Easy Pancakes from Scratch

I recently realized that I had very limited ingredients but we really truly wanted pancakes. And so I began my search. Yes, I found many different recipes on making pancakes from scratch. And no, as usual, I did not follow a single recipe. The best way to cook, in my humble opinion, is to get inspiration and then make up your own recipe.

However, I happen to have a sister who loves and does very well with recipes. And sometimes these fortunate accidents need to be documented. Some recipes should most definitely be repeated and after this most recent inspiration I may never again buy my own pancake mix. It is very simple, really.

The first thing you'll want to do is make sure you have a container. I don't know how to make a small portion of this mix. I make enough to last a while. The first part is mixing the dry ingredients and that you will only need to do once. From there on, it's a quick mix and make recipe and should last quite a while.

Dry Ingredients for the Mix:

4 cups multi-purpose flour (I like to use a multi-grain unbleached. I'm not a whole grain fan, but for those who like it, go for it.)

2 cups coconut flour (I happened to have some around and wondered what it is good for. Turns out it is fantastic for a thick and fluffy pancake)

1/4 cup sugar (again, I prefer cane sugar unbleached. I do not like substitutes, but for this mix whatever substitute you might use should be dry or don't use anything at all).

3 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

That's it! At least for that part. Mix it all together and store it in a container. I like to store my container in the fridge, but if you store it in the cupboard, there's nothing particularly perishable in the mix, so that's an option too.

From there, obviously you do what you would normally do. This particular recipe calls for one cup of the mix, one cup of milk and one egg. I personally never make pancakes without at least one tsp vanilla, and the first time we made it we added some pumpkin spice. When it comes time to cook the pancakes, I usually heat the pan and melt coconut oil in the pan. I like the slightness of taste it adds, especially in combination with our fruit syrup (see below). This particular mix can be pretty thick even with the wet ingredients. I drop a small amount in the oiled pan and use a spatula to gently spread it out to the desired size and thickness. Wait until you can see just a bit of the browning/dryness at the bottom of the dough and flip. Press it out for a consistent size and shape and remove the whole pan when finished. If the pan stays on the stove while you put the next bit of oil and mix on, the oil can burn and/or the mix will burn before it cooks/ will cook too fast. To many this last paragraph is superfluous, but for the moms out there, this is a great entry into cooking for our kids, to whom each step needs explained.

Now, who needs syrup? This house does not buy syrup. Not because we don't like it, but because it's never on our grocery list. If we're having a simple day, we simply use honey. However, fruit syrup is so easy, honey is mostly for truly lazy days.

Only three or four basic ingredients are needed for the syrup.

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup of fruit (sometimes I do more if I was lazy and didn't cut larger strawberries)

1/2 small lime

Optional water

Heat the ingredients (without the water) under a low to medium heat. I like to use a tool to smash the fruit into the sugar while it cooks. Sometimes I'll substitute honey instead of sugar, in which case I might tend to use 1/4 or 1/3 cup. It all depends on your personal preferences. Add water only if you're afraid the sugar is burning. However, with the fruit (especially if you use frozen fruit), the juices they have should be sufficient.

Enjoy! I know I have for two days running and tomorrow I'll do it again and take pictures to add to this post ;)