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Stack of brown sugar pancakes with dripping syrup on pink plates

20-Minute Brown Sugar Pancakes

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These fluffy homemade pancakes use brown sugar to add extra flavor and give you that perfectly golden-brown caramelized exterior every single time.
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine American
Diet Vegetarian
Keyword 30 Minutes or Less, Breakfast, Brown Sugar Pancakes, Brunch, Pancakes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 8 pancakes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup milk dairy or plant-based
  • 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar tightly packed
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter for frying dairy or plant-based

Instructions

  • In a measuring cup or small bowl, add the vinegar to the milk, stir, and set aside to slightly curdle to make buttermilk.
    1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
    Adding white distilled vinegar to milk to make buttermilk
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, brown sugar, and salt.
    1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, ½ teaspoon salt
    Whisking together dry ingredients for brown sugar pancake batter
  • Add the egg, vanilla extract, and your buttermilk mixture, and whisk until smooth, careful not to overbeat.
    1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    Brown sugar pancakes batter ready to fry up pancakes
  • Add butter to your griddle or frying pan and allow it to heat up on medium-high until the butter is melted. You want a bubbly mixture that is thin enough to run off your spoon, but not too thin that it spreads too flat on the pan. If the mixture seems too thin at this point, you can add up to 2 more tablespoons of flour to the batter.
    3 tablespoons unsalted butter for frying
    Butter melting in a pan to get ready for frying pancakes in
  • For the thickest, most perfectly round pancakes, use pancake molds. Pour batter into your molds or freeform circles onto the pan and cook over medium heat.
    Two pancakes frying in a pan ready to flip
  • When it's ready to flip, the batter on the uncooked side will start to form little air bubbles. Use a spatula to flip the pancakes, and allow them to cook on the other side for 2-3 minutes.
  • Continue to fry the pancakes, 2 or 3 at a time, until all of your batter is used up, adding butter when needed. Serve warm with maple syrup. Try them with these Vegan Breakfast Sausage Patties!

Notes

  • You can easily make this recipe vegan by using flax egg in the batter and frying the pancakes in non-dairy butter.
  • You can use cooking spray instead of butter for a lighter version, but these pancakes taste really good with a little crisp on the outside. Please note, you may have to leave them on your pan or griddle a bit longer to get them golden-brown if you’re using the spray.
  • If you’re like me and love starting your day with pancakes, you’re gonna need to check out the collection of my best pancake recipes!