Healthy Eating: Perfect pancakes for the New Year

Before COVID, my family loved going out for breakfast on Saturday or Sunday. I enjoyed it because it gave me a break from cooking breakfast and the family time felt special as we relaxed around a table of pancakes, waffles or special omelets. When COVID hit, I started making extra special breakfast on the weekends. Waffles, pancakes, quiches, Dutch babies, Danish aebleskivers (Danish round pancakes), crepes, scones, biscuits, coffee cakes, cinnamon rolls, etc. I wanted to make things interesting because we missed going out as a family.

The tradition continues at home, and I have accumulated many recipes for pancakes. It is amazing how many variations of pancakes live in the world. I love using my sourdough starter. Sometimes I add yogurt or buttermilk; buckwheat versions have become a favorite and the add-ins are endless — bananas, blueberries, raspberries, toasted pecans, etc.

While I call these “Perfect Pancakes,” I think any pancake that you make from scratch are unique and special. Feel free to make substitutions if you are dairy-free or gluten-free. Keep them plain or add nuts or berries while cooking them. My favorite is blueberry because I love how the slightly cooked blueberries taste with the real maple syrup (my husband is Québécois so using real maple syrup is a requirement!)

This would be a lovely New Year’s Day recipe to welcome 2026. Here’s wishing you a healthy new year filled with delicious meals shared with family and friends.

Perfect Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (I sometimes use half all-purpose and half whole wheat)
4 generous tbsp. granulated sugar
1 heaping tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk, plus more as needed for thinning
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (generous tablespoon)
4 tbsp. salted butter, melted, plus more for greasing griddle and serving
Maple or pancake syrup

Directions

• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, buttermilk, egg and vanilla. While whisking briskly, drizzle in the melted butter.
• Using a rubber spatula, start gently stirring the dry ingredients while slowly pouring in the wet ingredients. Switch to folding once all the wet ingredients have been added to avoid overworking the batter. Continue folding until everything is combined. The batter should still be lumpy (don’t try to stir the lumps out). Over stirring will cause the pancakes to be tough.
• Important but optional! Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the batter to rest on the counter for 45 minutes to one hour. (If you don’t have time to let the batter rest, they’ll still be good.) Before frying, add up to 1/4 cup additional milk if you want thinner pancakes. (Or leave as is if you like them thick and fluffy.)
• Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Smear with butter and drop 1/3 cup (or 1/4 cup if you prefer smaller pancakes) of the batter on the griddle. Let cook until bubbles form on the surface, then flip and cook for another 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
• Serve with maple syrup or the topping of your choice.

Deborah Binder lives in Edmonds with her family. She loves to cook from scratch using produce from the gardens she created with her husband. She attended culinary school and worked for restaurants, caterers and culinary schools. Her current interest in food is learning to eat for health and wellness, while at the same time enjoying the pleasures of the table. Deborah loves experimenting and developing new recipes. As Julia Child once said, “Everything in moderation including moderation.” Deborah can be contacted at jaideborah@yahoo.com.