew up pan frying. I'll show you the (slight) differences but both methods are great.

Related: Next, learn to do better French toast, Crepesor Whole grain protein pancakes. And if you have a little more time, try my classic Cinnamon rolls!

Materials

• All-purpose flour
• Brown sugar
• Baking powder
• salt
• the milk
• Vanilla extract
• the egg
• Unsalted butter

Although we usually keep our pancakes plain, you can definitely add some blueberries, raspberries, chocolate chips or a little cinnamon.

How to make pancakes

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then stir in the wet ingredients: milk, vanilla extract, large egg and two tablespoons of melted butter. The batter should come together, but it doesn't have to be 100% lump free.

If you are using an electric, nonstick griddle, heat to about 350°F-375°F. Once heated, pour 1/4 cup pancake batter onto hot surface. After 1-2 minutes, you should see bubbles forming in the batter. Use a spatula and flip the pancake.

Continue to cook for 1-2 minutes on the second side, when the pancake is golden brown. Remove the cooked pancake to a plate and brush with some of the remaining melted butter.

If you are cooking the pancakes in the oven or in a nonstick skillet, heat the pan over medium heat. Then melt a little butter and oil in the pan and spoon 1/4 cup pancake batter onto the hot surface. After 1-2 minutes you should see bubbles forming in the batter. Use a spatula and flip the pancake.

Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes on the other side. Remove the cooked pancake to a plate.

Continue cooking until you have used all the batter. Serve hot with your favorite toppings like maple syrup, peanut butter or Nutella.

Tips and substitutions

• You can substitute brown sugar or granulated white sugar if needed, although we prefer brown sugar added to the batter.
• You can substitute milk or non-dairy alternatives such as soy milk or oat milk.
• You can use a non-dairy butter substitute for butter in this recipe, such as margarine/vegan butter.
• If I want to make 12 pancakes or keep the same size, I will use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to spoon the batter while cooking. You don't have to measure though and you can easily make these pancakes a little bigger or smaller. If they are slightly bigger or smaller, you may need to adjust the cooking time.
• When cooking with our kid, we often let him add some food coloring to the milk while we make the pita. So, pancakes in our house are often blue or green. 🙂

More breakfast recipes

Stove Top vs. Electric Griddle

Often we use a Electric griddle To cook pancakes Yes, this is another kitchen gadget you have at home, we use ours at least once a week and love the pancakes it makes. Here are the benefits:

• Even cooking surface – resulting in uniform, fluffy pancakes every time.
• Nonstick – You don't need to add extra butter, oil or cooking spray to keep the pancakes from sticking to the surface while you work.
• Larger work surface – We can make four to six pancakes at once, as opposed to two or three in our largest pan on the stovetop.
• Frees up the stove top – We often cook bacon on our stove top (in a large skillet) at the same time we make pancakes, so having the extra space makes it easier.

The stove top works just fine! I grew up with pancakes made this way, which are more pan fried, so it holds some nostalgia for me. I love the crispy edges made from melted butter and oil in a hot pan. A crispy edge paired with a fluffy interior is how I define pancakes grown, so this method will always get an A+ from me. 🙂