Since you all asked…

I went ahead and posted my dad’s recipe for Pantry Pancakes on The Slotted Spoon. You’re welcome.

It should be noted that the character pancakes from my “Grandpa’s Pancakes” post can acutually be made with any pancake batter, as long as its thin enough to flow from the tip of the squeeze bottle. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t try the pancake recipe. You should. Its fabulous.

Making the character pancakes is actually not very difficult at all.

Step 1: Make batter, trying to remove as many lumps as possible. If using a mix thin batter down a bit so it flows better. Place batter in a squeeze bottle such as this one. (The bottle pictured is intended for candy melts and can be found in the candy making isle at your local craft store. The opening is approx. 1/4″. Anything similar will work.)

Step 2: Using the squeeze bottle carefully outline the shape you wish to make. In this case, a giraffe. Add additional details as desired (e.g. spots, an eye). Cook a minute or so.

Step 3: Once the edges have cooked a bit fill in the voids. You can either use the squeeze bottle or a ladle for this (depending on the shape and size of your pancake). Cook until pancake is ready to flip, as you normally would.

Step 4: Flip, and continue cooking. Notice the edges that were drawn first are a bit darker than the rest of the pancake. The longer you leave the edges cooking (step 2) before filling it in (step 3) the greater the contrast between the light and dark portions of the pancake. You may need to experiment a little to determine what length of time is best for your stove/skillet.

Step 5: Serve and enjoy!

When I’m down to the last of the batter and burned out on crazy shapes, I’ll usually make some of these tiny little bite-sized pancakes. Bridget loves them. This is actually something that started with grandpa as well. He likes to give Bridget a little bag of these to snack on throughout the day or when she leaves his house.
(Note: If you are making the Pantry Pancake recipe, these as pretty tasty to eat as snacks later, even cold. No butter or syrup required. Not sure they’d be as yummy with the mix.)

Of course, if you’re not into the characters, you can always just do this: