It used to be my kids would be excited if I just made pancakes for breakfast. We have a tradition (started when my husband and I were just newlyweds) of having a "nicer" breakfast, usually on Saturdays. I guess I've made pancakes a little too often lately because the kids were getting a bit bored with them. "Pancakes, again?!?" I'm sure you've heard the refrain... Then I remembered these goodies taking up space in one of my kitchen drawers. I decided to see if adding some fun shapes into the mix would keep everyone a little happier. It worked...
I have several different shapes. The farm animals (cow, pig, and sheep) were gifts from my dear sister-in-law. I don't recall where I got the heart and circle from. I may have purchased them back when we had more disposable income. Someday I think I'll get a few more shapes. (Maybe from a thrift shop or something...) but for now this selection was enough to keep the kids happy and excited. "I want a heart, I want a piggy." The only trick was keeping them from fighting over who was going to get what. Hearts seemed to be the most popular, so I made sure to make plenty of those.
There are two tricks to using pancake forms. First, use cooking spray ON the form as well as on your skillet or griddle to keep the batter from sticking to the form as it cooks. Second, after the first side is cooked you use a hot pad to grab the handle of the form and gently pull it off (tapping on the griddle helps a bit) then use your spatula to flip the pancake. The flipping gets a little...exciting. Having a big spatula is essential to maintain the shape of the form on both sides. Usually at least one side looks good, so just present that one on top.
This is one of those times that I almost regret my policy of not showing images of my kids on this site. How I wish I could show you their smiling faces as they devoured these fun pancake shapes. I'll have to settle for showing you their rapidly emptying plates. That empty spot at the table is mine. They were so eager to get started that they were eating before the last set of pancakes was done. They were, in fact, so voracious that I wasn't sure I had made enough batter. I waited until they were all sated before I finally sat down to eat myself, but...never fear...
There was plenty left for mama. Enough to try one of each of the topping options: "maple" syrup, apricot preserves, and strawberries with bananas. Somehow the circles were all left over...hmmm.
The idea of this post is to ask you to consider what has become humdrum in your home. What can you do to add some fun back in? I'd love to hear your ideas. Just click on comments below to add your ideas to the conversation...
