Rather than decorating just a gingerbread house this year, why not decorate gingerbread pancakes? This Christmas pancake 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.
Christmas gingerbread pancakes have all the flavors of the Christmas holiday season. Make your kids a hot chocolate or banana cinnamon smoothie to have with this pancake recipe, and whip up a batch of pumpkin spice eggnog for the adults.
While you can decorate these pancakes with fruit or candies, I like to use berries. I will toss a bowl of extra fruit with a dusting of cinnamon sugar to serve on the side.
What You Need to Make Gingerbread Christmas Pancakes for Kids
This recipe requires eggs, salt, brown sugar, all-purpose flour, milk, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, molasses, brown sugar, cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, baking powder, baking soda, and fruit or candy decorations (I like to use berries).
You can adjust the spices to be a bit spicier or a bit blander based on your tastes. These gingerbread pancakes are not too spicy, but your family might prefer something with a bit more zip.
Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Molasses
- Table salt
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- Baking powder
- Cream cheese
- Fruit or Christmas candies (for decorating)
- Ginger
- Nutmeg
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Milk
- Powdered sugar
Tools
Christmas gingerbread pancakes require a bowl, a whisk, a frying pan, a cutting board, a paring knife and a gingerbread cookie cutter.
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 FAQs
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.
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
Here are a few other recipes you might enjoy!
- Christmas Tree Waffles
- Candy Cane French Toast
- Strawberry Mint Christmas Smoothie
- Christmas French Vanilla French Toast
- Christmas Tree Cinnamon Rolls
- Gingerbread Christmas Muffins
- Eggnog Muffins
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.