Piece Together a Perfect Pancake ~ A Pancake Bar

We like pancakes.  Um, we actually kinda love them.  The thing is, each one of my children like different kinds; four-year-old likes blueberry pancakes, six-year-old adores cinnamon, and so on and so on and soooo onnnnn...  It finally hit me.  Why not set up a pancake bar?  Last Saturday morning, my family woke up to little bowls filled with add-ins and toppings waiting for them to put into their very own pancakes.  Everyone was delighted with their own creations, and it fed that little artistic foodie that runs deep in all of us. I'm definitely going to serve this the next time we host a breakfast.  It can totally be a themed breakfast that re-invents itself anytime you want it to (Autumn bars, summer bars, hawaiian/tropical bars...).  It's so fun and it involves everyone in the kitchen, and we all know that those who cook together grow together in more ways than one.  Mark my words.  Pancake bar breakfast parties.  It's going to catch on.  Watch out cupcakes, the new rage is the pancake bar, says I!

Want to give it a try?  Here's how it goes:

• Prepare your favorite pancake batter (mine is this amazing sourdough recipe from Gnowfglins).
• Thinly slice seasonal fruits and chop up nuts you'd like to use (see below for suggestions).
• Sprinkle generous amounts of your add-ins (use several; it's fun!) onto pancakes just poured onto the griddle and cook pancakes as usual.
• Serve fruit-side-up (it's really pretty), and add toppings (see suggestions below).

Add-in Suggestions:

• Nuts: walnuts, pecans, almond slices or slivers.
• Fruit: raisins, sliced grapes, apples, pears, plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, coconut flakes, mangoes...  Whatever is in season.  I suggest tossing some cinnamon and/or nutmeg with most of the fruit slices; it adds some lovely flavor.
• Berries: blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, goji berries, mulberries... whatever you can find!

Topping Suggestions (to pick and choose from)

• Real maple syrup (grade B is preferred for it's health qualities and because it's delicious)
• freshly whipped cream
• a dusting of powdered sugar
• lemon zest
• orange zest
• any leftover add-ins from above

My kids discovered a new favorite topping: fresh raspberries!  I must agree, their tartness and pretty color is hard to resist (but add way more than this):

Enjoy and have fun!

~Browse more riddlelove recipes here.~

This is a contributing post to Potluck Sunday, Pennywise Platter, Monday Mania, Mouthwatering Monday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tasty Tuesday, What's on Your Plate?, Simple Lives Thursday, Recipe Swap Thursday, Fight Back Friday, Vegetarian Foodie Fridays, & Friday Favorites.