Your Boxed Pancake Mix Will Taste Better With One Simple Step

Ain't modern science a marvel? You can get virtually anything you could possibly want online with a few clicks and the variety of products you can buy is seemingly endless. You can get shots of energy in little plastic bottles, you can get cheese in an aerosol can, and you can get pancake mix from a box. How convenient!

It may be easier to make pancakes now, but (just as with some other products marketed primarily for their convenience) the boxed mix (first introduced in 1889, per The Nibble) can sometimes be a bit lacking when compared to those made from scratch. Thankfully, there are a couple things you can do to give your flapjacks that homemade flavorful feel. Just add flavorings!

This simple step is all you need to do to bring your boxed pancake mix a little closer to home. Flavorings like vanilla, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, allspice, chai spice, nutmeg, and any other spice you like can give your pancakes an extra kick.

Adding spices to boxed pancake mix is just as easy as it sounds. When you're measuring out (or just eye-balling) your boxed mix make sure to incorporate some of the additions. There are also a couple of other things to try while you're at it.

Lifestyle of a Foodie recommends sifting your pancake mix before introducing any wet elements. Doing so will prevent any clumps from forming while you're preparing the wet mix and make for fluffier pancakes. According to King Arthur Baking, overmixing a pancake batter eliminates air bubbles. If your pancake mix is lumpy, you'll need to mix it well to break the clumps up, but you'll also be removing air from the batter, too. So, always sift your dry ingredients. 

You can also use milk instead of water when making the wet mix, and in fact adding different dairy elements will overall help your pancake to become richer. Using milk and adding things like butter, yogurt, or even ricotta cheese are good ways to get a more wholesome pancake.

And of course, as always, you can (and should) add toppings of some kind. Whether you're baking blueberries and/or chocolate chips in a smiley face or you're slicing up some bananas as a sort of heavy garnish, every little bit of spice added can elevate your boxed pancake mix from boring to spectacular.