These Homestyle Vanilla Cinnamon Buttermilk Pancakes are a weekly staple here. There are two food items that, guaranteed, we make each week: pizza dough and pancakes. The kids love these pancakes so much and I love how versatile and freezer friendly they can be.
When it comes to breakfast, we are big fans of the classics: pancakes, eggs, bacon, and loads of coffee. We cook up a big batch of these pancakes on Sunday and I freeze the rest for the week ahead. Top with butter, a drizzle of syrup and seasonal fruit. A delicious breakfast indeed. Scroll down to see how easy these are to make and freeze!
Homestyle Buttermilk Pancake Essentials
I've long believed that quality ingredients lead to quality finished products for recipes. That holds true for these delicious pancakes. That said, here's what we need to make the best homestyle Vanilla Cinnamon Buttermilk Pancakes:
- Pastured Eggs: We rotate between eggs from either our CSA box or local farm supplier at our local grocery shop here in Napa.
- Good Quality Buttermilk: buttermilk helps to kick start the baking soda and supports leavening in each pancake. The more rise, the fluffier our pancake crumb. I love this texture and good quality buttermilk from Clover Sonoma is the one I reach for each time.
- Vanilla Extract: Good quality vanilla extract adds a dimension of subtle sweetness that crafts the perfect traditional pancakes. You can also use vanilla bean paste.
- Cinnamon: Over a decade ago, I enjoyed a short stack of pancakes at a local cafe in Huntington Beach, CA where my husband and I lived before we started our family. I remember asking the owner about her pancake recipe and she mentioned they used cinnamon in their batter. I've incorporated ground cinnamon into our own batter ever since. It offers a subtle warmth that is just delicious here.
- All-Purpose Flour: I'm a long time fan of King Arthur Baking and their flours. Their signature all-purpose flour is my go-to for making the perfect pancake batter for fluffy pancakes.
Additional Tips for Making the Perfect Pancake
We've been making this version of buttermilk pancakes since March 2020 and I make them religiously on Sundays. I've experimented with a mix of flours, such as whole wheat and all-purpose flour blends, and have even added chia seeds to the mix. It has been a fruitful and enriching learning experience on what goes into making the perfect pancake. A couple of key tools in the kitchen that have also helped me include:
- Non-stick Griddle: This non-stick griddle from All-Clad has been a wonderful investment for our stovetop. Since this recipe use butter, I never have to use oil or butter on this griddle to cook pancakes. I take it out each sunday so I can make at least a half dozen pancakes at once. That helps cut down on cook time too. A big win!
- Pancake Molds for Fun and Festive Shapes: Some days we love to mix it up with fun and festive shapes for our pancakes. These Mickey Mouse Molds from Williams-Sonoma and the seasonal heart shaped silicone pancake molds from Target are ones we use time and again.
- Freezer Tips: These pancakes are super freezer friendly. Allow pancakes to cool completely before layering them in a resealable and freezer friendly storage bags. They'll freeze well for up to a month, though we tend to go through the full batch in a week for our family of four (with the kids eating the bulk of them 😉).
How to Make The Perfect Pancakes
The recipe card below will spell out the full instructions. In a simple explanation here, we'll mix the required dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and whisk together the melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and milk mixture until smooth.
We'll then gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet to form our pancake batter. Then, we'll fry them up on our pre-heated nonstick griddle. I
love using the non-stick griddle for this so that I do not use too much cooking fat and, because we make a lot of pancakes with this recipe, I can freeze them easily.
How Long Does it Take to Cook Pancakes
To make a batch of roughly 3 dozen pancakes as this recipe outlines, we can make them within 45 minutes. This is the perfect Sunday or Saturday morning cooking task to prep a batch of homemade pancakes for the week.
To cook, scoop about ¼ to ⅓ cup of prepared pancake batter onto the heated nonstick skillet. With the griddle I use (linked above), I can fit about 6 pancakes. Allow the pancakes to cook about 2 to 3 minutes until you start to see bubbles or air pockets form on the top of the uncooked portion of the pancake.
Once the edges look golden brown, use a silcone spatula to flip and cook the other side, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove the pancakes to a cooling rack and either keep warm in the oven (set to the lowest temperature) until ready to serve.
More Pancake Recipes to Add to the Mix
There are plenty more pancake recipes to love here that celebrate seasonal ingredients. Check out a few more of our favorites below:
- Fluffy Cottage Cheese Pancakes are great if you're wanting to add a bit more protein to the pancake mix. I love this variation over adding in a protein powder, though I am experimenting with using plant based protein powders here too.
- Heirloom Blue Corn Pancakes with Piloncillo Syrup are a beautiful option for using blue corn masa harina to elevate your pancake recipe rotation.
- Pumpkin Pancakes with Maple Cinnamon Syrup are great to keep in mind for fall/winter to use either canned or fresh roasted pumpkin.
- Finally, these browned butter pears and apples make for a wonderful fall topping for pancakes, oats, and more.
No matter how you garnish them, these homemade pancakes will become your favorite thing to make on Sunday. If you make them, let me know how they turn out! I love hearing from you.
Homestyle Vanilla Cinnamon Buttermilk Pancakes
Ingredients
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking soda
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 cups buttermilk
- 4 whole eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- additional butter or coconut oil for pan
- garnish options: fresh berries, powdered sugar, more butter, maple syrup. You get the idea.
Instructions
- Melt butter in microwave in 15-20 second intervals (depending on your microwave’s power settings) or in a small saucepan on the stove. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, preheat your skillet or griddle on medium heat.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and the cinnamon. Whisk together to combine. In the same bowl, add in the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla bean paste, and the cooled melted butter. Whisk to combine wet and dry ingredients. Be careful not to over whisk as the batter can become tough and the pancakes will flatten when cooking. If the batter looks airy, slightly puffy, with just a few small lumps, this is good.
- Using a ladle or ¼ cup measuring cup, scoop batter and pour onto the skillet or griddle. Depending on the space of your cooking surface, you might be able to fit at least 4 pancakes. Be careful not to overcrowd the pancakes on your skillet or griddle as they might stick together. Allow pancakes to cook for at least 2 minutes or until you observe bubbles starting to form. Flip the pancakes and cook the other side for at least two minutes, until both sides are slightly browned. Adjust your heat as needed.
- Remove pancakes to a plate or serving platter. You can keep warm in a heated oven (set to lowest temp) while cooking the remaining pancakes. Once all pancakes are cooked, garnish and serve immediately. This recipe yields 8 to 12 pancakes depending on how big you make them when pouring the batter.
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