Wheat pancake mix, Munster cheese, blueberries, strawberries, Nutella

Raisin buttons, Nutella hat, mini chocolate chip eyes and mouth, cheese stick nose, turkey sausage arms and whip cream snow

With the unseasonably warm weather recently, this may be the only snowman we get to make. Have a merry Christmas!

Tips: When you’re done with the chocolate chips, put them back in the cupboard immediately. I made the mistake of leaving the room while Avery ate his pancake and heard the unmistakable crackling sound of the chocolate chip bag being opened. When I returned to the kitchen, I found a child with hands full and a gooey chocolate covered grin. The rest of the sugar fueled morning has been interesting…to say the least.

Turkey sausage patties (2), Braeburn apple, mini chocolate chips

My son is performing in his first Christmas pageant tonight, so for the past couple weeks we’ve been rehearsing carols nonstop and Rudolph has become a favorite. Obviously. What child doesn’t enjoy singing Rudolph?

Avery and I have also hammered out a mean duet of Santa Claus is Coming to Town. I put on my best throaty Zooey voice and we complete each other’s lines. Sigh – it’s really quite charming, I must admit. But he refuses to perform it in front of anyone, so you’ll just have to take my word on it.

I may have to resort to hidden cameras.

Tips: Use one sausage patty for each antler and cut out the negative areas. Hmm…is this really a tip? I think you guys can figure it out on your own.

Apple & raisins

Take off the hat and you have a pancake bearing an uncanny resemblance to Jerry Garcia.

pear, apple, cheerio, nutella

Happy Thanksgiving!

I think as parents, it’s natural to want to make our children’s dreams come true or brighten their day with something as simple as a animal-shaped pancake. It sounds trite, I know, but it’s what compels many of us to wait in extraordinarily long lines in hopes of nabbing the latest toy trend, shiver in the damp dewey grass watching little ones chase after a ball on the only day to sleep late or drive back and forth to dance class every. single. day.

So after months of listening him talking about his dream of having a Peter Pan birthday party, I knew I needed to deliver. Or at least try.

And frankly, it’s another excuse to make cute food.

I’ve shared only a few details on this site, but click here for more.

Pumpkin / buttermilk pancakes, granny smith apple, raisins

A scraggly witch is the latest creation in the October Spookycakes series. Once again, the two tone technique was used to make her pointy hat, brows and facial outline.

Tips: Since the consistency of the instant mix is different than the pumpkin batter, apply thinner details like the hair with buttermilk batter for less clumping and overall oozing.