Rather than decorating just a gingerbread house this year, why not decorate gingerbread pancakes? This Christmas gingerbread pancakes recipe for kids is perfect to get the whole household involved in holiday cheer.
Pancakes suffused with warm spices and molasses flavors are a surprisingly delicious twist on a breakfast standard. Using the same cookie cutter you use to make cookies, these gingerbread people are then decorated with cream cheese icing and fruit. These pancakes are so cute and so delicious that they may become a regular holiday breakfast tradition in your household.
Looking for more recipes for Christmas? Here are other recipes you might enjoy: Christmas Tree Waffles, Eggnog Muffins, Strawberry Mint Christmas Smoothie, and Christmas French Vanilla French Toast.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Festive breakfast fun: This is a great way to kick off the Christmas day festivities. Turning a basic pancake recipe into Christmas pancakes brings a sense of holiday cheer to your breakfast table. It’s an easy gingerbread pancakes recipe that doubles as a fun Christmas morning breakfast idea for the whole family.
Cute and creative: With this recipe, ordinary pancakes are transformed into fun shapes and characters. Older kids can make their own designs, using chocolate chips, banana slices, candy eyes, or even candy canes. It’s a fun way to express creativity during the Christmas season.
Deliciously flavorful: These aren’t just adorable pancakes; they’re incredibly tasty too! The gingerbread-inspired flavor paired with cream cheese icing and fruit toppings makes for a deliciously festive pancake feast. The best part? You can easily adjust the recipe to your taste, making these pancakes a perfect holiday breakfast treat.
Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients to make these gingerbread pancakes for Christmas:
Ingredient Notes
All-Purpose Flour: You’ll need this for your favorite pancake recipe. If you’re out, you can use pancake mix instead. Just be sure to follow the package instructions for the quantity.
Molasses: This gives your pancakes a distinct gingerbread flavor. If it’s not readily available, you can substitute it with maple syrup or honey.
Butter: We recommend unsalted butter to control the sodium level in your pancakes. For a dairy-free option, use coconut oil or other plant-based substitutes.
Fruit or Christmas Candies: These are for decorating your pancakes. We love using berries, banana slices, chocolate chips, and candy eyes, but feel free to get creative. You can even make green pancakes using green food coloring.
Cream Cheese: This is used for the icing. If you don’t have cream cheese, whipped cream or even yogurt can make a good substitute.
How To Make Christmas Gingerbread Pancakes
Make the batter: Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together. In a separate bowl, whisk together your eggs, milk, sugar, molasses, and melted butter. Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
Make the pancakes: In a non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of butter. Once the butter has melted and is just starting to brown, use a ⅓ cup measure to spoon out the batter into the frying pan.
Pour the batter into a greased cookie cutter or into an oblong shape. Wait for the first side of the pancake to finish cooking before flipping the pancake and cooking it on the other side.
Remove from the heat. Finished pancakes can be kept on a baking sheet warmed in a 300 ºF oven until they are ready to be served, or plated so that they can be decorated.
Make the cream cheese icing: In a bowl, whisk together milk, cream cheese, and powdered sugar until it is a thick consistency. Place into bowls with spoons or into small sandwich bags to use for decorating.
Make the fruit decorations: Cut up little pieces of banana, strawberries, and other fruits to create eyes, buttons, and other decorations. Wash and dry raspberries and blueberries that may also be on hand for decorations.
Decorate: Using a gingerbread cookie cutter, cut gingerbread shapes out of the center of the pancake, if you’re preparing them that way. (See recipe notes below for more details.)
Give your kids the fruit decorations and cream cheese icing, and let them have fun! They can add eyes, hats, and buttons with the fruit, and draw faces and scarves with the icing, or whatever else their imaginations dream up!
Recipe Tips
- Using a large bowl gives you enough space to thoroughly mix your ingredients without spilling.
- Keep the heat at medium to allow the pancakes to cook thoroughly without burning. They should be golden brown on both sides.
- Cookie cutters are a fun way to make your pancakes into fun shapes like snowman pancakes, santa hat, or even reindeer Christmas pancakes.
Storage & Reheating
Store leftover pancakes in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can also freeze them for up to 2 months. To reheat, simply pop them in the microwave for a few seconds until warmed through.
Additions & Substitutions
Feel free to adjust the recipe to your liking. You can add vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, or even chocolate syrup for a different taste. If you want to go dairy-free, substitute whole milk with almond or soy milk.
Or, get creative with your decorations. You could make Santa face pancakes, green Christmas tree pancakes, or even use mini marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles for a fun treat.
Additionally, you can make these pancakes without eggs by using a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 2.5 tablespoons water) or chia egg (1 tablespoon chia seeds + 2.5 tablespoons water) as a substitute.
Recipe FAQs
What should I serve with this Christmas pancake recipe?
Serve these festive pancakes with fresh fruit, orange juice, and a drizzle of maple syrup on top of the pancake. For an extra festive breakfast, consider serving these with a French toast bake or a Christmas breakfast casserole. It’s a fun way to start your Christmas Eve morning or Christmas day that will become a favorite thing for your whole family. A little fun and a whole lot of taste is all you need this festive season.
I don’t have a gingerbread cookie cutter. What can I do?
You can use any Christmas-shaped cookie cutter you have. I like to make and decorate gingerbread during the holidays, so this is what seems the most fun for me and my family. If you don’t have any cookie cutters, you can still decorate regular pancakes into Christmas ornaments! I would recommend using silver-dollar-sized pancakes, or mini pancakes if you plan to do this. You also don’t have to just cut out gingerbread—make a few ornaments, and a few stars! Have fun with the recipe.
Here are a few other Christmas recipes you might enjoy!
Christmas Pancakes for Kids
Equipment
- Bowl
- Whisk
- Frying pan
- Cutting Board
- Paring knife
- Gingerbread cookie cutter
Ingredients
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 4 oz cream cheese
- Fruit or Christmas candies for decorating
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 ⅓ cups + 2 teaspoons 2% or whole milk
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon table salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, and two teaspoons cinnamon.
- In a separate bowl whisk together 2 large eggs, 1 ⅓ cups milk, 2 tablespoons molasses, ¼ cup dark brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
- In a non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of butter.
- Spoon out the batter into the frying pan, either in an oblong shape or into a cookie cutter.
- Once the first side has cooked after 3-4 minutes, flip it to the other side and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat. Finished pancakes can be kept on a baking sheet warmed in a 300 ºF oven until they are ready to be served, or plated so that they can be decorated.
- Whisk together 2 tablespoons milk, 4 oz cream cheese, and ½ cup powdered sugar, until it is a thick consistency.
- Prepare fruit decorations by cutting up berries and/or bananas.
- Using a gingerbread cookie cutter, cut gingerbread out of the center of the pancake, if preparing that way.
- Decorate the pancakes with frosting and fruit.
Notes
Nutrition
Arielle is a food and drink photographer based in Washington, D.C. She was previously a social science researcher before she fell in love with photography.