Personalized Pancakes

One of my favorite traditions that we have as a family is Pancake Day. Last summer we visited some friends in Illinois--Chris, Aimee, and their kids have Pancake Day every Saturday. This is amazing, ambitious, and if it is something that you are able to pull off, more power to you! At our house, it’s not quite that frequent, but it is a regular occurrence. For a long time, the special Daddy addition to Pancake Day was the amazing amount of whipped cream I would put on the kids' pancakes. But that one-trick-pony show got a little stale, and I needed a way to step up this family tradition. I came across this little trick in an excerpt from a 1950's kid friendly recipe book, and it is something that my kids have grown quite fond of.

Here's the trick. After heating up and greasing the skillet, use whatever you have on hand (a baggy with one corner snipped off, a pastry decorating tool...I use a Baby Motrin doser) to write a letter in pancake batter on the skillet. Please note that the letter will need to be written backwards. As the letter batter begins to bubble, pour 1/4 cup of batter (more for a jumbo pancake) on top of the letter and cook the pancake as you normally would. The letter cooks longer than the rest of the pancake, creating a darkened letter. 

Through the attempts of making these pancakes, I have expanded from writing the first initials of my kids' names to drawing pictures, like hearts. I haven't quite gotten to the artistic ability of drawing caricatures or renditions of Van Gogh paintings, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time. 

Chris and Aimee, here is to a very happy Pancake Day!