This Simple Hack Will Help You Make Delicious Pancakes with a Minimum Mess

American Pancakes seem like the easiest thing to prepare – mix the batter, cook, top with maple syrup, devour. The only problem, when you turn around you will see that you have left a huge mess behind you. Dirty pans, bowls, cups, and drops of batter everywhere. The process of cleaning the kitchen afterward probably takes longer than the process of preparing American pancakes. And believe me, when I say, the very thought of it made me give up a few stacks of fluffy hotcakes. It is even stronger than my cravings!

Well, this was before I discovered this amazingly simple and efficient hack. All you need is a plastic Ziploc bag. This simple bag will replace all the mixing bowls, whiskers, and measuring cups. You will use it to mix the ingredients and to apply the batter onto the pan. Oh, and it also works great if you feel creative and want to draw onto the pan and create some pancake art. 

Pancakes from a Ziplock Bag

Get your ziplock bag ready and let’s begin cooking.

Step one is to choose your favorite pancake recipe. Here is mine:

Dry Ingredients

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tbsp. sugar
• 3 tsp. baking powder

Wet Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 1 ¼ cups milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Next, add the dry ingredients to the ziplock bag and shake to mix them well. Then add the wet ingredients, lock the plastic bag and shake again. Roll the bag on the counter for about 30 seconds and check with the fingers if there are some bigger lumps that need to be broken. The batter is ready.

Cut off one of the tips of the plastic but just a little bit. If you cut too much the batter will start leaking in jets too large to control. This is especially important if you are using it to ‘draw’ onto the pan (i.e. you are using it as a piping bag).

Pipe the batter onto your previously greased and heated frying pan. No dripping, no mess, no stress. The fluffy flapjacks are ready in no time and there are less dirty dishes that need washing and scrubbing. When you are done cooking the pancakes, just throw the bag in the garbage.

Pancakes from a Pancake Pen

You can also use an empty ketchup plastic bottle for the same purpose. Just make sure it is well washed. An easier way is to buy the pancake pen. This is actually an upgraded squeeze bottle.

What makes it better than a Ziploc bag? For starters, you can run out of Ziploc bags, but this tool will always be in the kitchen. Second, it has measurement markings which makes it easier for you to mix the ingredients directly into the pen, without pre-measuring. Its easy-flowing, heat-resistant silicone tip allows you to draw various pancake shapes more precisely. And finally, it is very easy to wash by just removing the bottom. It costs only $10-15, which I consider a great investment for a cleaner kitchen.

Now you have no excuse to NOT cook pancakes, you have the best pancake tools at your fingers tips!

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