Playful heart pancakes are my favorite way to add whimsy to Valentine's Day. They're cheap, quick and made with pantry staples! There's a good chance you've already got the necessary ingredients on hand.
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Obviously, pancakes are great any day of the week. But with a simple twist you can turn them into something extra special!
I love finding easy and inexpensive ways to make holidays more exciting, and heart shaped pancakes really hit the mark.
For even more Valentine's Day fun, serve your pancakes with a heart shaped fruit platter. ❤️ Buy a special plate or simply arrange fruits into a heart shape on a regular plate.
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Will You Be My Valentine, Pancakes? 🥞
Cheap: Holidays can bring pressure to spend money on things we don't need and won't use, but these pancakes won't go to waste. Plus, they're made with simple ingredients (you probably have most on hand already)!
Quick: Whip up a batch of heart pancakes in 20 minutes or less. Perfect, especially when the holiday falls on a busy weekday.
So much fun! Both children and adults will be charmed by heart pancakes. Add even more excitement with toppings like powdered sugar, chocolate chips, sprinkles, fruit and whipped cream!
What You'll Need
- Flour: I use all-purpose, unbleached flour. Sometimes I add a sprinkle of whole wheat flour for some extra nutrients.
- Baking powder: Makes pancakes light and fluffy!
- Salt: Just a touch for added flavor.
- Ground cinnamon: Optional but really yummy.
- Milk of choice: I use oat milk because my toddler cannot have dairy, but cow's milk (or any other milk) will work just fine.
- Maple syrup: Pour a little maple syrup into pancake batter for sweetness. Regular white sugar can be substituted.
- Olive oil: I use olive oil in my pancakes because my daughter has a dairy allergy, but melted butter (salted or unsalted) is a great substitute.
- Pure vanilla extract: Or imitation vanilla.
How To Make Heart Shaped Pancakes
Keep scrolling for the full recipe card and measurements. We’ll start here with a quick overview! List number correlates to the image number below:
- Add flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon to a large bowl and whisk.
- Combine milk, maple syrup, olive oil and vanilla into a separate bowl.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir gently until combined. Over-mixing the batter can make pancakes dense rather than fluffy, so don't overdo it. It's okay if the batter is a little bit lumpy.
- Transfer pancake mix to a squeeze bottle.
- Coat a hot griddle with non-stick cooking spray and draw hearts onto the pan.
- Once the pancakes look slightly dry around the edges, they're ready to be flipped! Enjoy!
Make Heart Pancakes Without a Mold 🩷
- Squeeze bottles can be found at most grocery stores in the kitchen wares section or isle. They make it easy to draw a heart shape onto the griddle.
- Transfer batter to a Ziploc bag and cut off the tip to create your own squeeze bottle!
- Use a heart-shaped metal cookie cutter. Grease the cookie cutter well before spooning batter in, slide the cutter off once the pancake is ready to flip.
- You can also use a small spoon to nudge batter into a heart shape. They may not be perfect but you'll get better with practice, and perfection isn't necessary anyways!
Make Ahead & Storage
Make ahead: You can totally make these pancakes ahead of time and bag them up for a school breakfast or lunch! I packed them in my daughter's school lunchbox just yesterday. 🩷
Storing leftovers: Place leftover pancakes in an airtight container and refrigerate 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave.
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More Valentine's Day Recipes
- Dark Chocolate Hummus
- Greek Yogurt Peanut Butter Dip
- Strawberry Cheesecake Jars
- Apple Pear Nachos
- Pomegranate Palomas
Heart Pancakes
Equipment
- 1 Large griddle pan
- 1 Can of non-stick cooking spray
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon *optional
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup milk of choice *I use oat milk *see note below
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup *or sub regular white sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil *see note below
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract *or imitation vanilla
Recipe notes:
Oat milk: daughter can't have dairy. you can use cow's milk if you want, or any other plant milk.Instructions
- Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk well.1 cup flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Combine all wet ingredients in a separate bowl.1 cup milk of choice, 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pour wet ingredients into dry and gently combine. Do not over-mix or your pancakes may turn out dense rather than fluffy. It's okay if the batter is a little bit lumpy.
- Place griddle on the stovetop over medium heat.
- Transfer batter to squeeze bottle while you wait for the pan to heat up. Don't fill the squeeze bottle completely full because the batter will expand.
- Once the pan is hot, coat with non-stick cooking spray and draw hearts onto the pan with your squeeze bottle. Once pancakes look a bit dry around the edges, they're ready to flip.
- Serve with desired toppings and enjoy!
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