Today I’m going to show you how to make the awesomest “regular” (not flavored or stuffed or anything) pancakes you will ever eat (I’m not

kidding, I tried this recipe yesterday morning and I was blown away–they’re better than any pancakes I’ve had before, and I’m quite a pancake aficionado so that’s saying something). What really makes this recipe special are two little tricks that are occasionally used

in restaurants that serve top-quality pancakes and will end up making all the difference when you make yours. Plus, they’re very easy to do and don’t require any expensive or hard-to-find ingredients or equipment. As an added bonus I’ve picked my favorite “customized” pancake recipe for you to try as well (it involves cheese and peaches–it’s awesome, trust me). Let’s get started.

The greatest pancake recipe in the world

The two things that really make the difference here are how he handles the eggs and the addition of the malted milk powder, plus I love that nifty little trick that solves the problem of cold pancakes (cold pancakes won’t melt butter 🙁 ) I’ve always had where you have to put the pancakes you just cooked aside so you can cook more, but by the time you’re done cooking most of your pancakes will be cold, so how do you keep all the batches that came before the last one warm? Check this out, it’s only about 3 minutes:



Bonus: Cinnamon-Peach Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Cheese?! Yes, cheese. Cottage cheese? Yes, cottage cheese…and cinnamon…and peaches…and butter…and maple syrup…and then you have an orgasm. Look, they’re good, I promise, just at least have a look at the recipe before you pass judgment:

Intro and Ingredients:

Alright this will take about 10 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking time, so yeah you’ll have to make do with pop-tarts if you’re late for work, but otherwise they’re not that difficult or time-consuming. This makes around 12 pancakes, and you’ll need the following ingredients:

1 cup of cottage cheese

1 shredded peach

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

4 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of milk

2 tablespoons of white sugar

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 cup of all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon of baking soda

a pinch of salt

Directions:

Mix the cottage cheese, milk, butter, vanilla, eggs, and shredded peach in a large bowl. Then, combine the sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir the second mixture in the small bowl (flour, sugar, etc.) into the cottage cheese mixture in the large bowl just enough so that they’re combined. Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium-high heat. Plop the batter in by large spoonfuls (a 1/3 cup measuring cup as used in the first recipe works well) onto the griddle, and cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry. Flip, and cook until browned on the other side, then simply repeat with remaining batter.

Now, just slather them with butter, douse them with maple syrup (I hope you’re using real Vermont maple syrup–please, please, please don’t use the fake stuff made almost entirely out of corn syrup, the real stuff from real Maple trees is more expensive but it’s so totally worth it, I promise), and then proceed to gain 5 pounds and collapse into a diabetic coma for 12 hours afterwards. Awesome, huh?

P.S. If you want a recommendation and example of good-quality Vermont maple syrup, check this stuff out: Highland Sugarworks 100% Organic Grade A Dark Amber Maple Syrup (Grade A is the best grade, and I prefer the Dark Amber over the lighter stuff because it has a bit stronger flavor to it)–if you’ve got a Whole Foods nearby you, they’ll have all sorts of high-quality maple syrups to choose from, and even my local Albertson’s has some, so most grocery stores should have at least one or two brands of the real stuff.

Additional Resources and Further Reading

If you’re a serious pancake nut like me, I definitely recommend you check out a book called The Best of Waffles & Pancakes by Jane Stacey–it’s got some really cool recipes to try like German Apple Pancakes, Caramel-Pecan Belgian Waffles, and Chocolate Crepes.

For a long list of pancake recipes online, check out this page over at Epicurean.com.

FoodNetwork.com also has an excellent collection of delicious pancake recipes you might want to have a look at as well.

And Beer & Pancakes has got an…interesting…alternative to the standard buttermilk pancakes he calls “German” Pancakes.