Pancakes

Pancakes are a great food storage meal. If I were without electricity and had to cook a meal on a cook stove or campfire, pancakes would be one of my top choices. They are filling, easy and quick to make – especially with a mix already made up – and they only require a few ingredients. However, some pancakes are definitely better than others and it’s always great to have a ready-made mix in the pantry.

Here are some mixes to choose from as well as several variations that offer many choices. There are some syrup recipes thrown in as well. Thanks to my daughter for sharing the recipe for her yummy coconut syrup, and to another daughter for her delicious crepe recipe, which is another great option.

Food storage doesn't seem so overwhelming with great ideas in mind. It is easy to have the ingredients for pancakes and waffles on hand as part of your food storage, and even some mixes made up in advance.

Basic Pancake mix
10 c. flour
2 ½ c. instant nonfat dry milk
½ c. sugar
¼ c. baking powder
2 T. salt
Mix all ingredient and stir well. Put in large airtight container. Store in a cool dry place for 6-8 months (maybe longer).
To make pancakes:
1 ½ c. dry mix
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 c. water
3 T. vegetable oil
Combine egg, water and oil. Add to pancake mix. For thinner pancakes add more water. Blend well. Let stand 5 minutes. Cook on hot oiled griddle about 3-4 minutes till browned on both sides. Y: 10-12 4” pancakes.

Whole wheat pancake mix
4 ½ c. while wheat flour
4 ½ c. all purpose flour
1 c. dry milk
1 c. sugar
½ c. wheat germ
¼ c. baking powder
1 T. salt
Optional for complete mix:
2 c. shortening or 2 c. powdered margarine
¾ c. dehydrated eggs
Combine ingredients in large bowl or container. Sore in cool dry place.
To make pancakes:
2 ½ c. mix
1 ½ c. water (or milk)
If you didn’t add eggs and shortening to the mix also add:
2 eggs
¼ to 1/3 c. oil or butter
Mix together. Add more water if necessary.

Buttermilk Pancake mix
8 c. flour
½ c. sugar
1 c. dry buttermilk powder
4 t. baking soda
8 t. baking powder
2 t. salt
Combine all ingredients and whisk together to distribute evenly. Store in a cool dry place. If stored properly this mix can last up to 5 years.*Note: Buttermilk powder is a great additive makes excellent pancakes. It is available in all the usual storage places as well as many grocery stores on the baking isle.
To make pancakes:
Measure 1 ½ c. mix into a bowl. Whisk one egg with 1 c. water and 2 ¼ T. melted butter. Add to mix and stir just till combined. Add more water if necessary to desired consistency. Bake on oiled griddle.

Sour Cream Pancake Mix
8 c. flour
2/3 c. sugar
1 ¼ c. dry sour cream powder
4 t. soda
8 t. baking powder
2 t. salt
Combine all ingredients and whisk together to distribute evenly. Store in a cool dry place. If stored properly this mix can last up to 5 years.*Note: Sour cream powder is a great additive makes excellent pancakes. It is available in all the usual storage places such as Walton feed, Honeyville grain and Prepared Pantry. It may be in some grocery stores but may be hard to find.
To make pancakes:
Measure 1 ½ c. mix into a bowl. Whisk one egg with 1 c. water and 2 ¼ T. melted butter. Add to mix and stir just till combined. Add more water if necessary to desired consistency. Bake on oiled griddle.

Just for fun, here are some optional stir-ins for the buttermilk or sour cream pancakes to make several different variations:
-Chocolate Chip Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add mini milk chocolate chips). Serve with maple syrup, coconut cream syrup, or vanilla cream syrup.
-Cinnamon Chip Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add mini cinnamon chips). Serve with maple syrup, cinnamon cream syrup, or cinnamon apple syrup.
-Maple Chip Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add mini maple chips). Serve with maple syrup or maple cream syrup.
-Walnut and Date Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add chopped walnuts and dates). Serve with maple syrup, cinnamon cream syrup, or maple cream syrup.
-Apple Cinnamon Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add grated fresh apples or Fuji dry apples plus cinnamon). Serve with maple syrup, cinnamon apple syrup, or maple cream syrup.
-Baked Apple Pancakes (add grated fresh apples plus maple flavoring). Serve with maple syrup, cinnamon apple syrup, or maple cream syrup.
-Cranberry Nut Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add chopped walnuts and dry cranberries). Serve with maple syrup, cinnamon apple syrup, or coconut cream syrup.
-Caramel Pear Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add diced dry pears plus a touch of nutmeg and a little cinnamon). Serve with Cinnamon Cream or Vanilla Cream syrup or a sprinkle of brown sugar.
-Blueberry Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add fresh or individually frozen blueberries plus a touch of lemon and nutmeg). Add the blueberries at the last and don’t stir more than necessary to avoid turning your pancakes blue.
-Fresh Peach and Pecan Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add chopped fresh peaches and chopped pecans plus a touch of lemon and nutmeg). Serve with Orchard Peach or Vanilla Cream Syrup.
-Raspberry Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add fresh or individually frozen raspberries plus a touch of lemon). Add the raspberries at the last and don’t stir more than necessary.
-Banana Pecan Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add a mashed banana and a little banana flavoring along with cinnamon and chopped pecans). Top with more sliced bananas. Serve with maple syrup or cinnamon cream syrup.
-Fresh Strawberry Sour Cream/Buttermilk Pancakes (add fresh strawberries thinly sliced and a touch of lemon). Serve with strawberry syrup or vanilla cream syrup.

Oatmeal Pancake Mix
Y: 10 cups of dry mix
3 ½ c. quick oats
3 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. all-purpose flour
3 T. sugar
3 T. baking powder
1 T. salt
1 T. baking soda
1 c. vegetable oil
Mix all the dry ingredients together. With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct). Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.
To make the pancakes:
Whisk together:
1 c. of mix
1 c. buttermilk (or sour milk or half plain yogurt and half milk)
1 egg
The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto it. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface and don't break, turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side. *1 cup of mix will make about 6-7 4" pancakes

WHOLE WHEAT BLENDER PANCAKES
1 c. milk
1 c. uncooked whole wheat
2 eggs
2 T. oil
2 t. baking powder
2 T. honey or sugar
1 ½ t. salt
Put milk and wheat in blender. Blend on high 4-5 minutes or till smooth. Add and blend on low, eggs, oil, baking powder, honey and salt. Bake on hot griddle.

GERMAN PANCAKES
Preheat oven to 400º. Put 6 T. margarine in a 9x13 pan and melt in oven while preheating. Don’t burn. Meanwhile in the blender combine 6 eggs, 1 c. milk, blend well. Add 1 tsp vanilla, ½ tsp salt and gradually add 1 c. flour. Blend well. Pour into pan. Bake 20-25 minutes until fluffy and golden brown on top. Serve immediately with syrup, jam, jelly, or fresh fruit, etc.

MAPLE SYRUP
4 c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar
2 c. water
1 t. vanilla
1 t. maple flavoring
Mix sugar and water, and stir till dissolved. Bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Then add flavorings. Stir only to mix.
Quick syrup: Pour 1 c. boiling water over 2 c. sugar and stir till sugar is dissolved. Stir in ½ t. maple flavoring.

Jenny’s Coconut Syrup
7-8 T. butter
¾ c. buttermilk
1 c. sugar
½ t. baking soda
1 t. coconut extract
Place butter, buttermilk and sugar in a pot. Then turn stove on medium and stir until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil one minute. Remove from heat and add soda and flavoring. It will bubble up; just continue to stir and give it a few minutes for the 'fizz' to reduce before serving.

Orange Syrup
½ c. Orange Juice
1/3 c. Karo Syrup
¼ c. sugar
4 t. butter
1 t. grated orange peel
½ t. orange extract
Mix 1st 5 ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in extract. Pour over pancakes, waffles or French toast.

Fruit Flavored Pancake Syrup
1 – 3 oz. package red jell-o (Not Raspberry)
½ c. boiling water
1 qt. corn syrup
Dissolve Jell-o in boiling water. Add corn syrup and cook 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off foam and cool. Store in covered container in fridge. Y: 1 quart syrup

Pineapple Syrup
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup pineapple juice concentrate (right out of the can)
For the syrup, in a small saucepan, place butter, sugar and pineapple juice.
Heat over low heat, stirring, until butter melts. Do not boil. For a fun variation, serve over pancakes with chopped macadamia nuts in the batter. If desired, top pancakes with sliced bananas, syrup and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Jamie's Crepes
Y: About 20
4 cups flour
4 cups milk
4 eggs
1 cube butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
Melt butter in about 1 cup of the milk. Add flour, sugar, salt, milk and butter together then beat in eggs. The mixture should be like a thin milk shake. If necessary, add about a half cup of water to thin it down more. Heat frying pan on about medium, medium high heat. Two fry pans work best if available. Spray pans with Pam. Pour 1/3 cup of batter in the center of the fry pan. Immediately begin to swirl the pan around to coat the bottom with the batter. If they don’t swirl easily, add some more water. Use a plastic turner to flip the crepe as soon as the middle to the batter has cooked (you can tell), and the edges begin to turn slightly brown. Flip and cook for another minute or two. Once you get the rhythm, you will be moving back and forth between the two pans quite smoothly. You can fill the crepes with cream cheese and strawberries, strawberry jam with cool whip or powdered sugar, even nutella. Any fruit or filling you like is good. They are even great filled with chicken salad for the filling. This recipe makes a lot of crepes but you can cut it in half or in fourths.