The Perfect Pancake Recipe for Lazy People - Sheet Pan Pancakes

Finding a fluffy pancake recipe is a no-brainer, but when it comes to cooking them, many of us suddenly lose their enthusiasm. Sure, you can follow a guide to perfect pancake recipes, but it won’t change the fact that you need to stand over the stove top and flip, flip, flip plus adjust the temperature and take care not to overcook or overmix the batter so that you don’t ruin your fluffy pancake recipe.

Well, lazy people around the world can relax, I have found a perfect pancake recipe that will prevent them from sweating.

The Perfect Pancake Recipe for Lazy People: Sheet Pan Pancakes

The sheet pan is your new best friend when it comes to preparing a whole batch of your favorite fluffy pancake recipe, all at once!

The benefits range from minimizing the mess in the kitchen to saving you time and energy because there is no flipping involved! All you need is some patience while you are enjoying your morning cup of coffee and trying to resist the amazing smell that comes from the kitchen. Your perfect pancake recipe will be cooked in about 10 minutes and you know what? It will look a lot like cake!

In order to prepare this quick and easy breakfast, you need:

-                 Your favorite fluffy pancake recipe

(If you need such fluffy pancake recipe, here is the one I use to make the batter:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons butter)

Besides a perfect pancake recipe, you will also need:

-                 A rimmed sheet pan (18x13’’)

-                 2 tablespoons butter (melted)

-                 Aluminum foil

-                 Add-ins of choice (I usually use chocolate chips)

Next, follow the tips and tricks to make the most of this fluffy pancake recipe:

Prepare the batter following your favorite fluffy pancake recipe. Feel free to double the quantity of all the ingredients, especially if the sheet pan you are using is larger. Otherwise, the final product will be too flat and thin and you can say goodbye to your perfect pancake recipe.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line the sheet pan with aluminum foil, then brush it with melted butter. Pour the pancake batter evenly.

Add half of the chocolate chips or any other add-ins recommended in your perfect pancake recipe. Bake your lazy pancake halfway, for about 7 minutes, then remove the sheet pan from the oven and add the remaining chocolate chips/add-ins. Return to the oven and bake for about 5 minutes more until light golden brown.

To be sure your pancake is ready, stick a toothpick at the center. If it comes out clean, you are good to go.

Finally, in order to obtain a soft crust and an ideal golden color, broil for a minute or so, rotating the sheet pan from a couple of times.

Let it cool completely, cut into squares with a knife or, even better, a pizza cutter. Serve with maple syrup or pack slices in your kids’ lunch boxes. In case you don’t devour it in the morning, store in the fridge and finish it off in the afternoon.

You nailed your perfect pancake recipe, haven’t you?

How to Use Peanut Butter in Pancake Recipes

A few days ago, I read an interesting news that was circulating around the Internet. It was about a pancake recipe discovered among Rosa Parks’ private documents and it involved peanut butter as an ingredient. Like in the Pavlov experiment, it made my mouth water immediately. I love peanut butter, why have I never used it in my quick and easy pancake recipes?

Using Peanut Butter in Your Pancake Recipes

Contrary to popular belief that George Washington Carver invented peanut butter and in spite the fact that it was patented by M.G. Edson in the late 1800s, this paste is considered to have been initially used by the Aztecs as a toothache remedy!

Peanut butter is made from ground dry roasted peanuts. It is popular in many countries but I think that Americans are by far its most devoted users – they eat approximately $800 million of peanut butter every year! We adore it so much that we even have a Peanut Butter day, celebrated on January 24.

Peanut butter is literally everywhere around us: served as a spread on bread, crackers, or toasts, but also as a part of staples like PB&J sandwiches and as an ingredient in various confection such as Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Snickers bars.

Peanut butter flapjacks? Sure, you can use peanut butter both as a topping and inside the batter. If you are following Rosa Parks’ recipe, add 1/3 cup peanut butter into the batter, but in that case, omit regular butter (Rosa suggests adding a tablespoon of oil or shortening).

Spread it on top of your fluffy flapjacks individually or together with chocolate chips and caramel sauce. very often, you’ll find this paste combined with Reese's Butter Cups on top of pancake stacks.

In addition, the salty and fatty taste of peanut butter goes well with fruit preserves and fresh fruits apple and banana, complemented with honey. Some recipes also call for bacon slices combined with sweet peanut butter and maple syrup.

What Type of Peanut Butter is the Best for Your Pancake Recipes?

When it comes to choosing between crunchy and smooth varieties, it’s up to your taste, i.e. whether you like your pancakes crunchy or creamy. However, the smooth version is more commonly called for in pancake recipes.

I recommend using organic peanut butter whenever possible. Even though it is more expensive than the regular variety, you can be sure that it is free from added sugar, salt, emulsifiers, chemical preservatives, or artificial coloring additives. If this version is not sweet enough for your pancakes, combine it with a natural sweetener like pure honey or maple syrup.

Peanut butter is rich in protein, dietary fiber, pantothenic acid, vitamin E, vitamin B6, thiamin, and niacin. It is also high in essential minerals like magnesium, manganese, iron, zinc, phosphorus, potassium and copper. Moreover, this delicious paste is a good source of saturated and unsaturated fats. This last fact calls for caution – peanut butter is quite nutritious but some brands can be high in calories or fats and that is why you should consume it in moderation. 

You all Have this Cream of Tartar Substitute at Home

How many times have you set out to prepare a recipe you found sooo inviting and easy to prepare, but didn’t happen to have that ingredient that is crucial for leavening? Yeah, cream of tartar is one of those ingredients that you just forget about. And why would you even care to remember an ingredient whose name doesn’t even sound right? It is called cream and it is a powder, I mean come on!

The Cream of Tartar Substitute We All Have at Home

As I have already mentioned, it is more likely you’d buy or have a cream of tartar substitute somewhere around your house than the actual thing. Let’s face it, you won’t go to the store and just happen to think of buying cream of tartar, you have to go with the intention to do it. And if you forget about it, it’s ok because you are very likely to have this cream of tartar substitute in your pantry: baking powder.

Usually, recipes call for a mix of cream of tartar and baking soda to prepare the best baked goods ever. This is due to the fact that they produce carbon dioxide gas, the gas produced when adding yeast to the recipes. So, if you want to avoid using yeast, then go ahead and use a combination of these two. These two actually substitute baking powder. But the great thing is baking powder is the best cream of tartar substitute.

The important thing to remember is that if the recipe calls for both of these ingredients you should omit the baking soda altogether. Add a teaspoon of baking powder whenever a recipe calls for a lace a teaspoon of cream and tartar and baking soda.

Prepare the Best Meringue Cookies with Cream of Tartar Substitute

According to this useful blog post on cream of tartar and cream of tartar substitute, it is crucial for your baking powder not to be older than 6 months. You can check whether it is good to be used in a recipe as a cream of tartar substitute if you add a tiny bit of baking soda into hot water. If it triggers a bubbly reaction, then you can use it in your recipe without any second thoughts. The best recipe that can be made with a cream of tartar substitute is the one for meringue cookies.

• 3 large egg whites
• 1 ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon of cream of tartar substitute (baking powder)
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 2/3 cup of sugar

In a small bowl lace the egg whites and let them set at room temperature for around half an hour. Preheat the oven to 250° F. Add the vanilla, the baking powder and the salt to the egg whites and beat everything on medium speed until foamy. Add the sugar a tablespoon at a time, beating on high after every addition. Repeat until the sugar dissolves. Beat for around 7 minutes or until stiff peaks form.

To give them the cutest form ever, cut the tip off of a pastry bag and pipe a 1 and ¼ inches in diameter cookies.  Don’t forget to place parchment paper on your baking tray. Bake for around 45 minutes or until firm to touch. A crucial step is to leave the meringue cookies in the oven for an hour after you’ve turned it off. Cool the cookies completely and store them in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy

Pancakes to Celebrate I Love Reese’s Day

Hear this: May the 18^th is the I love Reese’s Day. And when you think about it, these peanut butter cups deserve to have one day dedicated to them. Well, in my house almost every day is filled with love for sweets and peanut butter, and if you want to know how we celebrate this love, read through.

It All Starts with a Healthy Pancake Recipe Base

Well, if you are to prepare a recipe that is going to be (let’s face it) filled with peanut butter chocolate cups a good idea would be making the pancake base a tiny bit healthier. You can choose your very own pancake recipe from these amazing ones, but here are several tips I could offer that will render a healthier result.

Consider replacing half of the dose of regular all-purpose flour with a healthier type, like whole wheat or almond flour. A nutty flour, like the almond one, will bring more to the texture department and will go hand in hand with the peanut butter.

Next, to make your pancake recipe healthier use a low fat milk type or go for one of the vegan types, like coconut, almond or soy milk.

Forget about sugar. You can add only a dash of it to your pancake batter or skip it altogether. The soft and fluffy pancake will be covered with a chocolate syrup and many Reese’s peanut butter cups, so you won’t even notice the difference.

It Continuities with a Reese’s Pancake Topping

Well, go ahead and get all the types of peanut butter cups, from the miniature ones to the biggest ones. Chop them and leave them aside because now is the time for the peanut butter whipped cream to be prepared. No matter what pancake recipe you opt for, you just have to prepare the peanut butter cream because it will complement your pancakes the best way possible. You will need half a cup of heavy cream, 2 tablespoons of confectioners' sugar, half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and, of course, one and a half tablespoons of creamy peanut butter. Chill a large bowl in the refrigerator and then beat the heavy into it, slowly add the sugar and lastly, mix the peanut butter and vanilla extract in.

It Finishes with a Reese’s Pancake Syrup

Now is the time to prepare the best Reese’s syrup you have ever tried. You will need

¾ cup of chocolate milk

¼ cup of heavy cream

6 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of cocoa

1 tablespoon of corn syrup

½ cup of sugar

6 regular sized Reese's peanut butter cups

Preheat a large saucepan over medium heat and pour all the ingredients (except for the peanut butter cups) into it. Cook everything until it boils, remove from the heat and stir the Reese's in, stir until the candy melts down.

Stack up your pancakes and add a dollop of the peanut butter whipped cream and drizzle everything with the syrup on top. Alternatively, spread the peanut butter cream over each pancake and add chopped peanut butter cups for a full enjoyment. 

How to Make Perfect Sourdough Pancakes

To make great sourdough pancakes you need two things – real homemade sourdough and a good sourdough pancake recipe.

The difference between real sourdough and the one bought in a supermarket is that the wheat starches in the first version are broken down by natural bacteria (lactobacillus) instead of with yeast. Even if you make your flapjacks with a store-bought sourdough, they will probably be just fine, but the homemade version definitely yields a much better final product.

How to Make a Sourdough Starter for Pancake Recipes

The ingredients you need are:

• 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup distilled water

Note: It is best if the flour you use is organic and GMO-free.

Add the whole wheat flour into the water, then mix with a spoon until dissolved and well incorporated. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container, cover, and leave it next to the window for three days.

Note: For best results, add a bit of flour and water every day.

After three days, smell the mixture. If it smells sour, it is good to go. If it smells bed, you will have to throw it away, wash the container and start over.

Note: In case you fail, try keeping the new mixture in a different location in the house.

Once you’ve successfully prepared a starter, make the base for your pancake batter by combining two cups of water with some flour until you obtain a viscous mixture. Add one or two tablespoons of the sourdough starter. Leave this mixture in a warm (not hot) place.

Note: Use a non-metal spoon for stirring and adding the starter.

Note 2: Reserve the unused sourdough starter, if any, to make a new batch of sourdough starter.

Check your sourdough batter every day. It should smell sour and become more viscous. Depending on the warmth of the house, this process will take from one night to three days.

Sourdough Pancake Recipe

Here are the rest of the ingredients you need to make sourdough pancakes:

• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon oil

Add all of the above-listed ingredients into your pancake batter.

Note: Add the baking soda last, just before cooking and stir for about 10-20 seconds. This ingredient will activate the acid in the sourdough causing the batter to rise, thus resulting in fluffier and taller pancakes.

Heat some oil in a skillet or a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat.

Note: The more baking soda you add, the less sour and the fluffier your flapjacks will be.

Note 2: to find out more on how to make your pancakes perfectly fluffy and delicious, check out this Ultimate Pancake Guide.

Pour about ¼ cup batter into the pan and cook for one or two minutes until it becomes flat enough to look like a pancake.

Note: If the first flapjack doesn’t flatten during cooking, add some more water into the batter to make it thinner.

When bubbles start appearing on top, the flapjack is ready to be flipped with a spatula (or by throwing it in the air, if you are skilled enough!) Cook the other side for another minute or so, until the bottom is golden brown.

Note: In case your pancake is too thick and can’t be cooked through, transfer it into the microwave or into the oven to cook through. Add more oil in the pan and pour a bit more batter to make the next pancake thinner.

Less is More with These Pancake Recipes

Although we hear this phrase in the fashion and architecture worlds, the same goes for food. More precisely, pancakes. What if you can find a pancake recipe that is equally tasty with and without certain ingredients. Here is a list of delicious recipes that are prepared with no flour, no sugar and no eggs respectively. Enjoy J

Flourless Pancake Recipe

We all know that flour is needed to bulk out the batter, but here’s a newsflash: you can prepare equally tasty pancakes without any flour. In fact, you can find a vast number of recipes among the Best American Pancake Recipes – Quick, Easy and Delicious, that won’t call for flour.

One such recipe is the one for the flourless banana pancakes. To prepare these you will need one and a half bananas, 2 eggs, half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and a 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder.

Make sure you lightly mash the bananas with a potato masher and add all the other ingredients (except for the eggs) within the bowl. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and then add them to the batter as well. Cook for around 2 minutes per side, flipping only once.

Sugarless Pancake Recipe

Well, any pancake recipe can go without sugar if you ask me. Especially if you are to use maple syrup as a sweetener. There’s no need to go overboard with sugar when the topping is sticky and sweet like maple syrup and honey. If, however, you can’t eat your pancakes if they are not sweet, go ahead and use stevia. This is a much healthier sugar replacement and what’s more, it is way sweeter than sugar. Another sugar alternative is adding very ripe bananas into the pancake batter. The riper the bananas the sweeter they are, so don’t be tempted to throw the blackened bananas away.

Additionally, you can top the pancake stack with fruits and berries and that way enhance the flavor.

Eggless Pancake Recipe

If you have ever set on to prepare a vegan recipe that called for eggs, then you probably know that there is a vegan egg substitute. This “egg” is made with either chia seeds or flaxseed and water.

Make sure you measure the seeds after grinding and mix a tablespoon of them with 3 tablespoons of water. Stir everything well, and place the bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes. Now you can use this fake egg as you would the regular ones (bear in mind that the ratio 1:3 refers only to one egg).

Once you make these pancakes, feel free to eat them with whatever you please, because when it comes to the toppings less is never more.

Nuts, berries, chocolate chips, you name it, anything can be used to make a tasty hotcake stack even tastier. Adding a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream won’t be bad either. Go ahead and prepare yourselves a delicious stack of happiness.

Turn Your Favorite Smoothie into Pancakes

Have you ever thought about this? Turning your all-time favorite, nutrient-packed beverage into pancakes seemed like a great idea to me. So much so, that I can’t still figure out why I haven’t thought of it earlier. But, hey, better late than never, right? :)

The Perfect Fruit Smoothie Pancake Recipes

If you ask me, there is nothing like a delicious smoothie to start the day on the right foot. But, the deal is, drinking smoothies isn’t enough. You should also get enough carbs and fats, and the best way to do this is to turn your favorite fruit smoothie into pancakes.

Since I adore berries, my favorite smoothie contains both strawberries (half a cup) and blueberries (a quarter cup), and of course, for enhanced protein take one banana.

Now, to make the pancakes you should add a cup of whole wheat flour and a cup of regular flour. Then a teaspoon of baking soda, a ¼ teaspoon of salt, 2 large eggs, and olive oil for frying. (virgin olive oil is the healthiest choice)

First, prepare the smoothie as you usually would, and then add the pancake ingredients. Blend everything until it becomes smooth and proceed to fry them.

To make sure there is no excess fat wipe the oil around the whole surface area of the pan with a paper towel.

Top these beauties with a dollop of Greek yogurt, a dash of cinnamon and a mix of nuts.

The Perfect Veggie Smoothie Pancake Recipes

Well, if we are being completely honest, a veggie smoothie is not anyone’s first choice. This is why, my favorite veggie smoothie is actually a fruit smoothie with a cup of spinach. The best part is, the pancakes made with this smoothie are going to have a green hue. Perfect for a fun start of the day.

For the pancake recipe you will need:

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 cup of spinach
• 1 5.3 oz of plain Greek Yogurt
• 3 tablespoons of milk
• 6 egg whites
• 1 cup of old fashioned oats
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon of salt

To prepare the pancake recipe you will need:

Wash the spinach and separate the egg yolks from the whites. Place all the ingredients (except for the egg whites) in a food processor and pulse on high until smooth. Once you are done, pour the pancake batter into a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add a ⅓ of the egg whites into the batter and only then add the remaining egg whites.

Fry the pancakes over medium high temperature until bubbles form and the edges start to get golden brown. It might take a little more than 2 minutes per side due to the fact that the pancakes contain only egg whites, so don’t worry.

Go ahead and make these pancake recipes as a part of your morning routine, not only will you be eating a scrumptious pancake stack, but a healthy one too! J

Get Ready for Shrove Tuesday with These Amazing Crempog, Crumpet, and Pikelet Pancake Recipes!

It’s never too early to prepare for the National Pancake Day! Especially when there are so many pancake varieties you need to make. Here are three amazing suggestions to celebrate this day in style!

Welsh Crempog Pancakes

Crempog is a Welsh pancake made with flour, eggs, buttermilk, vinegar, and salted butter. This traditional recipe is also known as ffroes, cramoth, or pancos and was originally cooked on bakestones, then served as a stack with butter on top.

Crempog pancakes are usually served to visitors as a teatime treat, but people in Whales also love making crempogs on birthdays (especially in South Whales), when the stack is cut down the wedges, just like a cake, and on holidays, especially on Shrove Tuesday, but also on St. David’s Day (March 1st) and on Bonfire Night (November 5th).

The oldest crempog pancake recipe was published in a book called ‘Welsh Fare’ in 1976 and dates from the 1700s, but the basic ingredients and old cooking traditions suggest that the origins of this Welsh staple go further back to the past. The earliest recipes called ‘crempog furum’, include yeast, oats, and barley meal, and were served with sugar or black treacle syrup on top. The variety made with oats was called ‘crempog surgeirch’ and was for the servants, whereas the masters opt for the variety with more refined flour.

During the 1880s, black treacle was replaced by golden syrup and bicarbonate of soda became increasingly popular as a yeast substitute. Crempog pancakes were traditionally cooked on a bakestone (also known as ‘maen’), a big, round flatstone. This was later replaced by a thick, cast-iron disc, also known as a ‘planc’ or ‘griddle’ and eventually, in the 20th century, built-in wall ovens were commonly used. However, the tradition of using a bakestone coexists with the more modern forms of cooking.

Standard Crempog Pancake Recipe

The ingredients you need for this traditional pancake recipe are:

• 1 ¼ all- purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 ¾ buttermilk (warm)
• ¼ cup salted butter
• 1 tbsp. vinegar

Follow these easy steps to make the crempogs:

1.    Place the butter in the warm buttermilk to melt, then gradually pour this mixture into the flour and beat well.

2.     Leave the mixture stand for at least half an hour (if you can wait, leave it for a few hours).

3.    Beat the eggs and combine them with the sugar, bicarbonate of soda, and vinegar. Mix well and add them to the flour/buttermilk mixture to form the batter.

4.    Grease a griddle (or flatstone if you have) and heat over medium heat. Pour about 1/3 cup of the batter and cook until golden brown on both sides.

5.    Serve in a stack with butter spread on each pancake. Other toppings like jams, syrups, or fruit slices are a matter of taste.

Crempog Pancake Varieties

The name suggests that English and Scottish crumpets are derived from crempog pancake recipes.

English hot crumpets and pikelets

English crumpets are circular, thick pancakes made with flour and yeast.  The early varieties were hard pancakes, which transformed into the soft and chewy cakes that we have today during the Victorian era. They are traditionally cooked on a griddle by pouring the batter into a shallow ring that serves as a mold.

These cakes are usually left slightly undercooked, then toasted just before eating. Their top is flat and they have a spongy texture, with a lot of pores. The topping of choice is usually butter, but honey, jam, margarine, or chocolate spreads are also frequently used.

Pikelets are a version of crumpets made without yeast and cooked without the ring, which makes them thinner and flatter. This version is also very popular in Australia and New Zealand and pretty much the same as classic American pancakes.

How can you not love something with such a cute name? I know, that is why I offer this easy and simple pancake recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• melted butter
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• pinch of salt

Preparing them is very easy:

1.    Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a big bowl.

2.    Beat together the egg and milk. Add them to the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.

3.    Heat a large griddle or nonstick frying pan and grease with butter.

4.    Drop the pancake batter 2-3 tablespoons at the time onto the griddle. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface and the bottom is light brown. Turn and cook on the other side until light brown.

Scottish crumpets

Unlike the English version, the Scottish crumpets are not spongy and leavened. They resemble pancakes in appearance, but are cooked in a slightly different manner – sometimes they are fried, sometimes baked, but only on one side. The resulting pancake is darker and smoother on the side that was cooked, whereas the other side retains the bubbles and holes that appear during cooking.

The ingredients’ proportions slightly vary from the classic pancakes we are used to making, which results in a thin batter.  Besides the plain variation, these pancakes often include raisins in the batter. They are usually served with fried breakfast but also rolled with butter and jam.

Here is a Scottish crumpet pancake recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 cup plain flour
• 2 tbsp. castor sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• pinch of salt

How to prepare:

1.    Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

2.    Mix the wet ingredients- egg, milk, and butter, then add them to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined.

3.    Grease the griddle with some butter heat it over low heat. Pour ¼ t- 1/3 cup of the batter to form a small pancake (about 3’’ to 4’’ in diameter).

4.    Bubbles will start to form and pop on the surface of the crumpet. Turn the pancake before the surface dries up. Cook the other side just a bit.

Happy Pancake Day!