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My great aunt Pearl has the best homemade pancake recipe. It is so easy to make, and so much better than those boxed mixes.
Pearl & My Grandma, Dorothy May
When I was growing up, I am certain I met my Great Aunt Pearl Belles, she was my Grandma’s, Dorothy Belles’ sister after all. Unfortunately, I remember very little about her. One thing is for sure though, we think about her every time we make her fluffy pancakes.
Sitting down to a delicious Sunday breakfast always included her pancakes, as well as bacon and eggs, along with a glass of orange juice. I miss those wonderful breakfasts, and the fun we had sharing stories as we enjoyed the meal. My girls are all grown up now and have families of their own. We still get together every now and then around the various holidays and have a brunch. Although the most requested item is my Hatch Chili Eggs Benedict, I still get requests for the fluffy pancakes as well.
Ah, the memories! A few months ago, I made the pancakes for my granddaughters (aka the Littles), and explained that I was using my Aunt Pearl’s Fluffy Pancake recipe. They were so sweet as they ate their pancakes. They kept telling me that they were the fluffiest pancakes they’d ever eaten! I am quite sure they were absolutely right!
The other day, the Littles spent the night, and I asked they wanted me to make them Pearl’s Fluffy Pancakes for breakfast. They immediately said, “Yes!”, and, of course, they wanted to help me make them. As you can imagine, they were both very excited about helping and I was a little frazzled!
Stay Focused on the Pancakes
Ordinarily, I love to bake with them, however, I was a little concerned since it was a school morning. I have a hard time focusing when I have a time constraint, and I had to haul them across town to school. But, in the end, we were able to get all the ingredients into the mix! Whew!!!
The point I am trying to make is that I have found a system of getting out all of the ingredients and lining them up on the counter. This helps to ensure that I won’t forget any ingredient, especially while cooking with the Littles, as it can be a little crazy! As in all cases, my system evolved because I have forgotten some of the ingredients in recipes before and it is not fun!
In fact, I distinctly remember a batch of super flat cookies one year. Therefore, as I measure and add each ingredient, I put the item back in the pantry. I explained this to the Littles, and they thought it was a pretty simple way to keep track of what ingredients have already been added – and what ones still need to go into the mix.
Once I have all the ingredients out and ready, I start putting them together. First, I add all of the dry ingredients into one bowl, making sure to sift the flour. I always sift the flour, mainly because I keep bay leaves in my flour to deter the bole weevils. Did you know that putting the flour in the freezer when you get it home from the store for a day or so, will kill any chance of bole weevils showing up in your flour. I also have a few bay leaves tucked away in my pantry as well. Since I started doing this, I haven’t seen those any more weevils!
Get Your Mix On
I always add the sugar to the dry ingredients – I mean, it’s dry…. but you can also add it to the wet ingredients if you prefer. Melt the shortening in the microwave for about 30 seconds and set it aside. Mix the eggs, milk, and vanilla together until combined. Adding the vanilla was something I came up with – her original recipe doesn’t call for vanilla.
At this point, the egg mixture is poured into the dry mixture along with the melted shortening. Be sure not to overwork the batter, just stir it for a minute to combine the ingredients and let it sit while you get the skillet nice and hot.
Make Sure the Skillet is Hot
I typically spray mine with Pam Olive Oil spray, and once it is hot, I take a paper towel and dry it off a little. There is no scientific reason for this, it’s just how I do it. Maybe I saw my mom do it that way when I was younger, I dunno. At any rate, this is the time to add your first ladle full of batter to the hot skillet. I usually use my large Paella pan as four pancakes fit in it nicely.
Be Patient
This is when your PATIENCE needs to kick in! Let them cook for a minute. They will bubble up all over, and the edges will not be as shiny.
Once the pancakes are ready, slip your spatula under and give it a good flip. This is definitely a skill that will improve with practice, so don’t worry if your first few aren’t perfect.
Trust Me – These Are Worth Waiting For
At this point in the process, more PATIENCE is needed. The goal is to make sure the middle of the pancake is cooked. Once we had a friend over for breakfast and she volunteered to make the pancakes.
She was not patient! Although they looked pretty on the outside, the inside was not cooked. Needless to say, we had to make a whole new batch and start over. If you are worried about it, you can always re-flip the pancake. However, after making these a few times, you will be flipping them like a pro.
Also, I highly recommend 100% pure maple syrup. It’s worth every penny, trust me!
I hope you enjoy this treasured family recipe as much as my family has!
Enjoy,
Sherri
Aunt Pearl’s Fluffy Pancakes
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups Flour
- 3 tbsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Cream of Tarter
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
Wet Ingredients
- 2 Eggs, beaten
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups Milk
Add Last
- 3 tbsp Shortening melted and warm
Instructions
- Sift all dry ingredients together.
- In a separate bowl, beat eggs.
- Add Vanilla and Milk.
- Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients a little at a time to combine.
- Add (warm) melted shortening.
- Stir to combine all the ingredients. Do not beat. This mixture will bubble.
- Test pan is ready by adding a few drops of water to pan. If they pop up and sizzle, the pan is ready.
- Spoon the pancake mixture into the pan using a soup ladle or cookie scoop.
- Let them cook until bubbles appear and the sides of the pancakes are no longer shiny. Slide the spatula under and carefully flip the pancake.
- Pancake is done when steam starts to rise off the pancake.
Notes
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