Celebrating Modern Jewish Living Through Food, Tradition, and Family
Perfect Pancakes
Make someone’s morning with a stack of perfect pancakes These fluffy, vanilla-infused beauties are easy to make and simply addicting.
The Backstory: Breakfast and brunch are my all-time favorite meals (my father was a bagel baker, so what do you expect?) and pancakes are one of the reasons why. They’re filling, satisfying, warm, hearty, and somehow feel good for your soul. From a budget perspective, they’re easy on your wallet, and from a technique point of view, they’re as simple as can be to whip up. More of the Backstory after the recipe…
Perfect Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. double-acting baking powder
- 3/4 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1 1/3 cup milk (use 1 cup milk for thicker pancakes)
- 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil, plus more for skillet
- 2 eggs,beaten
Instructions
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In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
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In small bowl, beat eggs and stir in milk, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of canola oil. Add to flour mixture and stir until just moistened.
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Heat skillet or griddle to medium-high and brush lightly with canola oil. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to make a few pancakes at a time.
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Cook each pancake until bubbles form around edges and or middle and flip. Cook for a few more minutes so both sides are evenly browned and cooked.
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Place on a baking sheet in oven to keep warm (you can keep oven at 250 degrees while you make the rest of the pancakes) or just put pancakes on a plate covered with a clean kitchen towel.
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Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. Serve with butter, warm maple syrup and fresh berries.
Recipe Notes
Variations: To make blueberry, raspberry, or strawberry pancakes, simply pour 1/4 cup of batter into the skillet as described above. Let the batter cook for about a minute and then scatter fresh berries directly onto the pancake. Flip pancake once you see bubbles form along edges and continue as usual.
…The Backstory continues: Pancakes are the perfect anytime food to feed a crowd (nothing like a kitchen full of hungry kids on a Saturday morning looking at you like, “Mom, what’s for breakfast?”) and they’re easy to fancy up. I’ve sauteed bananas in a little butter and brown sugar and poured them over a stack of pancakes only to have my late father (the bagel man) nearly go weak in the knees with joy.
This recipe is your basic, can’t-go-wrong recipe. I make this at least once a month for my family (I double the recipe) and usually use two separate skillets when I make them: I have two boys who love blueberry pancakes so I toss some blueberries directly on to the pancakes as they’re cooking in pan number one…and I have a second skillet with plain ones. I keep them warm in the oven as I finish up my batter and then serve them on a platter with confectioner’s sugar and warm syrup…extra berries on the side.
If you have any leftover pancakes, simply store them in the fridge in a plastic storage bag and reheat them in the microwave. Wrap pancakes in a paper towel and cook for about 30 seconds until hot and steamy and you’ll never know you’re having a day-old pancake.