14 Scrumptious Pancakes {Plus Tips}

This week’s Recipe Hit List was a real treat for me to put together. Until I began searching for pancake recipes, I had no idea how many different, delicious ways you could make them. I’ve included my favorite picks found around the ‘net below, you’ll find everything from Gingerbread to Cornmeal-Cranberry to Whole-Wheat Banana Walnut. Yum!!! Then at the bottom I’ve added several tips for turning out perfect pancakes along with a recipe for homemade syrup. Enjoy!

*Note: Descriptions below are quotes from the sources

Gingerbread Pancakes For Shrove Tuesday: I’d never had gingerbread pancakes until I moved to Austin and after one bite, I no longer had a desire for any other flavor. Take all the spicy goodness of a gingerbread cookie and make it rich, cake-like and fluffy, and there you have the joy that is a gingerbread pancake. They’re versatile as well, going equally well with nuts and honey, maple syrup, applesauce, whipped cream, or my favorite topping, vanilla yogurt. Recipe from Homesick Texan.
Eggnog Pancakes: I ended up taking a little kitchen leap of faith and simply substituted the milk in the recipe with an equal amount of creamy eggnog. As the images can attest, it worked beautifully. Perfect pancakes emerged from my skillet with just a hint of holiday cheer. Recipe from Erin Cooks.
Cornmeal-Cranberry: If I ever have a restaurant, or a homey little cafe, or a bed and breakfast out in the wild, these will be my pancakes. Not only because cranberry and cornmeal are a combination made in heaven and should be served at every breakfast, every day, but because these pancakes are all the things bad pancakes are not. Recipe from Wednesday Chef.
Fluffy Ricotta: This past weekend, we looked at the leftover lemon curd in our refrigerator and thought, “That lemon curd needs a friend. That lemon curd needs a pancake.” And so, these extra fluffy, delicious ricotta pancakes were born. The recipe was perfect on the first try, and seeing as that’s a rare feat for us, we had to share. Recipe from The Kitchn.
Orange and Cinnamon Buttermilk: The resulting pancakes, when topped with maple syrup as well, virtually screamed fall. The tender pancakes were addictive and there was just enough flavor from the orange and cinnamon to make them interesting, without becoming overwhelming. What a great way to start of a Sunday! Recipe from Slashfood.
Overnight Yeast Pancakes: I love hot pancakes in the morning, but the mixing and pouring and the prepping always keep my making them. What if I told you that you could make delicious pancakes that are crisp on the outside and cakey on the inside and that you could do this all without any mixing in the morning? The answer is yeast pancakes! Instead of using baking soda to make pancakes rise, you can use yeast. Recipe from Cookography.
Whole Wheat Vanilla: Want to know the most scrumptious thing you can make for breakfast this weekend? It’s these pancakes. Seriously, they are so good I made them twice this week. I’ve been slowly but surely testing out more and more recipes from whole grain cookbooks, trying to learn how to cook with whole grains. I just want to perfect that handful of recipes I can turn to time and again. Recipe from Cooking With Amy.
Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Pancakes with Vanilla-Brown Sugar Syrup: Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Pancakes are surprisingly light, healthy, and keep me full well into the afternoon. Drizzled with homemade Vanilla-Brown Sugar Syrup and served with a side of fresh fruit, I can indulge in the comforts of a lazy Sunday morning, even on a daunting weekday. Recipe from Joy The Baker.
Coconut Macaroon: If you can imagine coconut macaroons in pancake form, you’ll understand where I’m headed. Moist, golden, coconut-packed, with just a hint of sweetness – these are decadent and delicious. I’ll start by telling you, this recipe was a total accident – but an accident in the best way imaginable. I was working on a coconut cookie recipe and had a bit of leftover batter. I looked at the batter, looked at my favorite skillet, and thought to myself – I bet this would make an unbelievable pancake. Just eight ingredients and about ten minutes separate you from a stack of these. Recipe from 101 Cookbooks.
Buttermilk-Cornmeal: I like to make these pancakes small – maybe 2″ in diameter; they’re more like a snacking cake than something you pile up on your plate and sit down to eat. You can eat them spread with maple butter, creamed honey or just butter. Even by themselves they’re delicious! Recipe from The Domestic Goddess.
Basic Pancakes With Sugar & Lemon: Recipe from BBC Food.
Campside Beer Pancakes: Be sure to pick up a light lager (such as Corona, Budweiser, or Heineken), as it will make airy pancakes without adding the bitterness or imposing flavor of a more substantial beer. You don’t need to wait for your next trip to make these pancakes as they can be made indoors on the stovetop too. Recipe from Chow.
Banana Sour Cream: Sour Cream stands in as a rich substitute for buttermilk in this recipe, and the bananas add flavor and moistness. The key to this recipe’s greatness is mashing half the bananas and chopping the other half. That way you have the banana flavor mixed throughout, but also distinct slivers of banana. It’s amazing. Recipe from Dinner With Kirsten.
Apple Pecan: Apples and pecans add a light crunch to these fluffy pancakes. Because they’re easy to prepare and have a nice cinnamon flavor, they make a hearty breakfast, perfect for a crisp fall morning. Recipe from Taste Of Home.

Bonus Recipe:
*First published September 8, 2008 and moved to this page for better organization

Have a craving for homemade pancake syrup? Here ya go:

Picture of Pancakes & Maple Syrup - Tipnut.com Ingredients:

1 cup-sized chunk brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp. maple flavoring

Directions:

Boil until temperature is 200°F on candy thermometer. Cool and serve.

Storage:

Keep in airtight container, if you prefer a thick syrup, keep refrigerated.

Source: The Creative Cook’s Recycling Book by Ruth Johnson

Tips

Treat Yourself To A Pancake Breakfast

Stir the batter with a whisk or fork just until dry ingredients are blended. The batter will be lumpy.
Over mixing the batter will make the pancakes tough.
Use a heavy frying pan or griddle to cook.
Preheat the griddle in advance, the griddle 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 at once and freeze the extra for quick & easy breakfasts. Extra batter can also be refrigerated.