Ruth's Pancakes, Remixed
By Ruth Reichl, adapted by Andrew Brandon
I like pancakes. They’re wonderful when dressed with a wide variety of toppings, such as maple syrup, nuts, or fruit compotes. The only breakfast food I like more than pancakes are waffles. On the other hand, I’m not a morning person, so a good pancake recipe has to be easy. I want to be able to roll out of bed and make delicious pancakes with as little prep as possible. This is one such recipe.
Of the various pancake recipes I’ve made, this one has two defining factors: it is very rich (thanks to the generous amount of butter), and it doesn’t require buttermilk. It’s very easy to make, and, due to its buttery richness, it’s my go-to recipe when breakfast is to be a special occasion.
Credit for the recipe goes to Ruth Reichl, chef, food critic, and author of multiple cookbooks. Her recipe uses a lot of butter, so much that I can get through only a couple pancakes before feeling overwhelmed. I’ve slightly reduced the original amount of butter to a point where they’re still delicious but not knock-you-off-your-chair rich. I’ve also increased the portion size to be enough for three people.
Suggested toppings:
- Apples or pears, sautéed in butter and cinnamon
- Blueberry compote (combine berries, sugar, and flour in a saucepan, cook until thick)
- Maple syrup
- Chopped almonds or walnuts
- makes 12 5-inch pancakes (serves 3 people)
- 20 minutes
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 1 stick (¼ lb.) butter, melted
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 3 eggs
- 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Dry ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 2 Tbsp baking powder
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Equipment
- Nonstick griddle
- Pancake turner spatula
- Two mixing bowls
Directions
- Mix the wet ingredients in a small bowl. Make sure the butter has cooled before mixing it in.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a big bowl.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing until just combined. Don’t mix too much; the batter should remain quite lumpy.
- Heat a nonstick griddle to 375 °F and make the pancakes. Because there’s so much butter in the batter already, there’s no need to grease the griddle before cooking (as long as you’re using nonstick). Watch the bottom edges: when they’ve turned brown, it’s time to flip/remove.
- Serve immediately as they come off the griddle, or keep the whole batch warm in a 200 °F oven.
This is but one of the many fantastic recipes available on this blog!