Pikelets! Silver dollar pancakes. Drop scones. Mini hotcakes. Whatever you know these as, these baby fluffy pancakes are absolutely irresistible! Serve for breakfast or afternoon tea with copious amounts of jam and cream.
PIKELETS – an Aussie favourite!
When I first shared this recipe in 2016, I called pikelets an Aussie favourite and expressed pity for anyone who hadn’t discovered their greatness.
Turns out, I was a bit clueless – readers quickly pointed out that pikelets exist all over the world, just under different names: drop scones, Scotch pancakes, silver dollar pancakes, mini hotcakes.
Oops! 😅 Consider me educated!
But, for those of you new to pikelets, they are just mini pancakes. Fun breakfast or anytime snack, and great for taking places (think: office morning tea) – quick to make, easy to transport, reheat perfectly and excellent for gatherings because you can eat them with your hands.
I often think of them as the easier scone!
Ingredients in pikelets
Here’s what you need to make pikelets. The batter is the same as pancakes but pikelets have one big advantage – you can make multiple in the pan at the same time. Anybody else feel performance anxiety flipping pancakes one at a time with a table full of hangry people??
Plain flour / all-purpose flour – can be substituted with self raising flour though it won’t be quite as fluffy, as is the case with anything made with self raising flour vs plain flour + baking powder.
Baking powder – this is what makes the pikelets fluffy. If yours has been hiding unused in the pantry for many months, check it’s still active.
Sugar – I only use a small amount, just 2 tablespoons, because the jam adds sweetness.
Milk – The liquid to thin the batter. Full fat cow milk makes softer pikelets but low fat / no fat or even non-dairy milk works fine too.
Vanilla – For flavour. I use vanilla extract which has more pure vanilla flavour than imitation essence.
Egg – Use a large egg, 50-55g/2oz each, sold in cartons labelled “large eggs” (600 – 660g for a dozen).
How to make pikelets
Here’s how to make pikelets. If you can cook without being interrupted, you’ll have them on the table in 20 minutes flat!
Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, baking powder, pinch of salt).
Add wet – Make a well in the centre. Add the egg, milk and vanilla then whisk until combined and almost lump free. The batter should be fairly thick but pourable, like the consistency of thick honey.
If needed, adjust the consistency with milk (if too thick) or flour (if too thin).
Cook – Melt just 1 teaspoon of butter in a non stick pan over medium high heat (or medium ,if your stove is strong). Then wipe most of it off with a paper towel (too much butter = very splotchy surface, not a big deal, just a visual thing).
Pour about 1 1/2 tbsp batter into the pan and coax it into a circle. An ice cream scoop with a lever will be your friend here.
Bubbles – Cook for 1 1/2 minutes until bubbles rise to the surface and at least 4 of them pop. This indicates the pikelets are ready for flipping. If they are browning too quickly on the underside before there are bubbles on the surface, lower the heat.
PRO TIP: If your batter is on the thick side, the bubbles might not pop. Just take a peek on the underside and if golden, flip!
Flip with a flick of the wrist, with confidence! Then cook the other side for 1 minute or until golden, then remove from the pan.
Pile onto a plate with jam and cream then serve!
Pikelets are so popular in Australia, they are actually sold at supermarkets. It baffles me why anyone would ever buy them! I tried them once out of curiosity and they actually taste artificial. They have a weird fake vanilla-egg flavour.
But putting that, they cost a few dollars for a pack of 6 or so, whereas it would cost maybe $1.50 to make a dozen at home, with the added bonus that they taste so much better. And they are so fast to make, plus easier to handle than pancakes because they’re small so they’re easier to flip without smearing batter everywhere or missing the pan completely (yep, it’s happened!).
So, next time you’re after a quick snack for a hoard of hungry kids or your friends are dropping by unexpectedly, or you’re known as the culinary queen (or king) at work but don’t have the time to make a fresh batch of scones for the fundraiser morning tea on Monday morning, make pikelets! – Nagi x
Pikelets FAQ
I haven’t tried unfortunately. I will come back and update the recipe if I do!
Cooked pikelets will keep 3 days in an airtight container, best to keep in fridge then warm in microwave (goes a long way to freshen them). They can also be frozen for 3 months.
I like serving them warm because they are softer and fluffier. However, they are still great at room temperature which makes them a good option for picnics, bake sales etc.
Anything you put on pancakes you can put on pikelets! Here are some ideas:
Butter
Lemon juice and sugar
Maple syrup
Fruit compotes and sauces
Nutella
Ice cream
Custard or curds (like lemon curd)
Butterscotch sauce / caramel
Watch how to make it
And a fun little outtakes video from this week, when JB made pikelets for the first time – how do you pronounce “pikelets”!?
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Pikelets
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups plain flour / all-purpose flour (Note 1)
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder (check yours is still active)
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 large egg (50-55g / 2 oz in shell)
- 3/4 cup milk (full fat best, but any type even non dairy ok)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional but recommended)
- 2 tsp butter
To Serve
- Strawberry jam
- Whipped cream
Instructions
- Whisk dry – Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl.
- Add wet – Make a well in the centre. Add the egg, milk and vanilla, then whisk until it's almost lump free. The batter should be the consistency like thick honey – looser than tomato sauce, thicker than maple syrup. (Note 2)
- Melt 1 tsp butter in a non-stick pan over medium high heat (or medium, for strong stoves). Then most of the butter off with a paper towel so there are no visible drops of bubbles of butter (Note 3).
- Drop ~2 tbsp batter into the pan and coax into 7.5cm/3" rounds. An ice cream scoop with lever will be your friend here. I cook 4 at a time.
- Cook until bubbles appear on the surface and once 4 or more of these bubbles pop (1 1/2 minutes), this means they are ready to flip. Flip with confidence! Then cook the other side for 1 minute or until golden.
- Keep cooking – Remove onto a plate. Cook the next batch (no need to add extra butter until 3rd batch).
- Serve warm with jam and cream, or butter!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published in June 2016, before I taught myself to make recipe videos. Republished in 2025 with said recipe video, plus sparkling new photos, refreshed chatter and of course a 2025 Life of Dozer update (spoiler: no change, really, just older!).
Life of Dozer
Dozer 2016. 3 years old, from the original pikelets post. Trained not to touch that pikelet until he gets the command:
Dozer 2025, almost 13 years old. Just can’t see the cream as much because his face is whiter!
Pikelets are known in the British Isles since time began methinks. First mentioned in writing in 1382 by a bible translator. The word originated from Welsh and change to anglo saxon. The pikelet was a poor mans version of crumpets.
The yummy recipe you have is known to us as drop scones in England, strange how words move around 🙂
Woah! I love reading the history, thank you! 🙂 Totally happy having this poor mans version of crumpets! N x
, WOW, Nagi — I am so happy for this pikelets it’s a wonderful and easy to make it quickly
thank you so much for this recipes>
They sure are super fast and easy!! N x
I didn’t think picklets were Australian. I used to get embarrassed when my grandmother served them. I thought they were really daggy. Lol
Daggy??? Whaaaaattt????
OMG Dozer! Don’t tell Mom!! Have known about pikelets for more years than she has been alive, but they are not part of my repertoire either . . . but do look appetizing and hope many find them hugely appealing for tomorrow morning’;s breakfast !!
He was hoping you could just reach through the screen and wipe off that cream from his nose so he can LICK it off your finger!! 😉
And that wold have been such a fun experience for both of us!!
Pancakes, of course! They are as essential to life as the wheel, or running hot water, or. French fries. Actually, pancakes are among the first great inventions of the human race, made after the shape of Earth. Indeed. 🙂
BA HA HA! You are SO RIGHT Dade!!! My essentials in life include: cheese, fresh bread, potatoes in every form and PANCAKES!!!! N x
Nagi, I was brought up eating pikelets in the north of England (in Yorkshire) and they were a staple of life as far as I was concerned. I am gratified to know that they have survived here in Australia, for I think they are extinct in the old country. I think I’ll give these a go this morning!
Noooo!!!! Extinct?? I feel so very English every time I make them!!!
Aw c’mon Dozer, man up! She is doing a good job training you for this. A big bad person might try to poison you one day and you will know not to gobble it down. Besides, look at the reward.
Oh and tell Nagi that I used to know these little numbers as Scotch pancakes (in Scotland) but now know them as pikelets and I 100% agree with her about the bought ones..yeeeuuuk
I can’t believe I’ve never heard of Scotch pancakes!!! I thought the Scots called these spikelets too! PS I have passed your message onto Dozer. He was not impressed. 😉 N x
The cream that you mention is clotted/Devon ?
I was taught to cook with cast iron and have always used the apply oil/butter then wipe technique. Because bitter has such a low browning/burning point do you make them at a lower temp?
Guess what we are having for Sunday breakfast? Yummy
Oooh! Hope you do try these Elizabeth! I just whipped a heavy cream 🙂 Thank you for the question though, I will update the recipe!
I first learned of pikelets years ago reading harlequin books by Essie Summers..didn’t have internet then, so the search for what they were was more difficult! Our whole family enjoyed pancakes out of hand! Easy to take in the car to school with peanut butter maybe rolled up if we had time. I have decided that every culture has it’s pancake–some savory and some sweet, some to use as a scoop for a meal. And we all have a meat pie of some kind. I look forward to finding out how to make the lamb thing.
I think you’re right TJ, every culture has their own form of pancakes! And fried chicken too – that’s my theory! N x
Hi, never heard of these in New Jersey. When I first read the name I thought they might have Pike fish in them. But, they don’t and this is the exact recipe I use for my pancakes. They come out about 1/2 inch in width, and very yummy. I agree with Hillary about being called “silver dollars”. I used to make them for my little ones. Also, what are Lamingtons? Thank you for all the delicious recipes. I recently bought a laptop for my kitchen counter because I keep coming back to your daily recipe all the time and didn’t want to keep printing up the recipe. So convenient.
I’m so happy to hear you look at my recipes regularly!!! Thank you so much for reading 🙂 You’re spot on, this is simply a pancake recipe it’s just that we make them smaller and call them pikelets! Lamingtons are a vanilla sponge cake that are coated in chocolate then coconut. Very traditional Australian cake!!! I really can’t believe I haven’t come across Silver Dollars during my travels in America. I must find them next time – hopefully in a real classic old style diner!
Oh man – that bit of cream on Dozer’s nose plus his expression kills me!
He actually had it ALL over his face….but his long tongue managed to clean most of it, just couldn’t reach all the way up there!!! 😉
I’d never heard of pikelets, either! Nagi, have you tried pancakes with maple syrup? That’s how we usually eat them here in the US!
Oh GOSH yes Barb!!! I LOVE my pancakes and I am way too generous with maple syrup!!! 🙂 N x
Eek! Nagi, it has just occurred to me while reading this that pikelets are AUSSIE!
My Australian mother-in-law makes them ALL the time (with pure cream instead of milk – can you imagine the calories, and she pretty much force-feeds them to us, bless her!)
Got to got to got to try these!
Have a lovely weekend, Sweetie Pie!!!
These are TOTALLY AUSSIE Helen!! Don’t you try to make this a Pommy thing!!! 😉
When I first read the title of your post I thought to myself: What on Earth are pikelets? Never heard of such word before…but then I saw the picture and I knew right away! When we were kids mum would make these for us and top it with jam & cream like you did! And actually I haven’t eaten them since! So you would find them in some central European countries (definitely in Slovakia, the Czech Republic), but I doubt you would find them ready made in supermarkets :).
Awww, I am loving hearing all the different names that people know these by!!! What do they call them in central European countries???
We call them “dolky” but not sure if this is the proper name 🙂
Dolky??? Googling!!!
🙂 Do you know the special pans for frying eggs? The ones with like 4 spaces where you throw the eggs into and you get nice round shaped fried eggs afterwards? My mom would use the pan to make these in there! 🙂
I’ve never seen them!! OMG with the number of times we made these when I was growing up, we could have totally used it!!!
Nagi – small pancakes in the US are called “silver dollar” pancakes, but they are not usually so puffy and adorable! I will admit, I was really thrown off at first, because I read your first sentence as this recipe being a meat pie!!
Ohh!!!! I love that name! I have to go check out what Silver Dollar pancakes are!!! N x
I’ve never heard of them either but I will be making them this weekend. Now I’m a little red in the face to admit this BUT I have eaten a full size pancake with my hands. See, I put the filling in the center then rolled it up and there you go a pancake roll with filling 🙂 The pikelet is so cute I could even wrap a few up and have them for a snack — YUM. Thank you for sharing – we could start a big trend in the US. Have a great weekend xoxo
YES!!! I totally do that too Marisa, I just didn’t want to ADMIT IT!!!! N x
Oh, WOW, Nagi — I am so glad that I somehow . . . . somehow was lucky enough to find your recipes and managed to sign up for your mailings!
A great big hug from the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York State!!!
Nadine!!
Hi Nadine from Adirondack Mountains! So glad you found me here! 🙂 I’ve never been to that part of New York, I’ve been south though. I must get there one of these days!!! Thank you for reading my site Nadine, I hope you find some recipes you want to try! N x
The best time to visit northern New York state would be late summer, to enjoy the harvest; or the autumn to see the beautiful autumn leaves and to sample the apple crops — or winter for the frosty beauty and our locally farmed maple syrups! The light varieties of maple syrup are very popular, but the deeper ones are better, in my opinion! Hope you can make it someday!
It’s so very interesting to learn your recipes and cooking styles — all the way from Australia! We have enjoyed many of your recipes and I’ve saved others for future use. Thank you for all of them!
By the way, how is the word “Pikelet” pronounced? Does the Pike syllable rhyme with Mike? Or does it rhyme with the word “pick”?
Best —
Nadine
“Pike” + “letts” = pikelets! 🙂 You know, I’ve never been to NY during the winter!!! I hear it is VERY cold. I would love to get out of the city area during Autumn, I’ve been wanting to experience a real apple crop season for years!!! N x
Nagi, being an American, I have to ask. What sort of cream?
Thanks for the question Patti! I use a heavy whipping cream 🙂 I’ll update the recipe! N x
Hi Nagi! I have never heard of these. I must admit I’m not usually a fan of pancakes, I much prefer waffles. However these look like a perfect snack or, better yet, for an appetizer brunch! Gary would eat these up as soon as they came out of the pan! Dozer looks so unhappy…I don’t think he appreciates your new training on bit! Have a great weekend! 🙂
He HATES this training!!! So Dorothy….I have a confession to make….I don’t have a waffle iron…..
I knew about Lamingtons and meat pies, of course, but pikelets are new to me! Might have one with a flat white, or is that from NZ? I love learning something new. And they look great. Plus, I think Dozer is showing a great deal of restraint, more than my Roscoe (border collie) would.
Flat whites are Aussie too!!! Can’t start a day without it!!! 😉