Give Breakfast A Boost And Add Caffeine Directly To Your Pancake Batter

A towering stack of perfect pancakes drizzled with maple syrup is one of the best ways to kick off your morning. But if your early hours tend to be a bit hectic, you might not be able to find the time to brew a cup of coffee to go with your pancake stack. We have the perfect solution to charge up your batteries: Infuse your breakfast pancakes with a jolt of caffeine, courtesy of coffee powder.

Depending on how strong you want the coffee flavor to be, combine about a tablespoon or two of espresso powder or instant coffee with the dry ingredients of your batter. Whisk everything together (make sure not to over-mix the batter) and let it hit the griddle. Your pancakes will boast the faint but familiar roasted taste of coffee and contain a dose of caffeine to go. Granted, these pancakes may not pack quite the same punch as your usual steaming mug of morning joe, but in a pinch, they'll definitely provide a little extra pep in your step.

If you're wondering about the amount of caffeine you're adding to your pancakes with this trick, let's do the math. Say you're adding a tablespoon of coffee to the batter. If you choose to use instant coffee, that's about 90 to 180 milligrams of caffeine. Espresso powder is even stronger than instant: A teaspoon holds between 30 to 80 milligrams, so a tablespoon can hold anywhere between 90 to 240 milligrams. For reference, a standard 8-ounce cup of coffee usually has about 90 to 95 milligrams of caffeine.

That may sound like a lot of caffeine, especially if you're using espresso powder. But keep in mind that the caffeine will be diluted across the full batch of pancakes, so each pancake will come out a lot less caffeinated than that. If you still want your regular cup of joe with your short stack, go for it. Just think of it as a more energizing (and tasty) start to your day than usual.

Now that we've gotten the caffeine question out of the way, let's talk about the kind of coffee we're working with. You have two choices here: instant coffee or espresso powder. Instant coffee is your everyday cup of joe, freeze-dried or spray-dried into a convenient powder. It's perfect if you're after a subtle coffee kick in your pancakes. It'll give your breakfast a mild, mellow, roast-y flavor without overwhelming your taste buds or sending your caffeine levels through the roof.

Espresso powder, on the other hand, is the bolder-tasting cousin of instant coffee. Made from concentrated espresso shots, it packs a punch in terms of both flavor and caffeine. If you're looking to really taste the coffee in your pancakes and get an extra spring in your step, this is your go-to. It'll bring the rich, nutty flavor that coffee lovers adore.

The choice is yours — but the way to incorporate them into your batter is the same. Experiment with different kinds of coffee and adjust until the balance between fluffiness, sweetness, and buzz is just right for you. Make sure you don't make certain common pancake mistakes as you cook as well. With all that sorted, you can say goodbye to lazy mornings for good.