Top 5 Pancake Recipes from Scratch

Pancakes are a favorite breakfast in American households. They are easy to make, good to eat, and can be a healthy start to the day. There are countless variations on this delicious breakfast food, but the best pancakes are made from scratch. There are also countless toppings to serve on pancakes, some more healthy than others. The recipes here are some of the most popular variations on the American pancake. Don't forget to vote on your favorite topping and add your favorite recipe!

CC photo courtesy of emily.laurel504

These pumpkin pancakes are hands down a favorite breakfast. Both children and adults will eat them up. Tip: You can make these pancakes fat free by using egg substitute and non-fat evaporated milk.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients

3/4 C flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ginger1 C evaporated milk

1/2 C Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine dry ingredients. Then combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Cook on a hot griddle, as with regular pancakes. Top with butter and maple syrup.

Image courtesy of amlamaster

Low Fat

This pancake recipe makes delicious, moist, flavorful pancakes. This will be another favorite at your house! To make these pancakes completely fat free, use non-fat yogurt and non-fat egg substitute or egg whites.

Yummy Yogurt Pancakes

Ingredients

1½ C flour

1½ tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

a pinch of salt1 egg

1½ C greek vanilla yogurt (we use Chobani)

1/2 C milk

Mix the dry stuff. Mix the wet stuff. Combine them together, let it rest for a few minutes, then cook. These will be more moist than most pancakes. Feel free to substitute vanilla yogurt for any other flavor you think will taste good! (Hint: strawberry and blueberry are both great!)

This is the recipe I use when it's my turn to cook the pancakes. These are just regular pancakes, made from scratch. You can use buttermilk, but since we normally don't have any just sitting in the 'fridge, I use regular milk with lemon juice. That works just as well. To make them fat free, just use non-fat (skim) milk and Egg Beaters.

Dad's Made-From-Scratch Pancakes

Ingredients

2 C milk

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla2 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

First, add the lemon juice to the milk and set aside for at least 5 minutes (or use real buttermilk if you have some). Then combine the dry ingredients and add the milk, eggs, and vanilla. Stir just enough to mix everything, then let the batter sit without touching it while the griddle heats up. That will allow the batter to fluff up some. When the griddle is hot, get cooking!

Image courtesy of jspatchwork

If you didn't know, flapjack is another word for pancake in America. Ok, this one is kind of cheating if you want to make them purely from scratch. But this is how my grandpa made them and his pancakes were always the best.

Grandpa's Famous Flapjacks

Ingredients

2 cups Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake mix

1 egg

1 15-oz can evaporated milk

Mix the egg and evaporated milk with the dry pancake mix. Be careful not to overmix! Add enough evaporated milk to make the batter the right consistency. You will probably use about 3/4 of the can. Cook on griddle. Grandpa liked to pour the rest of the evaporated milk on top of his cooked pancakes, then sprinkle them with a little bit of white sugar.

Image courtesy of Breahn Foster

Ok, so you're probably thinking, What the heck are bubble pancakes? Have you heard of Hootenanny Pancakes? Or maybe German Pancakes? They're all names for the same oven-baked, buttery, tasty, pop-overs. These aren't technically pancakes in the flapjack sense, but you can still top them with butter and maple syrup and they're delicious! You can still make these low-fat by using a non-fat egg substitute.

Bubble Pancakes

Ingredients

6 eggs, whipped until bubbly

1 tsp salt

1 C milk

1 C flour

1/2 cube butter

Turn on the oven to 450 F. Put the 1/2 cube of butter in a 11x7 glass baking dish and place in oven. While the oven is heating, whip the eggs until they are bubbly. Then add the salt and milk. Beat some more, gradually adding the flour. Keep beating until the oven is hot. After the butter has completely melted, pour the egg mixture into the baking dish and return it to the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The kids will enjoy watching it rise up as it bakes. It's done when the edges start turning brown and the egg mixture is firm. Take it out, cut like a cake, and top with butter and maple syrup.

With all the hype lately about the health risks of high-fructose corn syrup, we are trying to limit our intake. This recipe uses pure white sugar. It is better for you (as much as a sugary syrup can be better for you), and it tastes great, too.

Homemade Maple Syrup

Ingredients

2 C. sugar (yes, I said 2 cups)

1 C. water

1/2 tsp maple flavoring

1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring

Bring sugar and water to a boil until the liquid is clear and all sugar is dissolved. Let it cool slightly and add the flavoring. Store in a jar in the refrigerator. May be reheated on the stove or in the microwave.

Broil King PCG-10

One thing that we have been frustrated with is the low quality of today's electric griddles. The ones you can pick up at the local x-Mart, department store, or whatever, don't seem to last more than a year. They often have bad hot/cold spots. The handles break. The non-stick gets sticky. The temperature sensor is inconsistent. Well, we finally found the best electric griddle! Yes, it costs a little more than the one at x-Mart, but I think this one will last for years, just like the one my grandpa used when I was a kid. This one is heavy duty, has a good non-stick surface, and is built to last. We've had it for about 6 months now, and LOVE IT. Best of all--It's Made in America!

• Make your pancakes fluffy. The best thing you can do to make your pancakes fluffy is let the batter sit. After mixing, let it sit for 10-15 minutes while the griddle heats up. The rising agent in the batter will start to react and create bubbles, which will fluff up your batter and make nice light fluffy pancakes.
• You can tell when to flip the pancakes when you see them start to get covered with bubbles. The edges should also start to look slightly cooked.
• Start pouring batter on the "cold" side of your griddle and work to the "hot" side. Start flipping from the "hot" side and work back to the "cold" side. Most griddles get hotter on one side than the other. This trick will help make your pancakes all look the same. How to tell which side is "hot" and which is "cold"? Usually, the "hot" side is the one opposite where the cord plugs in. The "cold" side is right next to the cord. But experiment with your griddle to find out which is which.
• An easy substitute for buttermilk: Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice per cup of milk and let it sit for 10-15 minutes before using.
• Another tip for fluffy pancakes: Use seltzer water or beer instead of water in you pancake mix. The bubbles will help fluff up the batter and your pancakes will turn out light and fluffy. Don't worry, the alcohol cooks out.
• Make any recipe low or non-fat by substituting skim milk for whole milk, applesauce for oil, and Egg Beaters or egg whites for eggs.
• To ensure properly cooked pancakes, wait until bubbles form and start to pop in the middle and the edges start to look cooked.

Image courtesy of thepinkpeppercorn