Fluffy Cinnamon Pancakes

These delicious pancakes are cakey with a hint of cinnamon–possibly the fluffiest and thickest you’ll ever have. Quick to throw together, these use just 6 basic ingredients!

As you can guess from my blog name, I am a huge fan of pancakes. For me, the thicker and fluffier the pancake, the better! This recipe comes from my friend Shelby and it’s one of the fluffiest I’ve ever had. Lightly scented with cinnamon, these pancakes are the perfect base for fruit, maple syrup, Nutella, peanut butter, or your favorite topping.

What makes these pancakes so fluffy?

While most pancake recipes use granulated sugar, these pancakes use powdered sugar. Because powdered sugar contains cornstarch, this helps soften the proteins in the all-purpose flour to create a fluffier, softer texture. (Note: organic powdered sugar typically contains tapioca starch, not cornstarch. But in this recipe, either works.) The sweetness of powdered sugar is somewhat diluted by the cornstarch, which helps keep these pancakes not too sweet.

These pancakes don’t require lumps in the batter (my usual preferred texture) because the batter itself is so thick and stiff. It will barely move in the pan except to allow sluggish bubbles to pop through the surface of the pancakes. This will yield tall, fluffy pancakes!

Ingredients to make these fluffy pancakes

These pancakes are quite flexible–you can use any kind of milk or flour. Just make sure to let the batter sit for a few minutes before cooking to allow the liquid to absorb into the flour and thicken the batter.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• All-purpose flour – you can also use white whole wheat, half whole wheat and half AP, spelt flour, or a gluten-free 1:1 flour.
• Powdered sugar – either regular or organic works here.
• Baking powder
• Cinnamon
• Milk of choice – whole, skim, almond, oat, soy or anything else you like works! I like to microwave mine for a few seconds to take the chill off.
• Large eggs – room temperature is best for emulsifying into the batter.
• Butter – either salted or unsalted works. If using unsalted, I like to add a little pinch of salt.

How to make these pancakes

To make these pancakes, you’ll simply whisk all the dry ingredients together. I typically add the wet ingredients (milk and egg first) directly into the dry ingredients–no need for a second bowl! It’s best to make sure all ingredients are room temperature.

Why are room temperature ingredients important? One common issue that can happen with pancake batter is adding warm melted butter into a cold batter (from cold milk and eggs). The butter will seize and form greasy lumps, refusing to incorporate into the batter. To remedy this, make sure all ingredients are room temperature! You can do this by microwaving the milk briefly and soaking the eggs in hot water for a few minutes if you forgot to take them out of the fridge.

Once the milk and egg are almost incorporated (try not to overmix), add in the butter and stir until full incorporated.

While you let the batter sit, preheat a large frying pan on medium heat. I always like to grease mine with a little oil before using a quarter measuring cup to pour batter into the pan. You can use the measuring cup to nudge the batter into a circle.

Cook for 2-3 minutes on the first side until you see a number of bubbles rising to the surface. Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes on the other side.

These pancakes are also great reheated!

Looking for more breakfast recipes? Give these a try!

• Best Pancakes: A Comparison
• Best Buttermilk Pancakes
• Best Buttermilk Waffle Bake Off
• Best Yeasted Waffle Bake Off
• Best Glazed Yeast Donut Fry Off
• Best Blueberry Muffin Bake Off

Happy baking! As always, tag #pancakeprincessbakeoff on Instagram if you try any of these recipes–would also love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!