Fun Pancakes for Kids

My kids love pancakes, but these days I can rarely get away with making plain old round ones. Ever since I discovered how easy it is to make "piggie pancakes" (like the one shown in the photo), my kids have decided shaped pancakes are the only pancakes they like to eat. Fortunately, these fun pancakes for kids are very simple to make, even if (like me) you're not a very creative cook. Here's how.

To make fun pig pancakes like the ones shown in the photo, just follow these simple instructions or watch the video below. For even more fun, you can add some red food coloring to your pancake mix to turn your piggie pink.

1. Pour batter in a skillet to form one large circle and two smaller circles that are about 1/4 the size of the big one. Cook until done.

2. Place the large circle on the plate first.

3. Cut one of the smaller circles in half and place these on top of the head to form the ears.

4. Place the remaining smaller pancake on the bottom of the larger one to form the nose.

5. Use chocolate chips, raisins, blueberries or nuts to add eyes and nostrils.

6. Cover it with butter and syrup and enjoy!

If you're a little more adventurous, but don't think you have the skills to create your own hotcake designs, you can buy pancake molds and pans that will let you create animals, shapes or even characters like Spider-man with virtually no effort involved.

If you'd like to make your own creations, a pancake pen or some other type of squeeze bottle that lets you "draw" with the batter is essential. This will allow you to make precise lines with your pancake batter, rather than having it drip from the bowl or spoon and ruin your creations.

The best place to get inspiration online is Jim's Pancakes.com. This dad makes amazingly creative pancakes for his daughter and son and posts the photos online. He's got some of the most fun pancakes you'll probably ever see, from the Hello Kitty pancake shown here to some very complex creations like the 3-dimensional standing At-At from Star Wars. You won't find instructions for most of his fun pancakes on the website, but you'll be inspired just by looking at the photos. If you want to get directions for making Jim's amazing pancakes, check out his book, OMG Pancakes! It contains recipes for 75 amazing pancakes.