Looking for a family pleasing weekend breakfast idea? Then you’ll love this recipe as much as we do! My tender, fluffy ricotta pancakes are spiced with cinnamon and cloves and filled with mini chocolate chips so they taste just like a chocolate cannoli. Yum!
Hello, all!
Most mornings around here breakfast is something simple. A scrambled egg, a quick smoothie, or maybe some sliced apple with peanut butter. All quick and easy and designed to let me get on with my day!
However, on weekends or holiday mornings, birthdays, and other special days, it’s nice to slow down and make a big stack of pancakes with toppings and (of course) bacon! š
Which is why it’s time to introduce you to our new favorite weekend breakfast – fluffy ricotta pancakes, or as I’ve been calling them, cannoli pancakes. I’ve been making these for months, just because we’ve been enjoying them so much! But it’s time to move onto the next big breakfast idea and finally share them with all of you.
Why do we love these?
- Tender! The ricotta makes for very tender pancakes which stay fluffy so long as you don’t overmix.
- Tangy! Buttermilk gives them just the right amount of zip.
- Spicy! Cinnamon and cloves give them a warm flavor which is going to bring you back to memories of cannoli past.
- Chocolate! As is well known, everything is better with chocolate. It’s just a fact.
- Simple! If you know how to make basic pancakes, this ricotta version are delicious variation on the theme.
What do you need?
- Ricotta – For the best results look for all natural with no gums or stabilizers.
- Chocolate Chips – Either semisweet or bittersweet is great.
- Dry Ingredients – All the basics plus cinnamon and cloves.
- Wet Ingredients – Buttermilk, regular milk, eggs, and vanilla.
- Strawberries – Chopped up and tossed with sugar.
How to make this
To make fluffy ricotta pancakes, mix together the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry ingredients in another bowl. Fold together the wet and dry to make pancake batter. Then pour the batter by 1/3 cup amounts onto a hot griddle until golden brown and cooked through.
- Mix together your flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a bowl.
- Mix together your ricotta, buttermilk, milk, eggs, and vanilla in another bowl.
- Combine them together with the chocolate chips.
- Mix minimally!
- Rest the batter while you heat your griddle.
- Pour the batter by 1/3 cup amounts onto the hot griddle.
- Wait until you get bubbles in the middle of the pancakes.
- Flip and cook the other side until golden.
Tip: For rounder pancakes pour the batter onto the griddle from a height. I find about 4 inches enough height to keep them round.
Tip: Since you are busy making the pancakes, if you want bacon cook it in the oven on a baking tray. 400F for 12-16 minutes (thin vs. thick cut) will do it. Turn the tray around after the first 6-8 minutes.
What makes them fluffy?
Don’t overmix! šš»
Mix the pancakes using a large silicone spatula and use as few strokes as possible. Mix only until the flour is combined (so you don’t have dry flour at the bottom) but no more than that. The lumps are fine. In fact, if you don’t have any? You mixed too much.
Why rest the batter?
Resting the batter allows any gluten you did develop while mixing to relax. And you did develop some even if you were being super careful! It’s just the nature of flour. Relaxing the gluten will help to you to achieve maximum fluffiness.
Also, resting lets the wet and dry completely combine and become more evenly mixed and hydrated. (And thicker! By more fully hydrating the flour you’ll see the batter become thicker after the 10 minute rest than before.)
But don’t rest too long! 10 minutes is sufficient to relax and hydrate your batter without letting the baking powder get stale. If you want (or need) to make the batter ahead of time, leave out the baking powder and eggs. Stir those in as your griddle heats.
If you try my recipe for Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And Iām happy to answer any questions you might have.
You can connect with me by subscribing to my emails (see the form in the sidebar or below the recipe card), liking my FACEBOOK page, or by following me on PINTEREST.
– Happy Eating, Annemarie
Cannoli Spiced Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves, or nutmeg
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix ins
- 1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
Macerated Strawberries
- 1 lb strawberries, chopped
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Optional Toppings
- whipped cream
- maple syrup
- semisweet mini chocolate chips
Instructions
Ricotta Pancakes
- In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves.
- In another bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients - ricotta, buttermilk, milk, eggs, and vanilla.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients in one bowl. Add the chocolate chips to the bowl, then fold the batter together until you see no dry flour.
- Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
- Heat up a griddle to 375F. Or heat a large nonstick skillet on medium heat.
- Lightly grease the griddle or skillet by brushing it with a little vegetable oil.
- Pour the batter on the griddle by 1/3 - 1/2 cup amounts for mid-sized pancakes.
- Cook the pancakes on the first side until small bubbles appear on the surface, then flip and continue cooking on the opposite side until golden brown.
- Serve with macerated strawberries and any other toppings of your choice.
Macerated Strawberries
- Mix together the strawberries, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside until you are ready to eat.
Notes
- Strawberry Substitutions: You can switch out the strawberries for any seasonal fruit of your choice. Other berries, like blueberries or raspberries would be great (though prep the raspberries right before serving so they don't get mushy). Apples, mangoes, papayas, or oranges would also work well.
- Buttermilk: If you use acidified milk instead of the buttermilk, hold back on adding the extra 1/4 cup of milk until you check your batter. The batter should be thick but still pour from your spoon. The buttermilk is thicker and needs that extra milk, but the acidified milk may not.
- Using a Skillet: To determine if your skillet has reached ~375F, sprinkle a few drops of water in the skillet. If they ball up and skitter about the surface before evaporating, your skillet is hot.
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