Maple Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal Pancakes
Two of the best flavors combined into one pancake: maple syrup and brown sugar! The secret ingredient to these pancakes? Instant Oatmeal packets! Plus, with some added syrup and sugar, it'll be the most delectably addicting pancakes you've had in your life.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 5 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 packets 1.5 oz each of instant maple brown sugar oatmeal
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- Unsalted butter as needed for the pan
Instructions
- Combine together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, and instant oatmeal in a large-sized bowl. Make a well in the center for the wet ingredients.
- Using a wire whisk, whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla, maple syrup, and vegetable oil together in a liquid measuring cup, then slowly add them into the well, and fold them into the dry ingredients. Mix together until smooth. There might be a few lumps, and that’s ok.
- Set the batter aside and allow to rest for 5 minutes while heating up your pan or griddle.
- Heat a nonstick pan or griddle over low-medium heat and wipe over with a little butter to lightly grease the pan. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan and spread out gently into a round shape with the back of your ladle or measuring cup.
- When the underside is golden and bubbles begin to appear on the surface, about 3-5 minutes, flip with a spatula and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.
- Serve with honey, agave syrup, fruit, maple syrup, or powdered sugar, or enjoy them plain.
Notes
Storage: Keep the pancakes in an airtight container for up to 1 week. If there is maple syrup on top or butter, it may become soggy.
- Freeze: I always freeze leftover pancakes! Let them cool off completely and store them in a freezer-safe ziploc bag, layering them into the bag with wax paper in between to prevent them from sticking together. Or, wrap each one with plastic wrap.
- Overmixing the batter: It's easy to do, so be mindful of how long you mix it. It's ok if there are a few lumps in the batter, so there's no need to keep mixing to get rid of them. The result of an overworked batter is a stack of tough and chewy pancakes instead of the light and fluffy ones you were probably dreaming about.
- Let the batter rest for a bit: The resting period, which can range from five to 30 minutes, depending on the recipe, plays two roles. The gluten that was activated during mixing rests and relaxes, and the starch molecules in the flour absorb the liquid in the batter, ultimately giving it a thicker consistency. You want a thick consistency in a pancake batter. If it’s too thick, you can add a couple of tablespoons of milk at a time, but not too much, or it will be thin. If it’s too thin, the result will be flat pancakes that don’t rise.
- You need a hot pan to make the perfect pancake: A sign of a good pancake is one that is delicate and buttery-crisp around the edges with a soft, fluffy interior. If you start with a pan that’s not quite hot enough, the batter will start to soak up the butter or oil that’s in the pan and get greasy. If you aren’t sure if the pan is hot enough, do a test pancake! Take a tablespoon of batter and see how the pancake cooks.
- The pan is too hot: High heat doesn’t cook pancakes faster; it cooks them unevenly with burnt outsides. Keeping the pan on medium-low heat is more than enough to make the perfect pancake.
- Flipping the pancake too early/too many times: Usually, you’re tempted to flip pancakes when bubbles start to form. However, don’t flip it immediately. Give it an extra minute. Wait for the bubbles on the surface to burst, and don’t wait any longer than that. Pancakes should be flipped once, and only once, during cooking. Flipping pancakes too many times causes them to deflate, losing some of that wonderful fluffy texture.