One of our best-loved activities is preparing breakfast favorites for family or friends. Sometimes, we'll just drive around town and drop off our famous cinnamon rolls at friends' houses, and, other times, we'll prepare an entire breakfast feast with hashbrown casserole, egg/sausage casserole, bacon, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, and some fruit (in attempts to get something healthy on the plate)! We wish you all were local (and also wish that there was no such thing as COVID-19) so that we could share some of these delights with you!

We're always, though, looking for new dishes and treats to add to our breakfast menu. This week, as we were planning to make and decorate sugar and gingerbread cookies, we had the idea of making pancakes using Christmas cookie cutters. Sounded like a brilliant idea, so we had to try it out!

Now, we'll admit that we are not pancake connoisseurs, so we will not boast of a world famous pancake recipe that you need to try. In our test kitchen today, we used the "Fluffy Pancakes" recipe on allrecipes.com. If, though, you already have a favorite pancake recipe or pancake mix, stick with it!

So, grab your favorite pancake batter and Christmas cookie cutters (any shape or size). For these instructions, we will assume that you're using a medium-sized cookie cutter. You may need to adjust the amount of recommended pancake batter for each pancake if you are using a small or giant cookie cutter size, ok?

 

 

Oh my goodness. Isn't that pancake so cute?!? (Well, it's actually a picture of two pancakes stacked on top of each other, but who's counting, right?)  Let's share our secrets for making them!

 

1. Create pancake batter and heat pan or griddle according to recipe directions.

2. Important Step: Grease pan or griddle with oil/cooking spray. We do not want the pancakes to stick!

3. Extra Important Step: Grease the inner "walls" of your cookie cutter with cooking spray. If you really want to use the best spray, use a cooking spray with flour. Our favorite spray is Bakers Joy! (If you follow us for long at all, you'll see this recommendation over and over when it comes to baking!)

4. Place your cookie cutter inside pan/on griddle.

5. Fill a measuring cup (1/4 cup) with your pancake batter. (You may need to adjust amount based on the size of your cookie cutter.)

6. Pour measured pancake batter into the middle of your cookie cutter.

7. Use the back of a spoon to spread the batter to all sections of the cookie cutter. You'll want to do this pretty quickly!

8. When you notice bubbles appearing all over the surface of your pancake batter, carefully lift the cookie cutter. The goal is that the pancake batter does not stick to the cookie cutter and that the pancake holds its shape perfectly!

9. Now, it's time to flip the pancake! Remember, your flipping skills get better with practice (and by watching pancake flipping videos on YouTube). :-)

10. After you flip the pancake, allow the pancake to cook a bit longer (or until this side is browned perfectly).

11. Remove the pancake from the pan/griddle. Serve them while warm with your favorite syrup!

 

One final tip: Remember to wipe off any leftover batter from the cookie cutter before making each pancake. We'll admit that it might take a trial pancake or two to get the hang of it, but you'll catch on quickly. Your pancake designs will certainly impress! Have fun!