Two Minute Mason Jar Pancakes
Saturday morning pancakes are a real treat. Waking up to the smell of fresh pancakes cooking on the griddle in the farmhouse kitchen is one of the few ways to make this non-morning person hop out of bed happily. Pancakes are one of those rare foods that I love as much in my adult years as I did when I was a child.
Busy schedules (and my preference to sleep in) don’t always lend themselves to making a fresh batch of pancakes for breakfast. Luckily, I can sleep in and still make pancakes for the entire family thanks to this simple microwave method.
In two minutes, a Mason jar pancake is ready to top with butter and maple syrup and serve at our breakfast table. Now each and every family member can have a hot pancake breakfast when they wake up. Everyone can add the toppings they want to make exactly what sort of pancake they’re craving. A handful of chocolate chips, frozen blueberries, and ripe banana slices are always popular at our house.
I like to use our homemade pancake batter, but you can certainly use your favorite recipe or mix. I make a batch of batter and keep it at the ready in the refrigerator in a large Mason jar with a reusable lid. The batter can be kept for several days in the refrigerator and tastes just as delicious on the last day as it does on the day it is made.
A microwave pancake has a texture a bit different from a traditional pancake. Because it steams quickly in the glass jar, it is moist and cakey. The flavor is exactly the same, but its texture and appearance will be different from the flat pancakes you’re used to.
This batter is also scrumptious prepared as a traditional pancake cooked on a griddle or pan. When we griddle pancakes, I make extra so that I can stock the freezer. A few frozen pancakes can be warmed up quickly and served for a hot breakfast, lunch, or dinner. No matter how many I make, they never last very long at our house.
With a batch of pancake batter, a Mason jar, and a microwave, I think that you’ll agree that this easy method is the perfect way to make any day pancake day.
Two Minute Mason Jar Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups All-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup plain yogurt or sour cream
- 1 ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup sparkling water or water
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Measure the dry ingredients and combine them in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl or the container of your blender, add the remaining ingredients. Mix until the liquids are smooth. Add the measured dry ingredients and mix until the batter is free of lumps and completely smooth.
- From this point, the batter can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days. It can be prepared as traditional pancakes or as two minute microwave pancakes.
- To prepare a microwave pancake, lightly spray the inside surface of a pint size (16 ounce) Mason jar with cooking spray. I use a wide mouth jar as it makes removing the pancake much easier. A regular mouth jar can also be used. Add 4-6 ounces of pancake batter to the jar. The jar’s embossed markings will make measuring the batter even easier. You can add a sprinkling of chocolate chips, fresh or frozen fruit, or other pancake additions if you’d like.While the jar may look underfilled, it will allow the pancake to cook and expand fully without overflowing and creating a mess in the microwave.
- Place the jar in your microwave. Each microwave oven model cooks a bit differently, so a bit of trial and error may be necessary to determine the right length of time to cook a perfect pancake. I find that 2 minutes is just right for ours, so I would recommend beginning there and making adjustments as necessary on subsequent jars.
- As the pancake cooks, you will notice that it expands greatly and may even rise up past the top rim of the jar. Don’t panic as the pancake will settle back down into the jar when the microwave finishes cooking.
- Remove the jar from the microwave taking care as the jar will be quite hot. You can top the pancake with butter and syrup and enjoy it straight from the jar or tip it out onto a plate and enjoy every last bite!