Pancake Fridays: Classic Buttermilk Pancakes + Cakey Cinnamon Pancakes

On Saturday night, my long-lost friend S was craving pancakes. She whipped up a batch of incredibly cakey gingerbread pancakes speckled spices, reminding me that I had been meaning to develop a gingerbread pancake recipe for all you pancake lovers. But guys. I’m all spiced out. Are you?

I hope so, because then we’ll be on the same page. And you’ll be like, classic buttermilk pancakes YES! Just what I need Christmas morning! Because that’s what I was thinking. (Also, I am totally all over the place which is why Pancake Friday is coming to you on a Monday.)

Maybe the last thing you feel like doing is flipping pancakes on Christmas morning. Or maybe it’s a great way to relax. Maybe it’s worth the happiness of watching your family munch on some really great pancakes.

I don’t know. The last thing I want to cause you is more stress around the end of this holiday season (how is it almost here already??), but I do want to share these classically fluffy, picture-perfect pancakes with you.

Actually, there’s two pancakes. I did a pancake throw-down, of sorts. Two that I thought would be perfect for a Christmas brunch: a classic, buttery buttermilk pancake vs. a cakey, cinnamon-showered pancake. The uber-cakey cinnamon pancake made it’s debut with the pie pancakes.

I liked the buttermilk one better after making them, but the cinnamon one is just a breeze to throw together, perfect for a nearly effortless breakfast. And if you’re in a cakey mood (which I usually am), the cinnamon ones would be a definite winner. I couldn’t decide which was the actual winner, so I’m listing both. I like to have options, don’t you?

Happy holidays! I hope you’re having awesome, family, food and fun-filled times and I can’t wait to hear all about them!

P.S: The powdered sugar designs were courtesy of my brother. He cut out a star from a piece of scrap paper and sifted powdered sugar over the pancakes.

Notes

Changes: I’ve made these pancakes with all white whole wheat flour, all all-purpose flour, and half whole wheat, half AP. I like them all; I actually like all AP flour the least since it has the least wheat-y heft, but it yields the best golden appearance. The first batch of these came out beautifully, ringed and golden-brown. I’ve also used both cow’s and almond milk without noticing a large difference. If you use actual buttermilk in these, you’d probably get a richer result, but I find that the vinegar + milk combination does the trick.

These are rife with buttery flavor, and I’ve cut down on the butter without noticing a change in taste. Lastly, I lowered the amount of liquid in these a tad to make them a bit thicker.

Tips: If you think of it, set out ingredients ahead of time. It’s best to make pancakes with room temperature ingredients. That means you, eggs, milk, and melted butter.

When greasing the pan, I like to dump a little oil on the pan and use a paper towel to smear the oil around. The paper towel will absorb a lot of the oil, giving you a very minimalist sheen of oil on your pan.

I almost liked these pancakes better reheated (cold pancakes after photographing is only fun so many times)–stick them in the toaster or reheat in a pan over medium heat for five minutes, and they’ll crisp up even more, giving a great delicate crackle of a bite that ends in soft buttery innards.

Classic Buttermilk Pancakes
Tweaked from Bake. Eat. Repeat.

Yield: 12 pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon vinegar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
scant 1 teaspoon baking powder (use aluminum-free if possible)
1 egg, separated and at room temperature
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons milk

Oil, for greasing

Directions:

Preheat a pan over medium-low heat. Combine 1 cup of milk with vinegar (this will act as your buttermilk) and let sit for five minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, “buttermilk,” and milk. Add yolk mixture to dry ingredients and stir gently until barely combined.

Add egg white to the mixture and stir until a thick, lumpy bumpy batter forms. Stop before the batter smooths out–-the egg white may not even be all the way incorporated. This is good. Uneven batter = fluffy pancake heaven. Stir in the melted butter, keeping small lumps in the batter if possible.

Lightly grease the pan with oil and raise the temperature to medium. Use a quarter cup to measure the batter onto the preheated pan. Cook until bubbles start to appear on the exposed surface of the pancake, about 2-3 minutes. Flip pancake and cook for an additional 2 minutes or until browned on the underside.

Notes

These pancakes don’t require lumps in the batter for a thick, puffy finished product because the batter itself is so thick and stiff. It barely moves in the pan except to allow sluggish bubbles to pop slowly through the surface of the pancakes. Stir these to your heart’s content. You can use any kind of milk or flour in these, just make sure to let it sit for five minutes before cooking so that the liquid has a chance to absorb into the flour and become nice and thick.

These pancakes are also great reheated, if a little dry. Sometimes I like to treat them like toast, and smear just a sliver of butter on them until the top is just moistened.

Cakey Cinnamon Pancakes
Base based on S’s friend’s recipe

Yield: 8-10 pancakes

1 cup flour (all purpose, white whole wheat, or half whole wheat and half AP will all work)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Use a fork to stir until well combined (lumps are not necessary; batter should be thick and smooth).

Let batter sit for five minutes. In the meantime, heat a pan over medium-low heat. Lightly grease the pan and increase heat to medium. Pour batter into pan 1/4 cup or less at a time. Batter should be extremely thick and  hard to pour; they should cook about 2-3 minutes on each side.

Serve right away or place finished pancakes in a 200 F oven to keep warm.

Feel like more pancakes? Check these out:

Pancake Fridays: Basic Dutch Baby
Pancake Fridays: Cornbread Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Lemon Bar Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Peanut Butter Carrot Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Pie Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Pumpkin Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Red Velvet Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Tarte Tatin Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Tres Leches Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Whole Wheat Pear and Chocolate Pancakes
Pancake Fridays: Vegan Cookies ‘n Cream Pancakes