Homemade “Instant” Pancake Mix and Blueberry Pancakes
After the maple festivities last Saturday, Hubby really wanted pancakes on Sunday morning. He was sad to find out that we didn’t have any pancake mix in the house and asked me to grab some at the store. I scoffed at him and said I’d make them from scratch.
We rarely eat processed foods at home. Except for pancakes. We don’t eat them very often, but usually there is a container with the mix that you just add water to. I’m sure the ingredient list on that container is pretty scarey and contains tons of ingredients that no one knows how to pronouce. So I decided to take this opportunity to prevent those super-long-there’s-no-way-I-can-read-this-ingredient-so-I-probably-shouldn’t-be-eating-it ingredients from getting into our bodies.
Aside from my baking obsession, we eat pretty healthy in the Beantown Baker household. We both eat our 5 fruits/veggies a day thanks to Hubby packing lunches for us every morning. He includes something for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. A lot of produce and the rest is homemade. For dinner we always cook unless we’re eating out.
So I set out to find a pancake recipe to make from scratch. I did grab some beautiful blueberries while I was at the store that morning to throw into our pancakes (I used the rest to make our favorite banana-blueberry muffins). I was going to start with Google, but instead headed towards my shelf of cookbooks. I do have quite a few and I’m trying to use them more often. I opened my trusty Alton Brown cookbook and found a perfect solution. A recipe for a pancake mix! So I would be able to have pancakes that morning and have a mix to use in the future.
The mix is very simple to throw together. I’m storing mine in the freezer because I doubt we’ll use it up in three months. I found the pancake batter to be a bit thick, so I added more buttermilk to thin them out. This recipe yields some really tasty pancakes. The addition of those plump blueberries and real maple syrup definitely took these over the top!
One Year Ago: Cinnamon Biscuits
Yield: 3 batches of 12 pancakes
Ingredients:
For the Instant Pancake Mix
6 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp sugar
For the Pancakes
2 eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
4 Tbsp melted butter
2 cups Instant Pancake Mix, recipe above
1 stick butter, for greasing the pan
2 cups fresh blueberries, optional
Directions:
Heat an electric griddle or frying pan to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together the egg whites and the buttermilk in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the melted butter.
Combine the buttermilk mixture with the egg yolk mixture in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until thoroughly combined. Pour the liquid ingredients on top of the pancake mix. Using a whisk, mix the batter just enough to bring it together. Don't try to work all the lumps out.
Lightly butter the griddle. Wipe off thoroughly with a paper towel so that no butter is visible.
For the Instant Pancake Mix
Combine all of the ingredients in a lidded container. Shake to mix.
Use the mix within 3 months.
Pancakes
Gently ladle the pancake batter onto the griddle and sprinkle on fruit if desired. When bubbles begin to set around the edges of the pancake and the griddle-side of the cake is golden, gently flip the pancakes. Continue to cook 2 to 3 minutes or until the pancake is set.
Serve immediately or remove to a towel-lined baking sheet and cover with a towel.
Recipe from Alton Brown's Good Eats and The Early Years Cookbook
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’m like you and totally try out recipes based on photos! I think goat cheese and fruit are always a perfect combo. The goat cheesecake sounds intriguing!
Looks and sounds amazing! I’m totally with you about photos of food – they are typically what tempt me to make a recipe.
This cake looks DELICIOUS!
I’d never heard of using goat cheese in a cheesecake, but I’m intrigued.
I, too, much prefer pictures. Sometimes you just don’t put the ingredients together in your head the right way and it comes out looking totally different than you expected. I also flip through the book faster and I tend to not find recipes unless there are pics!
i think trying something new without any idea what it should look like it rough. i love pictures but most cookbooks dont seem to have enough. i think thats why i love this blog so much, you take TONS! 🙂
i am very intrigued by this recipe. but i dont eat blueberries or peaches. is it good by itself? or is the fruit greatly needed??
Beeb – It’s similar to any other cheesecake. It was good on it’s own, but the fruit really enhanced the flavor. Are there other fruits you like that you could top it with? Strawberries and blueberries would be great!
Oh yum! I totally want to try this. I love goat cheese (and fruit) and bet this would make an amazing cake!
I like photos too, but sometimes I get a little too into them. Like the other night when I forgot to add raisins to my cinnamon raisin bread because they weren’t in the photo 🙂
Sues
I definitely prefer recipes with pictures but if a description is really good (or intriguing) or if an author points it out as a favorite… or lastly if it’s a source I trust, I go for it. With that said, I’m glad you made it and posted pictures. This cake looks (and sounds) absolutely fantastic!!!
This looks really good. I agree that sometimes I eat with my eyes. I love photos, but not the ones that look almost fake since they are so perfect. That’s why I love food blogs – usually it is just the food as it will be served.
I cook from a lot of different sources, and will try recipes that are appealing without any pics either. Sometimes it is more difficult when I am completely unfamiliar with the dish, though.
Photos! I love yours…the “cake” looks so pretty with it’s white lip and fruit piled high.
~ingrid
Sounds wonderful. I can see how it would be more of a “cheesecake” than a “cheese cake” because there’s such a small amount of flour. As we move into fall, I bet it would be delicious with a topping of figs sauteed with honey… mmm… honey figs and goat cheese!
LOVE goat cheese cheesecake 🙂 peaches and blueberries seem like another good topper (i recently made one with figs and raspberries!)
i really have to bake that cake for my boyfriend who has a milk intolerance. thank you for posting this many recipes with goat cheese 🙂
best wishes, jay, my blog: artandloveandme.blogspot.com