Valentine's Day Pancakes Recipe

There's no better way to tell someone you love them than by making some fluffy pancakes. If you're looking to impress your partner, kids, or someone else on Valentine's Day, then these heart-shaped pancakes are the perfect way to kickstart the day. Recipe developer Catherine Brookes of Blue Sky Eating came up with this yummy pancake recipe and we love that you make the batter from scratch instead of purchasing it from a store. "I find that homemade pancakes have a richer, fresher taste, especially when using buttermilk," Brookes shares. 

The fact that you can shape pancakes into a heart is another major win, and it's easy to do if you have heart-shaped cookie cutters on hand. "These are such a fun twist on classic buttermilk pancakes!" Brookes raves. "Using a cookie cutter is super easy to create perfect heart shapes and there's always the option to add extras into the mix, such as chocolate chips or blueberries." 

Keep reading to find out how to make these sweet and fluffy pancakes.

Pancakes are surprisingly easy to make, and you only need a handful of ingredients. Start with some all-purpose flour and baking soda. Then, be sure you have salt and sugar on-hand. Double-check to see what you may have at home versus what you need to buy at the store. 

You'll also need buttermilk, eggs, butter, and vanilla extract. Lastly, be sure to pick up vegetable or canola oil.

Ready to start? First, take out a large mixing bowl and add in your dry ingredients. This includes flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Whisk them together to combine.

Using a separate bowl, it's time to mix the wet ingredients. It's common practice to mix the wet and the dry ingredients separately before combining them. Pour in the buttermilk, then crack the egg into the bowl. Add in the melted butter and vanilla extract. Give everything a few good stirs to mix it together. 

After mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately, fold the wet and the dry ingredients together until just combined. It's okay if you have a few lumps in the batter, but try to smooth it out as much as you can. That's all you need to do for the batter!

Now, take the frying pan and place it on your burner. Crank the heat up to medium-high. Grease a heart-shaped cookie cutter in the pan and set it in place. Brookes shares that she used a 3-inch wide heart cutter.

Spoon about 3 tablespoons of pancake batter into the heart-shaped cookie cutter and spread it out to the edges, ensuring that it's evenly dispersed. Cook the pancake about 3-4 minutes on the first side, until bubbles start to appear on the surface. Then, slide a spatula underneath, lift it up, and flip the pancake over. 

Use a tea towel or something similar to protect your hand while you touch the cookie cutter because it will be hot. 

When you flip the pancakes to the other side, cook for an additional 3-4 minutes just like you did on the first side. Then, lift up the cookie-cutter, and the heart-shaped pancake should slide out. As a reminder, you should protect your hands from the hot cookie cutter with a tea towel — just like you did in the previous step. 

Transfer the pancake to a plate and repeat the process with the remaining batter. If you have more than one cookie cutter, you can make multiple pancakes at once.

Once you finish the last batch, plate and serve the pancakes as you wish. Brookes recommends serving them with fresh berries and syrup. Another great idea? "Greek yogurt and honey, or Nutella and banana," Brookes suggests. We also think these pancakes would go great with a side of bacon, some eggs, and a big glass of orange juice or a nice, hot cup of coffee.

We hope you love these fluffy pancakes and we're sure they'll be a hit on Valentine's Day ... or any other day, for that matter!