When our family recently got together for Mother’s Day, my three-year-old niece and I got plenty of quality time, looking for bugs, hunting for seashells next to a creek and getting more than just a little muddy.
It was a great day. Once we were cleaned up and inside again, my sister mentioned that my niece was looking forward to a summer sleepover at each set of grandparents’ houses. Apparently, a three-year-old’s interpretation of a sleepover includes kicking Grandpa out of the big bed to have a slumber party with Grandma and something special for breakfast.
I offered up that I wouldn’t mind being on the sleepover schedule, too, and she was immediately interested in what I’d have for breakfast at my house.
I asked her what she thought we should have, and she settled on donuts. Oh, and pancakes. Oh, and bacon. Oh, and cookies. You know, all the normal breakfast stuff.
I figured I better get my pancake skills up to snuff, since I’m notoriously bad at making them, and mine normally turn out thick and dense instead of light and fluffy.
That’s why I decided to try this week’s recipe, which I found posted on social media with no attribution as to who first discovered this technique. It’s a way to turn a simple muffin mix into great, delicious pancakes. It’s insanely easy, as you’ll see, and I didn’t change a thing, although you could add anything you wanted to these—from chocolate chips to fresh fruit to sprinkles.
Muffin Mix Pancakes
Ingredients
- 7 ounce muffin mix any flavor
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 egg
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Heat a six-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Spray it with cooking spray.
- Once the skillet is hot, pour enough batter into the pan to cover the bottom.
- Let the batter cook for several minutes. Once the edges are slightly brown and bubbles are rising in the middle of the pancake, carefully flip it over.
- Cook for another minute or so, and remove to a plate. Cover to keep warm while you finish the rest of the pancakes. For best results, spray the pan with cooking spray in between each pancake.
- Serve with your favorite toppings.
I got four six-inch pancakes out of this batter. If I would have gone a little thinner with them or made silver dollar pancakes, as I probably will when my niece stays over, I could have gotten more.
I opted for using a blueberry pancake mix, which was pretty darn good. There were several other options at my local grocery store for mixes—from banana to cinnamon sugar to chocolate chip.
You could quickly and easily make several flavors for everyone in the family.
I’m guessing my niece will have a whole new menu planned for us by the time she and I get to have our sleepover. Of course, after her first slumber party at Grandma and Grandpa’s, I’m going to have to up my game. Those people take spoiling to a whole new level, and pancakes and cookies for breakfast probably ain’t gonna cut it.
This piece first appeared in print on May 27, 2021.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.