Animal Pancakes: Quick and Easy Faces from the Book “Sunday Pancakes”

On our mission to find the best pancakes, we’ve tested recipes from several children’s books. The animal pancakes from “Sunday Pancakes” by Maya Tatsukawa are fluffy, tasty, and adorable, and our family loves the book!

Sunday Pancakes is a cute tale that begins with Cat pulling out ingredients for Sunday pancakes. When he discovers no milk or eggs, he calls up Rabbit and Moonbear, who come right over. Rabbit is funny and clumsy, creating an adventurous morning for the three friends. They enjoy cute and yummy animal pancakes shaped like them, followed by a nap, and ending with a delicious surprise by Rabbit!

Our family decided to recreate the animal pancakes enjoyed by Cat, Moonbear, and Rabbit. The pancakes were fluffy with great flavor. We opted for strawberry and chocolate chip eyes rather than blueberry like the book. Though the strawberries were yummy, they didn’t make the best eyes. Blueberries would have definitely looked better. These pancakes are thicker with a lighter texture than the Sourdough Discard Pancakes. My 2 year old son didn’t eat much (could’ve just been the day?), but my 5 year old daughter gobbled up her pancakes and said, “That was a good breakfast!” Overall, they were delicious and definitely worth making again!

May they bless your family too!

Ingredients

• Flour- All-purpose flour works great. If you prefer whole wheat or have a grinder to make it fresh, those work well too.
• Baking powder
• Salt- I love Redmond’s Real Salt.
• Sugar
• Milk
• Unsalted Butter
• Eggs

Process: How to Make Animal Pancakes

Preheat a pan or griddle to medium heat.

In Bowl A, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, sugar, salt.

In Bowl B, combine the wet ingrdients: milk, egg, melted butter.

Pour the mixture from Bowl B into Bowl A. Mix gently until combined.

Pour the batter onto the preheated pan/griddle. To make animal pancakes like Cat, Rabbit, and Moonbear, pour a large circle, then make two smaller circles for the ears. Use a spatula to connect the ears if they don’t spread together, and to point or lengthen the ears. Add eyes with blueberries or chocolate chips*. The trick with these faces- don’t sweat it if they’re imperfect! My daughter’s cat turned out less than ideal, but she loved it anyway!

*Strawberry eyes tasted good, but I didn’t cut them round and the color doesn’t pop once the animal pancake is cooked. I loved how the chocolate chips turned out on Rabbit!

Another option would be to make multiple pancakes and lay them out together on the plate. Or cut ears out of a separate pancake to get the shape you want. You can also add other facial features with fruit, candy, whipped cream, or nuts. I’m a mom of 3 littles, so I like to keep it simple and do it in the pan!

Once the bubbles form, it’s ready to flip. Carefully!

Cook the other side. Once both sides are golden brown, flip it onto a plate.

Serve with Butter, Maple Syrup, Honey, Berries, Chocolate Chips, or Nuts. Moonbear recommends Honey! Enjoy 🙂

Q & A

• How do I make the animal faces? To make animal pancakes like Cat, Rabbit, and Moonbear, pour a large circle on the pan/griddle, then make two smaller circles for the ears. Use a spatula to connect the ears if they don’t spread together, and to point or lengthen the ears. Add eyes with blueberries or chocolate chips. Add more embellishments if you’d like with fruit, candy, whipped cream, or nuts.
• Can I mix everything in the same bowl? Yes, but it’s better to mix the liquids separately. Stirring too much develops the gluten in the flour which binds it together and can make a more rubbery or tough pancake.
• Can I substitute oil for the butter? Yes, we like coconut oil in our pancakes.
• Can I use different sweeteners? Yes, honey or maple syrup taste great. Be prepared that it may slightly change the texture of the pancakes.
• Can this be made gluten free? Yes, Cat says, “For gluten free, replace 1:1 with a GF blend flour.”

Need other breakfast inspiration? Check out these Simple Homemade Waffles or Sourdough Discard Pancakes.

What was your favorite animal face to make (and eat?!). I’d love to see pictures in the comments!

And as always, have a blessed and sunshiny day 🙂