Pancakes & Waffles: Tips And Recipes

The Secret of Tender Pancakes Or Waffles

• Stir the batter with a whisk or fork just until dry ingredients are blended. The batter will be lumpy.
• Overmixing the batter will make the pancakes or waffles tough.
• Use a heavy frying pan or griddle for pancakes.
• Preheat the griddle in advance, the griddle or waffle iron is hot enough when drops of water sprinkled on surface will dance.
• Too cool a griddle produces flat, tough pancakes.
• Too hot a griddle causes outside of pancakes to brown before center is cooked.
• Cook pancakes until top side is full of bubbles; turn to do other side.
• Batter that is too thin will result in flat pancakes.
• Batter that is too thick won’t spread on griddle.
• Turn pancakes only once during cooking.
• Make big batches of pancakes & waffles to freeze the extra for quick & easy breakfasts. Extra batter can also be refrigerated.

Pancake Master Recipe

1 1/3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 TBS sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk
3 TBS melted butter or vegetable oil
1/4 tsp vanilla

• Stir flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together.
• Beat egg thoroughly; add milk.
• Make a well in center of dry ingredients; slowly add the egg-milk mixture.
• Add melted butter and vanilla.
• Stir quickly until ingredients are just mixed and batter is still lumpy in appearance.
• Drop by 1/4 cupfuls on hot pancake griddle.
• Cook the pancakes until they are filled with bubbles and the under-surface is golden brown.
• Turn and brown the other side.
• Serve as hot as possible with syrup, honey, jam or jelly, bacon or sausages.
• Do not turn the pancakes more than once during cooking.

Yield: 10-12 Pancakes

Pancake Recipe Variations

Sour Milk Pancakes:

• Make pancake batter using sour milk or buttermilk.
• Reduce baking powder to 1 1/2 teaspoons
• Add 1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 teaspoon warm water.

Blueberry Pancakes:

• Make pancake batter, increasing sugar to 1/3 cup.
• Reduce milk to 1 cup.
• Add 1 cup floured blueberries.
• Cook slower than plain pancakes.

Apple Pancakes:

• Make pancake batter.
• Reduce milk to 1 cup.
• Add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla.
• Add 1 cup grated raw apple.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 teaspoon warm water.

Ginger ‘n’ Spice Pancakes:

• Make pancake batter.
• To dry ingredients add: 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon allspice.

Banana Pancakes:

• Make pancake batter.
• Reduce sugar to 2 teaspoons and milk to 1 cup.
• Add a few grains black pepper to dry ingredients.
• Fold in 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana at end.

Waffle Master Recipe

1 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBS sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
4 TBS vegetable oil
2 egg yolks, well-beaten
2 egg whites

• Stir flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together.
• Combine milk and vegetable oil with beaten egg yolks; add to dry ingredients and stir only until blended.
• Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold into batter.
• Cook on hot waffle iron.
• For crisp waffles, use 2 TBS more fat and cook longer.

Yield: 4 to 6 Servings

Waffle Recipe Variations

Bacon Waffles:

• Sprinkle small bits of bacon, cooked or uncooked over waffle batter after filling waffle iron.

Cheese Waffles:

• Use 3 TBS of vegetable oil instead of 4.
• Add 1/4 cup grated cheese to waffle batter.

Chocolate Waffles:

• Increase sugar to 1/4 cup.
• Add 1/4 cup cocoa with dry ingredients.
• Add 1/4 tsp vanilla to batter.
• This is good as a dessert, served with ice cream.

Corn Waffles:

• Reduce milk from 1 1/4 cups to 1 cup.
• Add one 14 oz. can cream style corn to batter.
• Cook until thoroughly dry.

Apple Waffles:

• Add 1 cup sliced and peeled apples to batter.

Blueberry Waffles:

• Add 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries to batter.

Banana Waffles:

• Slice 1 or 2 bananas and add to batter.

Recipe Source: Five Roses “A Guide To Cooking”

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