Yields: 16 to 18
The original version of these bite-size hush puppy-style breakfast snacks made with extra thick pancake batter and coated with cinnamon sugar are so popular at the diner chain that chefs at Denny’s went back to work in the development kitchen to come up with another version that has blueberries and white chocolate in it. Initially I thought I could use an instant blueberry pancake mix to clone the new flavor, such as the mix made by Krusteaz. But those “blueberries” in there aren’t even real blueberries – they’re blueberry-flavored bits. Yech! The best solution for the best clone is to add chopped up dried blueberries to an extra-thick batter, along with a little chopped up white chocolate chips. I found that the thick batter was easy to portion out using a 1 3/4–inch cookie scoop that’s been dipped in oil, but you could also use a tablespoon measure as long as you don’t scoop up too much. Keep your batter balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter or they may not cook all the way through. Here are clones for the original Pancake Puppies as well as the new blueberry & white chocolate chip version.
Original:
4 to 6 cups vegetable shortening or oil, plus extra oil for coating scoop
1 cup Aunt Jemima Original Pancake Mix
1/3 cup whole milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Blueberry & White Chocolate Chip:
4 to 6 cups vegetable shortening or oil, plus extra oil for coating scoop
1 cup Aunt Jemima Original Pancake Mix
1/3 cup whole milk
1 egg
1/2 cup dried blueberries, chopped
1 tablespoon white chocolate chips (or ¼ ounce from bar), finely chopped
powdered sugar
On the Side
maple syrup
Directions:
1. Preheat shortening or oil in a deep fryer or a large saucepan to 325 degrees F.
2. Combine pancake mix, milk and egg in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed. If you are making the blueberry & white chocolate chip version, add the chopped dried blueberries and chopped white chocolate to the batter and mix just until blended in. Set the batter aside for 10 minutes.
3. When your oil is hot and the batter has rested, dip a cookie dough scoop (a 1 ½- to 1 ¾-inch scoop) or a tablespoon measure into a small bowl filled with oil before scooping up each ball of batter and carefully dropping it into the oil. Cook for 2 ½ to 3 minutes or until the batter is dark brown. You can fry around six balls of batter at a time, but first test the cooking time using one ball so that you can make sure the dough is cooking all the way through. Remove fried batter balls to paper towels to drain
4. If you are making the original version, combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Place all of the cooked batter balls into a large bowl, sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar, then toss until coated.
5. If you are making the blueberry & white chocolate version shake a little powdered sugar over the top.
6. Serve Pancake Puppy clones with a small bowl of maple syrup for dipping.
Type: Copycat
Author: Chef Todd Wilbur
