Blueberry Pancake Bites with Lemon Glaze

We wake up on Sunday morning with one thing on our minds – pancakes! – but sometimes we want all of that other yummy breakfast stuff, too. These lemon-glazed blueberry pancake bites satisfy your pancake craving with just one bite— or two or three.

And since they’re baked in the oven, you can have the bacon and eggs going on the stove at the same time.

These delightful little pancake balls taste like a cross between donut holes, blueberry muffin tops, and the Pancake Puppies® your family shares when you go out to breakfast. But they’re made from scratch, and baked instead of deep-fried.

Spoonfuls of pancake batter are studded with juicy fresh blueberries, then baked in a donut hole pan in the oven until they’re puffy, fluffy, and golden brown. The batter’s only lightly sweet, so if you’re not crazy about dessert for breakfast you can enjoy these as they are. But if you’ve got a few family members with a sweet tooth, whip up the simple 5-ingredient lemon icing to take these over-the-top.

These pancake bites are easier for little hands to eat, and kids will love to help flip them. You’ll love that there’s less mess than normal pancakes because there’s no bowl of batter dripping all over the counter. Plus, this recipe makes pancakes portable. Treat yourself to the flavors of Sunday brunch even on hectic weekday mornings — just bake up a couple batches of pancake balls to freeze for later.

Blueberry Pancake Bites

Makes 20 bites
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • ⅔ cup buttermilk or ½ cup milk (½ cup low-fat or non-dairy milk can be substituted)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 Tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup fresh blueberries (about 40), washed and dried

Lemon Glaze

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 – 4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • Zest of 1 lemon (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
  • Pinch kosher salt (optional)

Equipment

  • Donut hole pan

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F/180°C. Spray the donut hole pan with nonstick spray.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the egg, sugar, milk/buttermilk, vanilla extract, and melted butter until well combined.
  3. Place a large, fine mesh strainer over the the bowl containing the wet ingredients. To the strainer, add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
  4. Fill each of the donut holes about ⅔ of the way full with batter and press 2 to 3 blueberries into each.
  5. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, then flip each pancake bite over and bake for another 3 minutes. Allow pancake bites to cool slightly on a wire rack before glazing.
  6. To make the lemon glaze, whisk all of the glaze ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Serve your pancake bites glazed, with maple syrup, or dusted in powdered sugar.

Our fluffy pancakes recipes have your family’s breakfast covered:

Recipe adapted from Today’s Frugal Family.