Reindeer Pancakes Recipe

Reindeer pancakes are fluffy homemade pancakes turned into a reindeer face with two banana slices for eyes, mini chocolate chips for pupils, a strawberry nose and pretzel antlers. The batter and cooking take about 25 minutes, and one batch serves 4, with enough decorations for 4 reindeer.

The batter is thick. That is on purpose: the pancakes rise tall and hold the fruit without sagging. The one thing to watch is the pretzels: pour the maple syrup around the pancakes, not over the antlers, and they stay crunchy all the way to the table.

The Pancake Batter

Whisk 1½ cups all-purpose flour with 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt. A full tablespoon of baking powder sounds like a lot, but that is what makes these pancakes puff up instead of spreading thin. Skip cake flour. It is too soft here and gives flat, fragile pancakes.

In a second bowl, mix 1¼ cups milk, 1 egg, 3 tablespoons melted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla. I use whole milk and butter for flavour. Plant milk and a neutral oil both work, and I have made these with a flax egg for a dairy-free friend, though the pancakes come out softer.

Pour the wet into the dry and stir only until the flour disappears. The batter should be thick, slowly pourable and still a little lumpy. Beating out every lump develops the gluten, and you get tough pancakes that spread flatter. If it is too thick to pour at all, the milk was probably very cold; stir in a splash more.

Cooking the Pancakes for the Faces

Heat a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat and grease it lightly. Pour about ¼ cup of batter per pancake. Each reindeer gets one large pancake for the face and one smaller one for the forehead, or just a single large one if you want it simpler. Some mornings I stack the small one on top, because it gives the face a bit of height.

Watch the bubbles. Flip when they cover the surface and the edges turn matte instead of wet, usually after 2 to 3 minutes. The underside should be golden and slide easily on a spatula. Cook the second side for a minute or two, until the centre springs back when you press it. If the outside browns before the bubbles appear, the heat is too high.

While the rest of the batter cooks, keep the finished pancakes on a wire rack in a 200°F oven. Never on a plate. Stacked there, they steam and go soggy underneath. That way all 4 faces can be built at once and nobody waits with a cold breakfast.

Building the Reindeer Face

Bananas go last. Slice them into thick rounds at the very last minute, since the cut sides brown quickly. Set the large pancake on a plate and the smaller one above it as the forehead. Place two banana slices as eyes and press a mini chocolate chip or chocolate candy into the centre of each.

Set a strawberry under the eyes for the nose. I sometimes halve it so it sits flatter; a whole berry works if it is not oversized. Break the pretzels in half and tuck them into the top sides of the pancake as antlers, or use whole mini pretzels if they fit. Each reindeer uses 2 banana slices, 2 chips, 1 strawberry and 2 pretzels.

Then the syrup. Drizzle it around the pancakes and serve them warm. Syrup poured straight over the face softens the pretzels within a few minutes and slides the banana eyes out of place.

Bananas, Berries and Other Swaps

Pick bananas that are just ripe, yellow with no brown spots. Very ripe ones turn slippery and mushy, and green ones are too firm for a chip to press in. Use mini chips. They stay put better than regular ones.

Out of chocolate chips? Blueberries make good pupils; I have done that when I ran out. Strips of crispy bacon can stand in for pretzels as antlers if you want something salty and savoury on the plate, and whipped cream dabbed around the face gives a snowy look. For more ideas with the same batter style, see these Christmas pancakes and snowman pancakes.

When the Face Falls Apart

• Soft, bendy antlers: the pretzels sat in syrup. Add them last and keep the syrup around the base.
• Eyes slide off: the banana slices are too thin or too ripe. Cut thick rounds from a just-ripe banana and press them gently onto the warm pancake.
• Brown banana eyes: they were sliced too early. Slice them right before you build the faces.
• Flat pancakes: the batter was overmixed or too thin. Stir only until combined and leave the lumps.
• Raw middles with dark outsides: the pan is too hot. Turn it down to medium and wait for the bubbles before flipping.

Making Them Ahead for Christmas Morning

Half of this breakfast can wait. The pancakes can be cooked a day or two ahead. Cool them, then keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To freeze, layer them between sheets of parchment, seal tightly and freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat in a toaster or on a tray in a 300°F oven until warm through.

Always add the faces fresh. Fruit and pretzels do not keep on a pancake, and since slicing a banana and breaking a few pretzels takes about a minute, there is nothing to gain by decorating the night before.

For a full Christmas breakfast, set out red plates, scrambled eggs and a pot of homemade hot chocolate, or let kids build their own reindeer from a topping bar. A powdered donut snowman makes a fun second treat on the table. If the reindeer theme is a hit, reindeer cupcakes and Rudolph reindeer cookies carry it into dessert. Save this to your Christmas breakfast board, and tell me in the comments what you used for the antlers.