Berries and Cream Sheet Pancake - sm - © dinnerthendessert.com

COVID-19 Lock Down Cooking Fun: Sheet Pan Pancakes!

Here’s a great weekend breakfast thing that will intrigue and enrapture your locked-down family. You’ve probably had regular Pancakes so often by now that you’re tired of them. But here’s a process and presentation that will get everybody you cook for loving them again…

Berries and Cream Sheet Pancake - © dinnerthendessert.com

This recipe – more a technique than a list of ingredients – is guaranteed to freshen up your breakfast time menus and maybe even provide a development platform for great new lunch and supper dishes everyone will love.

What you need

Here’s the best part: You don’t have to be an experienced baker or even an experienced Cook to make Sheet Pan Pancakes. You you don’t need any exotic ingredients or fancy bake ware, either. And you can use your favourite scratch-made Pancake Batter recipe or store-bought Pancake Mix as the base for your creations. From there, you can add flavours and amendments to your heart’s content! I’ve put together some suggestions for different sweet and savoury Sheet Pan Pancakes as a starting point, to get your imagination perking:

Sweet:

Berries and Cream: (See photo, left) Add one or more types of fresh Berries to your Pancakes and top with Yogurt or Sour Cream for serving.

Chocolate Chip: Sprinkle Chocolate Chips over the Batter before baking. You can also use Caramel or other Chips, or a mixture.

Bear Claw: Add Diced Apples dredged in Cinnamon and Sugar. Sprinkle leftover Cinnamon and Sugar mixture over the Pancake after baking.

Strawberry Shortcake: Top Batter with sliced Strawberries dredged in Sugar before baking and serve with Whipped Cream.

Bananas Foster: Dredge Banana Slices in melted Butter and Brown Sugar, and arrange over Batter before Baking. Add a little Rum, Rum Flavouring or extra Vanilla to the Batter.

Savoury:

Florentine: Add wilted Spinach, chunks of Swiss Cheese and a dash of chopped Fresh Rosemary.

Lorraine: Add Swiss Cheese and Bacon Crumbles.

Western: Add Bacon Crumbles or diced Ham, diced Sweet Peppers and diced Onions.

Tex-Mex: Add chunks of Chorizo Sausage, finely chopped Japapeño Pepper, diced Jack or Cheddar Cheese, a handful of Sweet Corn Kernels and a sprinkle of chopped Fresh Cilantro.

Asian: Add chopped Leeks, diced Green Onions, and Diced Cooked Chicken dredged in Curry Powder.

Southeast Asian: Marinate small (Cocktail-sized) peeled and cooked Shrimp in a mix of chopped Red Chilis, Onions, Minced Garlic, Soy Sauce and Sugar (blend to your taste).  Add a small amount of the Marinade to the Batter. Arrange Marinated Shrimp over batter before baking.

What you do

Pre-heat the oven to 425 F.

Spray a sheet pan (a cookie sheet with raised sides; for large batches) or a large casserole dish (like a Lasagna dish) with Cooking Spray, or line with parchment paper.

Double (or triple, as required to fill the pan to a depth of at least 1/2 in. / 1.5 cm.) your regular Pancake Batter recipe.

Add the dressings as required for the kind of Pancake you’re making.

Bake in the oven uncovered until golden brown on top and done in the middle – approximately 15 minutes. (Cooking times will vary according to how full your baking vessel is and what you’re adding.)

Cut into generous squares.

Serve with any topping you like, or use the specific toppings recommended for several of the versions listed above.

And there you have it!

Pretty easy, huh? And I guarantee that anybody who loves Pancakes for breakfast will love them for lunch or supper as well. Go for it. Try one or two of the above ‘recipe’ ideas and riff on the technique from there…

~ Maggie J.