Use an empty squeeze bottle like a ketchup or syrup bottle. Mix your pancake batter according to your box instructions. Add it to your squeeze bottle with a funnel. Then put it into the fridge the night before, and have pancakes for breakfast. No rush or mess!
By coville123 from Brockville
This page contains the following solutions.
For a lighter, fluffier pancakes, substitute carbonated water for the water called for in mix.
My grandson in particular, and sometimes his younger sister, likes to help cook. Sometimes adults have a sense of trepidation about allowing kids in the kitchen. They will invariably make a mess when they measure, flip, or stir.
When making pancakes with any recipe, try adding a little extra kick. Take one regular pancake mixture and add cinnamon, and a little nutmeg to taste. Then add just a little champagne.
I keep a butter container full of flour. Occasionally I have mixed it with cake or cookie mix when it was low because I didn't have any flour. It is kind of hard to turn the pancakes when it is cookie mix that is more than half the batter for the pancakes.
A simple, but delightful snack good for a holiday party is pancakes. Yes, pancakes, but made over. These can be made with leftover pancakes as well.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
No matter what I do, my pancakes always come out flat! I have used mixes, extra baking powder, baking soda, and flour. Does anyone know what I can do to make pancakes look the way they do on the boxes? Thanks.
Since you mention using various mixes and still having the problem, I suspect overmixing to be the problem.
Batter should be slightly lumpy...
Save money, make homemade pancakes.
Beat 1 egg in bowl.
Add two Tablespoons of Oil
Add 1 Cup Buttermilk (you can rinse your cup with just a little water)Add 2 Tablespoons of sugar
The batter sounds like it may be too thin. The last mix I bought they had you add way too much liquid and the batter was too thin. So the next time I made it I held back about 1/3 to 1/4th until I made a test pancake.
Other things that might make thin flat pancakes:
- overmixing. The batter should still have some lumps.
- too much flipping or pressing down on pancakes with spatula to hasten cooking. Only flip them once.
- make sure b soda (or mix if you are using one) is not old & past the exp date.
- make sure your pan or griddle is hot enough.
- use the batter within an hour.
- they are best eaten right from the griddle but if you do put them in the oven to stay warm while you are still cooking the others don't stack them on the cookie sheet. Do a single layer.
You might want to try a different recipe...maybe one with beaten egg whites or perhaps one that uses club soda or 7-up. My mom always used 7-up in her extra fluffy waffles.
And the last tip I got off the Martha Stewart website:
Flip the pancakes just as the surface bubbles begin to burst. Flipping them after all the bubbles are gone produces a flatter pancake.
Just add less liquid. The thicker they are, the more likely they will stay the shape that you pour them as. They may take a little longer to cook, so make sure your pan isn't too hot.
Your griddle should be very hot when you put the batter on it too. Preheat the griddle to about 350 and only flip them once also. Flipping them too much and before they have cooked enough on one side will make them flat too. Good luck!
Susan in Omaha
Try using buttermilk AND abt 1 tsp of sugar per batch of pancake mix.
Make sure your baking soda is not too old. It loses its punch after a while. Try pouring a little on a saucer and put a little water on it.
Thanks, All, these are some great tips. It could be any of several of these reasons.But I am intrigue, Kaelle, by your comment about flipping BEFORE the bubbles all burst! However, what if the pan cakes aren't quite brown at this time? Have a hotter skillet, maybe? Hope you check back with me! Nolasandy
I found that if you replace the milk or water [use the same amount called for on the pkg. or recipe] with 7up or sprite you will get a very light and thicker pancake and the taste does not change mmm good.
Your baking powder may be too old, try testing it. Put it in warm water first, if the baking powder foams then it is good, if not it is too old, also do not beat the flour too long just mix until it is all blended together. No longer then a few seconds! May I suggest this recipe? I use: 2 cup self rising flour, add a tablespoon of sugar, 2 eggs, about a 1/2 cup of buttermilk, 2 tablespoon of cooking oil, and add enough water to get the mix thick or thin however you like it. Get the grill very hot and drop pancake mix on grill, when it starts to bubble flip once, and once only and about 30 seconds to 1 minute take off grill, this will depend on how thick, thin, dark or light you like the pancakes.
I want to reaffirm the message about only flipping ONCE, and not patting down the pancake. You flatten them down when you pat them.
And it is important that your griddle be hot. The bubbles should start coming to the surface of the pancake fairly quickly.
I use low sodium club soda in place of the liquid in any of my "batter" projects; pancakes, waffles, bisquits dumplings, etc. It makes the batter fluffy!
But I am intrigue, Kaelle, by your comment about flipping BEFORE the bubbles all burst! However, what if the pan cakes aren't quite brown at this time? Have a hotter skillet, maybe? Hope you check back with me! Nolasandy
Sorry...I didn't see this earlier.
I would think the skillet would need to be a bit hotter. Also... some recipes add a bit of sugar to help them brown. Hope your adventure in pancakes works out.
:-)
Thanks to everyone who responded to me. I think I might have a handle on it now. You are all so great!
Nolasandy
Tips and recipes for making good pancakes. Post your ideas.
When making pancakes, use a meat baster to squeeze the batter onto the griddle.
By Bobbie
Do not beat the pancake batter (will make them tough), make sure the griddle is lightly greased and hot and turn only once when golden brown--do not mash the pancake down after turning and your pancakes will be perfect.
What I do ot make great tasting pancakes, is that I add some vanilla to my batter, this gives it a great taste.
Teresa from Va.
You may substitute club soda for water or milk for fluffy pancakes.....adding cinnamon and vanilla tastes great!
Stir a tbsp. of maple syrup into the pancake batter to boost flavor.
By suebowman
I suggest making the batter from scratch. Fannie Farmer has a good recipe titled Griddlecakes. Why buy a mix when the recipe is so easy, better and less expensive.
Sheridan from Maine
Want your griddle cakes to taste like the ones in the restaurant from a mix? Try adding the following:
-a scant handful of corn meal (the finely ground kind)
-a tsp. of pure vanilla extract
-one more egg than the mix calls for
-an extra Tbs. of oil/ butter/ shortening
-half and half instead of water or milk
Then beat all the liquids in a separate bowl, and add to dry ingredients that have been twice sifted. Stir only enough to moisten. Allow batter to rest 5- 10 minutes before using. Grease (or "season") your griddle only for the first batch (make sure your turner has a sharp edge). Finally, use an ice cream scoop (the kind that has a lever to scrape out the contents) to pour the batter onto the griddle for uniformity. Voila, restaurant style griddle cakes. (I worked food industry for years, and this is how they're made)
You can use a plastic bag with a hole in the corner to make pancake shapes
the easiest was to make pancakes is:
100g of plain flour
250ml of milk
1 egg
Put the ingredients into a blender; put the egg in first, then half the milk, now all the flour and then the rest of the milk.
Heat the pan up and pour some oil into it and then pour it out again. pour some of the mixture into the pan and swish it around. then, you would cook the pancake until itis brown and then flip it over.
HATTYXXX
WHAT ARE THE CONVERSIONS TO MAKE THIS RECIPE IN THE UNITED STATES?
Editor's Note: Here are some conversion tables:
www.thriftyfun.com/
Thanks for the tips everyone !!
How long can I store unused pancake batter in the fridge?
I have never had good luck storing left over pancake batter in the fridge. It separates and just doesn't taste very good when mixed and cooled. Instead I go ahead and finish cooking the batter and then heat them on the griddle.They can be too flimsy to put in the toaster.
How do you brown your pancakes? I cook mine in a nonstick Farberware skillet with one tablespoon of vegetable oil but I can't seem to get it to brown on both sides. Maybe my skillet is the problem because it is old and worn. Please share your advice.
I cook mine in a cast iron skillet. We bought it at Family Dollar (store) for $5.99, seasoned it well, and now everything we cook on it comes out evenly browned and cooked. Wonderful!
Misty
I was raised in the South, and my mom always used to put a slice of butter into the pan before pouring in the batter. This is the best thing in the entire world. The pancakes get a crunchy, buttery edge to them that is just the best. The Best!!!
your pan must be hot, before you put the batter in i always put a small one in first to get the pan just right. also 2 tablespoons of good oil helps they will get nice and brown. hope this works no need for a new pan......
A bit of butter in your skillet with the oil will be the secret. A bit of butter with oil will aid in browning most anything...such as hash browns, salmon patties, oinions etc. It only takes a bit, so you can balance it out with a healthier oil.
Mine brown everytime, I use the butter non-stick spray, plus make sure you have the pan hot enough before you put in the batter. Good luck!
My tip is to preheat the pan and when a little water is sprinkled in the hot pan, it makes a sizzle noise. When this happens, add the shortening (oil, butter) and spread it around, and pour in the batter (keep pancake edges at least 2 inches away from each other to keep from steaming).
Thin pancakes cook faster than thick ones and brown better, too.
Before you flip the pancakes, look to see if little bubbles are forming on the edges. Then flip.
The first side takes longer to cook than the second side.
You may have to cook the pancakes in several batches. Put the cooked ones in a foil lined cookie sheet in a low oven to stay warm while the rest are cooking.
My father-in-law taught me that to get the good brown color on pancakes is to add some sugar to the batter. Usually for a batch for 4 I put about 1/8 cup. To get the second side brown aIso, I spray the pan with olive oil before turning it over.
It's hard to get a good Brown on anything that is nonstick, that is why it's nonstick! Browning is the fat and bits of food that "brown" and stick on the pan. I would take the idea of adding butter and give that a try, but not too much! If you add butter to the pan, don't put out the butter for later, with the butter addition to the pan you don't miss it later!
There are some good tips here. My method: I use a well-seasoned cast iron griddle (or cast iron skillet if my griddle is tied up). Melt a bit of butter in it, then wipe it with a wadded paper towel to create a thin film of butter. Use the 'drop of water' trick and if it dances on the surface the griddle is ready. The batter *must* have some sugar in it for proper browning; the sugar caramelizes to brown. After the first side is done, lift the pancake, rub the butter-soaked paper towel around on the griddle, and cook the other side. If your cast iron is properly seasoned you won't need much butter, but if you have a good many pancakes to cook you might have to add a bit and, using the same paper towel, soak most of it up too. Oh, and the tip someone gave about keeping them warm in the oven is right on the money, except I use stoneware plates and warm them before I put the first pancake on them.
One other tip: when my non-stick cookware begins to lose its coating I toss it. The stuff is handy sometimes so I keep a little around, but once the coating is compromised it can flake off and end up in your food, and you don't want to be eating that stuff. To get the best service out of Teflon, Silverstone, etc. NEVER use metal utensils or scrubbing pads, and be careful how you store it so it doesn't get damaged by other pots and pans. Also I never set my burners over MEDIUM HIGH for anything but cast iron, and have even cracked an ancient, thin cast iron griddle using it on HIGH, so be careful about the temp (I sure miss that griddle!). Excessive heat can warp aluminum, and with clad-bottom stainless steel can actually force molecules of the core material through the steel. I'm no doctor but I've read there appears to be a connection between aluminum and Alzimer's, and I do not wish to accellerate my mental decline.
Happy cooking!
Tips for making great pancakes. Post your ideas.
Use a meat baster to "squirt" pancake batter onto the griddle. Saves mess!
By Robin
What a marvellous idea! I hate cleaning up all those little trails and dribbles of batter between the bowl and the griddle. Thanks for sharing!
for my children and now my grandson--I "write" their initial first, let it brown, then cover with pancake batter, much like a regular pancake. When you turn it over, their intitial is a little darker. This treat makes them feel very special. Great for learning their alphabet too
Use a meat baster (like a turkey baster) to squeeze pancake batter onto the hot griddle. You will get nice round pancakes.
Leavening agents are one of the most important ingredient in baking. Baking powder and baking soda are both leavening agents used to make your cake rise. Being a homebaker, I have discovered a simple technique to make cakes fluffy and well risen.
