Meal planning in mini proportions…with some adjustments

Happy Sunday! I hope you’re all enjoying your weekend. Here in Chicago it is yet another chilly day. How better to pass time than to try out some meal prep ideas!

Last Sunday, we tested Pancake Mini-Muffins. The recipe is courtesy of the Pioneer Woman, which can found here.

I don’t like pancakes myself, but I wanted to make something for my boyfriend to take to work, since mornings can be quite hectic sometimes. This looked easy enough to throw together AND they could be stored away.

The ingredients were pretty straightforward, but I ended up making some adjustments in terms of pans. I actually ended up forgetting my mini-muffin tin, so a standard-sized muffin pan was used.

The end result?

Well, looking at the list of ingredients, it seemed pretty standard, but something just seemed off. I don’t think I’ll be remaking these by following this recipe. I feel like we could have been better off using a different recipe or even a box mix. I’ve read the reviews on the website, but from the top did not come across those who have attempted this website.

I thought maybe the bake time was influenced, but I ended up increasing that by an additional 5 minutes because the tops were a pale color rather than the golden brown I was looking for.

While we waited, I used the leftover batter in a pan to cook up a “traditional” pancake. The same result occurred.

Bland and almost…cakey, but not actually dry. This recipe called for milk, but I’m not sure if maybe buttermilk would have been the better option. What if maybe the proportions were off? There’s certainly plenty of factors that go into this, which include even the type of pan that I used.

Like I said, I’d definitely be interested to try the concept of this recipe again, but wouldn’t try the exact one after following it line for line.

Grey’s Grade 2/5

Out of pure opinion, I unfortunately have this recipe a pretty low score. My grade on this was also influenced my main taste tester, who took these to work for breakfast.

Per his notes, these DEFINITELY needed syrup or something to mask the flavor of the cakey muffin. Even then, it didn’t save the recipe. They tasted quite bland and while pancakes themselves aren’t bursting with flavor, these were lacking…something, even with the addition of blueberries AND chocolate chips.

I’m curious, has anyone tried this recipe? OR have you used a different one that you favor? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

My apologies for no picture today! It was a VERY hectic morning!

As always, I wish you all HAPPY NOMMING!

-Grey