Mini Heart Pancakes
Add some extra love to your breakfast with these mini heart pancakes! They’re fluffy, delicious, and perfect with all your favorite pancake toppings.
Buttermilk pancakes are always a treat, and so are fluffy little silver dollar pancakes. But make mini pancakes in the shape of hearts and you’ve got yourself a festive breakfast to serve up on Valentine’s Day morning. (Or Mother’s Day! Or any day you want to show a little love to your family.)
Kids will love these little pancakes, and so will you—they’re easy to make, delicious to eat, and oddly satisfying to cook, especially if you use heart-shaped silicone molds. Fill the molds with batter and your pancakes will be perfectly shaped, or simply freestyle it by spreading the batter into the shape of a heart with a spoon.
About this mini heart pancake recipe
- Perfect for toppings: To keep with a Valentine’s Day theme, you can garnish your mini heart pancakes with heart-shaped sprinkles, or maybe some strawberry sauce or raspberry preserves. For a little more V-Day decadence, sandwich some Nutella (or homemade Nutella!) between the pancakes and serve with fresh berries.
- Great for meal prep: Because this recipe makes 40 pancakes, it’s great for meal prep. Have mini heart pancakes all week long, freeze some for later, or put them in lunchboxes for something special. (Parenting tip: Kids adore pancake lunches, especially when you put them in a bento box with a bunch of topping options.)
Prefer full-size pancakes?
If you prefer full-size pancakes, don’t miss our heart-shaped chocolate pancakes or our two-tone Valentine’s Day pancakes. Or, check out all of our Valentine’s Day recipes.
What you need
- Dry ingredients – All-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder
- Wet ingredients – Milk, apple cider vinegar, butter, pure vanilla extract
- Optional toppings – Syrup, Nutella, icing, powdered sugar, butter, fresh berries, sliced bananas
For perfect heart-shaped pancakes, you’ll also need a silicone mold—and if you want to make a lot of pancakes at once, you might want to invest in two or three of them. We love this set of three different shapes, and it is what was used to make these pancakes.
Other options for heart-shaped pancakes include mini heart-shaped pancake pans—although these can only cook one pancake at a time—and cookie cutters. If you use cookie cutters, be sure they’re metal, not plastic, and handle them with care, as they will be quite hot.
How to make them
Make a buttermilk substitute. Add the apple cider vinegar to the milk; stir and let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes, or until it thickens.
Prepare the batter. Stir together the flour, sugar, and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the melted butter, vanilla, and buttermilk mixture until no large lumps remain.
Tip
Let the batter sit for 5 minutes while the griddle preheats. It will thicken during this time.
Preheat the griddle. Heat your griddle over medium-low heat. Add butter or oil to the pan to keep the pancakes from sticking, or coat the cooking surface in nonstick spray.
To cook the pancakes without the silicone mold: Drop about a tablespoon of the batter onto the pan and use the back of a spoon to spread it into a heart shape. Repeat to fill the pan, leaving 2 to 3 inches between the mini pancakes. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until bubbles begin to form on the pancakes. Flip and cook the other side for 2 to 3 minute more.
To cook the pancakes with the mini heart pancake mold: Spray the inside of the mold and the pan. Place the flat surface of the mold up, drop the pancake batter inside and spread underneath the mold to make sure the batter reaches the edges. Once the batter is bubbling in each section, lift from the tabs, flip, and cook the opposite sides.
How to make these mini heart pancakes your own
Make these mini heart pancakes as-is, or try one of the variations below.
- Add some color. A little bit of pink or red food coloring will make for some pretty Valentine’s Day pancakes.
- Make them chocolatey. Mini chocolate chips are perfect for adding to mini pancakes!
- Lighten them up. Substitute applesauce for the butter if you’d like a lighter pancake recipe.
Storage & Reheating
- Storage: Store your mini heart pancakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months, either in an airtight container or freezer bag.
- Reheating: Mini heart pancakes are too small to reheat in the toaster, but you can pop them in the microwave until they’re warmed through. You can also warm them briefly in a skillet over medium-low heat, flipping once.
More smaller-scale breakfast recipes
Get the Recipe: Mini Heart Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- butter, cooking spray, or oil for cooking
- syrup, Nutella, icing, powdered sugar, butter, fresh berries, sliced bananas (optional toppings)
Instructions
- Make buttermilk substitute by adding the apple cider vinegar to the milk. Stir and set aside while you make the rest of the batter, about 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and baking powder.
- Whisk in the melted butter, vanilla, and milk and vinegar mixture until no large lumps remain. Don’t overmix.
- Heat griddle over medium-low heat. Add a little bit of butter or oil to the pan to help prevent sticking, or use cooking spray.
- Drop about 1 tablespoon of the batter onto the pan and shape into hearts, add a few more hearts (depending on the size of your pan), leaving 2-3 inches between the mini pancakes. OR, use the highly recommended silicone pancake molds to ensure they turn out perfect every time!
- Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the pancakes start to bubble. Flip and cook on the other side for about the same amount of time, or until golden.
- Enjoy with your preferred toppings.
Notes
- Makes about 40 mini pancakes. Nutrition information does not include toppings.
- Do not overmix the batter.
- Let the batter sit while heating your pan, or at least 5 minutes.
- To make perfectly heart-shaped pancakes use a silicone pancake mold! If using the suggested silicone pancake mold, spray the inside of the mold and the pan, place the flat surface of the mold up, drop the pancake batter inside and spread underneath the mold to make sure the batter reaches the edges of the mold. Once the batter is bubbling in all sections, lift from the tabs, flip, and cook again until done.
These are some of the cutest pancakes ever! They taste so good and are the perfect sized pancakes for my youngest daughter!
So glad you liked them!