Mashed Potato Pancakes

Leftover mashed potatoes get a second life here, and these aren’t the savory latke-style cakes you might be expecting. This recipe leans sweet, folding the potatoes into a pancake batter brightened with light corn syrup and warm nutmeg. The result is a substantial griddle cake with the soft chew of mashed potato suspended inside the lighter pancake structure.

The potato is doing more than adding bulk. Its starch helps the cakes hold together on the griddle and gives the finished pancakes a denser, more satisfying bite than a plain flour-based batter. Three teaspoons of baking powder might look aggressive, but it’s the right amount. Mashed potatoes weigh the batter down, so you need extra lift to keep the pancakes from baking flat and gummy.

Kitchen Tips

• Use cold, plain mashed potatoes. Hot or seasoned potatoes change the chemistry. If your leftovers had garlic or chives, those flavors will show up in the finished pancake.
• Stir lightly. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour and the pancakes turn chewy rather than tender.
• Use a hot, well-greased griddle. Mashed potato batter sticks more than plain batter because of the starch, so don’t skimp on the fat.
• Flip once and only once. The dense batter is fragile until set, and repeated flipping breaks the cakes.

Variations

• Swap corn syrup for maple syrup for a deeper, more breakfast-leaning flavor.
• Add a half cup of blueberries just before pouring onto the griddle for fruit-studded cakes.
• Stir in a teaspoon of cinnamon along with the nutmeg for a spiced fall version that loves a drizzle of warm applesauce.