This morning, everyone besides the dogs and I slept-in, and cranberry-orange pancakes was the special breakfast I wanted to make for my sweethearts that were still all-snug in their beds. Orange Pancakes are topped with cranberry sauce, and a generous drizzling of orange-zest icing.
I have always loved this flavor combination, and literally threw this together while siping my first cup of coffee for the day. All of this was so easy, and a weekend breakfast that I’m sure I’ll be asked to make again soon.
First, you’ll need to have a few ingredients ready to go. Cranberry sauce is key. One orange would be wonderful, pancake mix or a from-scratch batter ready to go, and powdered/confectioners sugar if possible.
Of course, you can open a chunky-style cranberry sauce from a can. No one should judge you, and it is the easiest option. I happened to have my favorite homemade cranberry sauce, leftover from Thanksgiving, and waiting for me in the freezer, so I heated some up and set it aside.
If you’d like to make my favorite Cranberry Sauce for this recipe, or freeze it to use another time like I do, I recommend it. I reserved the extra to make Cranberry-Orange Scones in a week or so, as one of my family’s December/Christmas traditions at home.
Next, it is time to make Orange Pancakes. You’re not going to believe how I cheated on a shortcut for this incredible flavor this morning, and truly didn’t feel badly about it. This hack was like a mini-triumph.
My husband has been making us all Saturday breakfast for months and months. He likes to use a store-bought pancake mix for pancakes and waffles, so there is always a bag in the pantry. I went for his shortcut, and made fluffy, super-delicious Orange Pancakes, by substituting the water for orange juice. That is it. Period.
If you’re feeling from-scratch pancakes, try my typical go-to recipe posted here to the blog: Simple Saturday Pancakes. To make them orange pancakes, I recommend switching out the 1 and 1/4 cup milk, for 1 cup orange juice and 1/4 cup milk. That’s all you have to do!
For the very best pancake results, whether making them from a mix or from scratch, I recommend using real butter (or your favorite butter substitute) in small pats, placed onto a hot griddle or pan before placing the scoops of pancake batter to cook. This makes for delicious flavor and slightly crisped texture on the outside of the pancake. This morning I used a pan, and scooped out three pancakes from a 1/4 cup scooper, to cook at a time.
The cranberry sauce can’t be cooked into the batter well, so you should only use it as a topping for the orange pancakes.
Speaking of topping, I skip maple syrup all together for these pancakes, and make a super easy Orange-Zest Icing. This is so easy and I didn’t even bother capturing photos of how I make it. . . Here’s how:
In a pan, place about 2/3 cup of powdered sugar. It doesn’t have to be this exact amount. Zest one orange (I tend to use navel.) and add that to the top of the sugar. Add one to two tablespoons of orange juice. At low to medium heat, mix and allow to liquify. If you would like the icing to be runny, I recommend allowing the mixture to come to a liquid and after one or two minutes, see if it needs more juice. Otherwise, it is good to go to pour onto pancakes.
I love this orange icing so much, I poured more on once I cut into them. I hope you love this fun and easy breakfast as much as we do!
Thank you for being here, and take care,
