Fluffy and piled high, these vanilla iced funfetti buttermilk pancakes are the sweetest way to wake up in the morning. They make an extra special breakfast especially for a special occasion like a birthday, Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day.
Remember when I told you my absolute favorite breakfast on the planet is eggs benedict? Preferably from scratch on a lazy Sunday morning with mimosas and friends at the kitchen table. Is there truly anything better?
Yes. And it starts with the letter F and ends with unfetti. Funfetti buttermilk pancakes piled high with smooth ‘n sweet vanilla icing.
I use my favorite buttermilk pancake recipe as the base for this funfetti version. I love this basic pancake recipe because it makes the fluffiest, softest, most tender buttermilk pancakes I’ve ever had. This recipe is my all-star pancake recipe and I published it (with lots of blueberries!) in my cookbook earlier this year. Have you tried them yet?
I changed the recipe ever so slightly by adding a touch more flour and sugar, a little almond extract, extra vanilla extract, and a whole lotta sprinkles. The extracts, along with the melted butter, gives these pancakes a buttery cake batter taste that will make your head spin. Paired with the sweet vanilla icing, it’s absolutely considered dessert. At breakfast time. You are welcome.
Because there are so many brightly colored sprinkles going into this pancake batter, let me take a moment to emphasize how important it is to avoid over-mixing.
Overmixing your pancake batter will turn it a putrid purple/green/brown from all the sprinkles’ color. Not at all appetizing. You see those golden and white pancakes above? I had to use the lightest hand folding in the sprinkles. It’s possible to do, so just take your time. Stirring the sprinkles is not a race. Sloooooow and steady. Also! Overmixing will give your pancakes a dense, tough texture. A far, far cry from the fluffy stack of rainbow pancakes you see here today. Yuck.
As you may have caught on by now, these are buttermilk pancakes. Buttermilk is an imperative ingredient. Buttermilk’s lactic acid, as well as its quiet tangy flavor, is required in this buttermilk pancake recipe. I used low fat; full fat is just fine.
I finish the pancakes off with the aforementioned vanilla icing. This addition definitely makes it feel like you are eating confetti cake for breakfast. I halved my original vanilla icing recipe because you don’t need as much for topping these pancakes. The sweet buttery pancakes are amazing even without the vanilla icing on top (and this is coming from a pancake condiment junkie). The extra sprinkles on top, however, are obviously necessary.
Let’s eat!
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Funfetti Buttermilk Pancakes
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 11-12 pancakes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Fluffy and piled high, these vanilla iced funfetti buttermilk pancakes are the sweetest way to wake up in the morning!
Ingredients
Pancakes
- 6 Tablespoons (90g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled (plus more butter for greasing)
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups (480ml) buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (or to taste)
- 2/3 cup (125g) rainbow sprinkles (not nonpareils)*
Icing
- 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1–2 Tablespoons (15-30ml) milk
- extra rainbow sprinkles for serving
Instructions
- Melt the 6 Tablespoons of butter first. Microwave or stovetop – either is fine. Set aside to slightly cool. You absolutely do not want it piping hot.
- In a large bowl, toss the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and almond extracts together until combined. Whisk in the melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk by hand gently to combine the ingredients. The batter is thick and a few lumps may remain. Very very gently, fold in the rainbow sprinkles using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Taste the batter. If you want to add more almond (or vanilla) extract, go ahead.
- Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Coat generously with butter. Once hot, drop about 1/4 cup of batter on the griddle. Cook until the edges look dry and bubbles begin to form on the sides, about 1 minute. Flip and cook on the other side until cooked through, about 2 more minutes. Coat griddle/skillet again with butter for each pancake or batch of pancakes.
- Keep pancakes warm in a preheated 200°F (93°C) oven until all pancakes are cooked. Quickly whisk the icing ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth. Start with 1 Tablespoons of milk and add 1 more to thin out, if necessary.
- Serve pancakes immediately with icing and extra sprinkles on top. (Though I love them even without the icing!)
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Pancakes taste best right after they are made. Pancakes freeze well, up to 2 months. Reheat as desired.
- Buttermilk: Though I typically suggest a DIY buttermilk option using regular milk and vinegar/lemon, I highly recommend real buttermilk. I used low fat buttermilk, but full fat works too. I do not suggest any substitutions. Try using any extra buttermilk in any of these recipes.
- Sprinkles: Use rainbow sprinkles/jimmies. Do not use nonpareils (which are the little balls) – they are prone to bleeding their color no matter how lightly you fold them into batter. I typically buy my sprinkles in bulk from here if you are interested.
- Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction Cookbook Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes recipe
Keywords: sprinkle pancakes, funfetti pancakes
Delicious and so super tender! My kids raved about them!
★★★★★
there very good but why was the batter so lumpy???????????
Hi Katherine, it’s possible your batter just needs to be mixed a bit more. For next time, you can also try sifting your flour in order to rid of any large clumps of flour.
Hey Sally! Amazing pancakes! cant wait to try again, I was wondering can I sub the all purpose flour with whole wheat???
★★★★★
Hi Aria, you certainly can, just expect a denser pancake. Or, you might also enjoy these whole wheat blueberry pancakes!
needed more flour
★★★★
needed more flour
★★★★
These are very good Pancakes! I could have eaten the entire batch!
★★★★★
These are my mom and I favorite pancakes- we make them all the time! Our favorite
★★★★★
Hi Sally! I live in Turkey, and there is no buttermilk available. Can you please recommend a substitute?
Hi B! Though pure buttermilk is best in this pancake recipe, in a pinch, you can use a buttermilk substitute. Measure 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice. Add to a liquid measuring cup. Add enough whole milk to yield 2 cups. Whisk together, then let it sit for a few minutes before using in the recipe.
Good morning Sally. So I have not made this recipe yet but looks mouthwatering! In my family we have one with a gluten allergy, and another that does well with whole wheat. Could we make this recipe Gluten Free or Whole Wheat Buttermilk?
Hi Lauren, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free or whole wheat flours, but let us know if you give either a try. When trying whole wheat, expect a heartier, denser pancake. We love these Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes if you’re looking for other ideas!
Sally, you never disappoint! The kids lovvvvved them (as did I!; this is my official go-to pancake recipe now. Thank you for all that you do! (And a very belated congratulations on your sweet baby girl! )
★★★★★
This recipe was such a fun addition to our Easter breakfast. They were a huge hit with my kids and my husband and I loved them too. They were so light and fluffy and while they are definitely sweeter than a standard pancake it wasn’t overpowering. They were great the next morning as well, popped into the toaster to heat them up. Thanks Sally!
★★★★★
Hey Sally,
I always love your recipes! Being 39 weeks pregnant and stuck at home, I find myself baking a lot with your recipes, especially these days. I’d like to make these for my husband for his birthday but the store is out of flour. Can I substitute cake flour?
Thanks again for filling my days with something both fun and delicious. 🙂
Hi Kristine! You can use cake flour, but the pancakes will be very light. I also have a large section of recipes using cake flour if you’re interested!
Can this batter be made the night before, stored in the fridge, and made the next morning?
I don’t recommend it. The baking powder is initially activated once wet.
These pancakes are so fresh, fluffy and taste so real! I’m so happy I found this recipe thank you again Sally, I will never make any other pancake recipe again
These were delicious! And fun to make with my 3 year old. Thanks for the recipe Sally!
Full disclosure: after we finished eating I put the remaining batter in the freezer and as I cleaned up the kitchen I found my no-longer-melted butter in the microwave that I had clearly forgotten to add to the pancakes!! I did think the pancakes had been a little…dense…? And not spectacular. Well I quickly realized why. So I pulled out my batter, re-melted the butter and mixed it in. Cooked them up and they were way better! Haha surprised it still turned out but very happy
These pancakes are absolutely MELT IN YOUR MOUTH GOOD!!!
These pancakes were perfect for my grandson’s 1st birthday breakfast!! The “adults” wanted to be healthy and asked not to have the sprinkles so I just added the sprinkles on top of the batter after pouring it on the griddle. SO yummy!! And yes, all the adults ate the sprinkle pancakes after tasting them. The almond extract in this batter is genius!!
Happy first birthday to your grandson! Agree- sprinkles are for all ages 🙂
Hi! These sound delish! What is the best way to reheat these frozen pancakes?
I highly recommend the toaster!
just finished making a half batch of these pretty things but in waffle form (my daughters favorite) they are so cute and so yumay so fun for a Sunday morning! thanks
These were insanely good. So glad we tried them!! It was the yummy taste of a cupcake or a donut in a pancake. Perfect for Christmas morning or a special sleepover breakfast. Thanks for the fantastic recipe.
Hi Sally! Im a big fan of funfetti so when I found this recipe I was so excited! However, whenever I make it my pancakes come out flat with lots of little air bubbles. Do you know what im doing wrong?
Theo– air bubbles usually come from overmixing your batter. Another cause could be that the heat isn’t distributing evenly in your pan– make sure it is centered on the heat. Hopefully these help!
these look so good! I was wondering….can this recipe be used in a waffle iron?
Yes!
Your funfetti pancakes are amazing!!!!!
Hi! So I just made these and they look great! My only thing was that mine were NOT think (as in the batter was pretty runny). I have looked over the recipe 4 times and cannot figure out what I did wrong as I know I measured everything correctly! They still taste great, just wondering why this might have happened? I’ve made your pumpkin ones and they were fantastic!!!
Delicious pancakes! I left out the sprinkles and glaze but topped them with blueberry syrup and all I can say is WOW! They were awesome. I did have to cook them just a little bit longer than I am used to (before this I used box recipe pancakes) but these are definitely a winner!
Just made these and they are amazing and so fun! Thanks so much for the recipe Sally!
I made these last night and they wouldn’t cook? I’ve never had this problem with pancakes before, but even on a very low heat, the outside would burn before the inside would cook. I followed the recipe with no substitutes, do you have any idea why they didn’t turn out?
Hmm. Did the pancake batter spread as you poured it onto the pan/griddle? I would flatten the pancake out a little with the spatula after you flip it so the batter in the center can go to the edges and cook through.
These pancakes look amazing! I was wondering, can the batter be prepared the night before serving or does it need to be cooked right away?
Must be cooked right away – baking powder is activated once it hits the wet ingredients. You *could* mix the dry up in 1 bowl and mix the wet up in another bowl. Cover tightly and refrigerate both overnight. Then mix together as instructed and cook the pancakes in the morning.
I made these for my son’s 7th birthday on Saturday! He loved them and they were a fun birthday surprise! Thanks, Sally!