Best ever (compromise) pancakes

… and tips for making them faster + easier!

Whether or not I’m making pancakes is a good indicator of the state of my mental health.

When I’m my depression isn’t being managed well, I don’t want the hassle of making pancakes.

But when things are mostly OK, I make them without fail every single Saturday morning. It’s a nice routine we all look forward to. C will see me come into the kitchen and get out the griddle and squeal “Oh yeah! It’s Saturday! PANCAKESSSSSS!”

Now, you guys know I am NOT a food blogger. I can bake, but I’m a terrible cook.

Regardless, I get a lot of compliments on my homemade pancakes when I make them on trips, for sleepovers, etc. They’re damn good.

I’ve been making the same pancake recipe for years, so I don’t even look at my recipe card anymore.

I call them “Two and a Quarter Pancakes” because everything is either two of something or a quarter of something. Usually, I don’t even use a measuring spoon for the salt and baking powder! (#rebel) They’re pretty impossible to screw up.

Two cups of flour. 
Two teaspoons of salt. 
Two tablespoons of baking powder.
Two cups of milk. 
Two eggs. 
A quarter cup of oil.
A dash of vanilla extract.

Wait, where does the “compromise” come in? I’m glad you asked.

It’s all about the thickness!

Darling Husband likes thick pancakes, the kids like thick or regular pancakes, and I like paper-thin pancakes with those amazing air bubble holes for butter to soak into. Mmmm.

You can play around with this recipe to get ALL THREE TYPES very easily, in the same bowl of batter.

I make the recipe as described above, but then I add a bit more milk (or water, if we’re low on milk) to make it slightly runnier. Probably just 1/2 cup to start. I find the original recipe just a bit *too* thick, and I like to get a lot of pancakes out of each batch.

I’ll make a bunch of pancakes for Darling Husband and the kids — usually with chocolate chips added, unless I’m feeling especially mean — using this regular-ish batter …

Once I have plenty for the kids, for Darling Husband, and for the freezer (I’ll often do a double batch and save some for school lunches), I modify the batter to make MY style of pancakes.

It depends on how much batter is left in the bowl, but I’ll usually add another 1/2 cup of milk or water to what’s there and stir it well. I want it to be really runny to get the super-thin pancakes I like.

After I’ve made my own style of pancakes, the bowl’s empty and I can turn off the griddle for another week!

I’ve made this process even easier by keeping a large ziplock bag in the baking cupboard with one Saturday’s worth of “mix” (dry ingredients) inside.

Every second Saturday, I fill the bag at the same time as I’m pouring dry ingredients into my big mixing bowl. Then on the Saturdays in between, I don’t have to get out all the ingredients — I just grab my pre-made bag, dump it in a bowl and add the wet ingredients. #winning

Having this little “pancake system” in place makes it more likely that I’m sticking to our weekly Saturday morning pancake tradition. I enjoy making them, seeing the kids gobble them up, and eating a few myself.

But mostly, I feel good knowing I’m in a good enough place, mentally, to be making pancakes.

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Like this carb-heavy post? 😉 Don’t forget to pin it for later when you’re craving pancakes and need the recipe!