A Month of Pancake Recipe Ideas

What's not to love about a delicious little breakfast cake, hot off the griddle and drizzled with maple syrup or honey? Pancakes are also so easy to make, kids can pitch in as well. If you like, prepare the dry mix in advance, add the liquid when you need it and you'll have breakfast on the table in a snap. Oh, and these pancakes can be frozen and reheated in your toaster oven, or even your toaster.

The basic pancake recipe that follows is the starting point for all of the variations that follow -- get creative with your own pancake recipes, too, and share them in the comments section below.

Basic Pancake Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/4 cups milk

Directions:
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl whisk together the eggs, butter, and milk. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring until combined.

Using about 3 tablespoons of batter per pancake, spoon the batter onto a well-greased griddle or in a skillet and cook until bubbles form across the top of the pancakes. Turn the pancakes over and cook until the underside is set and golden.

Basic Pancake Variations

Whole Wheat Pancakes: Replace the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour and increase the brown sugar to 3 tablespoons and the salt to 1 teaspoon.

Cornmeal Crunch Pancakes: Prepare basic pancake mix and swap in 3/4 cup of cornmeal for an equal amount of all-purpose flour.

Five-Grain Pancakes: Combine 1/3 cup each cornmeal, whole-wheat flour, rye flour and toasted oats. Add 3 tablespoons ground flaxseeds and 2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ.

Buttermilk Pancakes: Swap in buttermilk for the milk. Decrease the baking powder to 1 1/2 teaspoons and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

Fluffy pancakes: Follow recipe for basic pancakes, separating the eggs. Add the egg yolks to the other liquids and beat the egg whites until stiff. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

Granola Pancakes: Lightly crush 1 1/2 cups of granola and fold it into the pancake batter. Increase the milk to 1 1/2 cups. Decrease the sugar to 2 teaspoons.

Semolina-Fennel Pancakes: Swap in 3/4 cup of semolina for an equal amount of the all-purpose flour. Lightly crush 1 teaspoon fennel seeds and add it to the batter along with 1/4 cup dried currants.

Gingerbread Pancakes: Swap in 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour for an equal amount of all-purpose flour. Increase the brown sugar to 3 tablespoons. Add 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves to the flour mixture. Add 1 tablespoon molasses to the batter. Swap in buttermilk for the whole milk and decrease the baking powder to 1 1/2 teaspoons and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes: Prepare basic recipe, increasing sugar to 3 tablespoons and fold 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips into the batter before cooking.

Apple Pancakes: Saute 1 cup peeled and diced apple in 1 tablespoon butter until tender. Fold the apples into the basic pancake batter. Sprinkle the pancakes with a mix of cinnamon and sugar when they're done.

Toasted Oat Pancakes: Toast 1 cup of oats until golden brown. Finely grind 1/2 cup of the oats, measure and replace an equal amount of the all-purpose flour with the ground oats. Prepare the basic batter and fold in the toasted oats.

Toasted Coconut Pancakes: Toast 1 cup of flaked coconut until golden brown. Swap out half of the milk in the basic pancake recipe with coconut milk and fold the toasted coconut into the batter.

Blueberry Pancakes: Fold 1 cup of blueberries into the pancake batter along with 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, and 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice.

Banana Walnut Pancakes: Fold 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts into the batter. Swap out 1 tablespoon of the butter with 1 tablespoon walnut oil (optional but delicious). Press 3 banana slices into the pancakes once they've been turned over. Press the bananas into the batter so that it bubbles over the bananas.

Rice Pancakes: Reduce flour to 1 cup and use whole-wheat flour. Add 1 cup cooked brown rice to the batter. Add 1/2 cup sour cream and omit the butter. Increase milk to 1 1/2 cups.

Buckwheat Buttermilk Pancakes: Swap in 1 cup buckwheat flour for an equal amount of all-purpose flour. Reduce baking powder to 1 1/2 teaspoons and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Swap in buttermilk for the milk and omit the sugar. Add 1 tablespoon molasses.

Cherry Pancakes: Fold 1 cup pitted and halved cherries into the pancake batter and cook. Sprinkle the pancakes with cinnamon-sugar and serve.

Orange Pancakes: Swap out 1/2 cup milk and add 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/4 cup orange marmalade. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest to the batter.

Rocky Road Pancakes: Decrease the flour by 2 tablespoons and add 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder. Increase the sugar to 1/4 cup. Fold in 1 cup mini marshmallows and 3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips.

Peanut Butter Pancakes: Reduce the butter to 2 tablespoons and when melting it, add 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter. Increase the sugar to 3 tablespoons.

Pancakes for Special Diets

High Protein Pancakes: Use 1 cup whole-wheat flour, 1/4 cup cornmeal, 1/4 cup wheat germ, and 1/4 cup ground flaxseeds. Add 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder to the dry mixture along with 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans.

Vegan Pancakes: Use 1 cup whole-wheat flour and 1 cup all-purpose. Swap in light coconut milk for the milk and vegetable oil for the butter. Omit eggs. Grind 2 tablespoons of flaxseeds with 6 tablespoons of water until well combined and gelatinous. Add the flaxseed mixture to the batter as you would the eggs.

Dairy-Free Almond Pancakes: Swap in almond milk for the milk. Reduce sugar to 1 tablespoon. Swap in vegetable oil for the melted butter. Add 1/2 cup toasted and very finely chopped almonds to the batter.

Gluten-Free Chickpea Pancakes: Swap in 1 1/2 cups chickpea flour for the all-purpose flour, and 1 1/2 cups water for the milk, omit butter and use 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Omit baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Add 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Johnny Cakes (Gluten-Free): Replace the all-purpose flour with cornmeal; increase the butter to 4 tablespoons. Omit the eggs, baking powder, and baking soda and reduce the sugar to 1 tablespoon.

Savory Pancakes

Scallion Pancakes: Fold 3 thinly sliced scallions and 2 cloves minced garlic into the pancake batter. Reduce the sugar to 1 teaspoon. Omit the butter and replace it with 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil.

Chili and Double Corn Pancakes: Reduce flour to 1 1/2 cups and add 1/2 cup yellow or white cornmeal. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons ancho chile powder to the dry mixture. Swap in olive oil for the butter and fold in 1/2 cup of finely chopped red bell pepper and 1/2 cup of corn kernels into the batter.

Bacon Pancakes: Cook 4 slices of bacon until crisp and reserve the bacon fat. Crumble the bacon and fold it into the batter. Omit the butter. Use all the bacon fat and enough oil to equal 3 tablespoons total.

Cheddar Pancakes: Reduce the sugar to 1 teaspoon. Fold 1 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese into the batter along with 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard.

Sundried Tomato and Parmesan Pancakes: Replace 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour with coarsely ground cornmeal. Stir 3/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese into the flour mixture. Replace the butter with olive oil. Fold 1/2 cup finely chopped sundried tomatoes into the batter. Use olive oil for cooking the pancakes.

Sandy Gluck hosts Martha Stewart Radio's Everyday Food weekdays at 11 a.m. EST on on Sirius XM.

More Pancake Recipes

• The Culinary Institute of America teaches you how to make pancakes.
• Get pancake recipes from our favorite celebrity chefs: Marcus Samuelsson's Chocolate Pancakes, Curtis Stone's Blueberry Pancakes and Gail Simmons' Whole Wheat Pancakes.
• Browse all breakfast and brunch recipes.
• Get pancake news, such as what's happening at IHOP, from Slashfood.