Start your day right with these old-fashioned griddle cakes! They are light, fluffy, and come together quickly. Best of all, you don't need eggs for this recipe! So whether you are allergic, or just don't have any on hand, you can still enjoy a short stack with all your favorite toppings.
This recipe comes from my great grandmother's recipe tin. While I'm not sure how old it actually is, or where it came from, my guess is that it's from the depression era based on the omission of eggs. During the Great Depression, eggs were in short supply, so many recipes from that time period didn't use them. Buttermilk, however, could be found in many recipes, and this one is no different.
This recipe originally called for buttermilk, baking soda, flour, salt, and melted butter. Making the recipe as it was written produced a VERY fluffy pancake, but it was a little short on flavor. While perfectly edible, they weren't particularly great. When times are tough, I imagine okay pancakes were good enough. But since I love pancakes, I made some minor changes to bring these up a notch while keeping with the overall spirit of the recipe.
By reducing the baking soda and adding some baking powder, I was able to keep them fluffy while preserving a little more of the buttermilk flavor. I added some sugar (not much) to give them some sweetness and a little vanilla extract for flavor. If you'd like to give this recipe a try to see how these tasted back in the day, you can simply leave out the sugar and vanilla extract for an authentic (and still delicious) experience.
Old-Fashioned Griddle Cakes
Ingredients
2 cups AP flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar (optional)
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2¼ cups buttermilk (I used light), room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
In a medium bowl combine all dry ingredients. Mix well.
In a separate bowl combine buttermilk, vanilla, and butter.
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until well combined. Remove as many lumps as possible.
Heat a lightly greased, nonstick pan over high heat, or preheat a griddle to 375F.
To test if your pan is ready, flick some water into the pan. When it sizzles and evaporates immediately, the pan is ready. Turn the heat down to medium.
Using a 1/3 cup scoop, scoop some batter into the pan or griddle. Allow to cook, undisturbed until bubbles begin to form and the edges begin to cook. Flip and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
If you find your pancakes are browning too quickly, turn the heat down slightly.
Using a 1/3 cup scoop will yield 9 medium pancakes