Last year, during a series of “life events,” I stopped requiring my kids to do anything in the kitchen. With temporary housing, plastic utensils, a boxed-up kitchen, and all of that, it was just too hard to have them make even their own toast. It was easier for everyone if I just did it. Then, by the time we were set up in our new house, my kids were 100% helpless in the kitchen.
If there were a reboot of the Box Car Children series where all the adults disappeared (died) and then the very polite siblings had to survive on their own, my kids would not be in it. Instead, my kids would be the dead children in a German fairy tale. They’d lie dead on the ground with really dirty fingernails surrounded by the “top ramen” packages that they had somehow failed to open. They would serve as a warning to other children: learn to boil water because if you don’t, all you’ll have to eat are your own boogers.
Once we were settled into our new home, I swore that my kids would no longer be warnings in a German fairy tale, but “Boxcar Children” who could take care of themselves! But I put off actually doing anything for a few months. Until, finally, I hit my limit and began “empowering” my kids. My 10 year old did a Great British Bake Off cook-along challenge, and my 4 year old and 8 year old started making pancakes with me. Making breakfast together was something that they vaguely remember from our old life in Michigan, which gave it a nostalgic feeling and made it not as scary as cooking something totally new. Below is our current, absolute favorite, liebchen, booger free, pancake recipe.
If thick buttermilk pancakes are the quintessential winter pancakes, then these thin pancakes are quintessential summer pancakes. These pancakes are not as thin (or intimidating) as traditional crepes, but are far thinner than most pancakes. They color beautifully and, despite their thinness, have a springy yet fluffy texture. We love to top them with seasonal fruit, and rhubarb compote is everyone’s current favorite topping (even more so than maple syrup!). But most days my kids (and I) just roll them up and dip them in syrup, and none of us have ever complained.
Notes
Note About How to Cook Pancakes with Kids
The practical aspect of making pancakes with kids is simple: first, drink your coffee in peace. Next, use step stools or chairs so that your kids can see inside any bowls and reach any ingredients they’ll need. Then, start to introduce them to measurements. At first, my kids had trouble understanding that they need to fill a whole teaspoon not just part and not a heaped spoonful. In fact, the first time you cook together you’ll probably end up measuring most of the ingredients yourself and then handing them to your kid(s) to dump in a bowl. That’s fine! especially for younger kids! The beauty of pancake batter is that any mistake is almost always fixable, you can always add a tablespoon or two liquid or flour at the end. Furthermore, my kids stir the hell out of pancake batter, and we have never yet made glutenous pancakes. So please don’t stress if your kids stir things more than you think they should. I then let them watch (safely) as I cook the pancakes at the stove. By the time the first ones are ready to eat, my kids are starving and so proud/grateful to be fed.
Key Ingredients
all-purpose flour
milk
unsalted butter
eggs
rhubarb compote (optional)
Thin Pancakes
Serves 5-7. Makes about 18-20 thin pancakes. Time 20 minutes to make the compote and pancakes. (5 minutes to prep the compote with 15 minutes cook time, 10 minutes to prep the pancakes, 10-15 minutes to cook the pancakes). Special equipment: cast iron or nonstick pan. Adapted from Kiano Moju’s “Koko’s Pancakes” in AfriCali (2024)
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams)
- 1 and 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons butter (plus another 3 for greasing the pan)
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoons Diamond kosher salt or heaped 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- rhubarb compote or other toppings
Step One
Add your dry ingredients to a large bowl: flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Mix them together and set aside.
Step Two
Melt your butter in a medium/large microwave safe bowl, and then add your milk, water and eggs in with the butter. Mix until eggs are broken up and fairly well combined.
Step Three
Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and whisk together with a fork or whisk until any lumps are smaller than a grape nut. You should have a thin batter.
Step Four
Preheat a nonstick or cast iron pan on medium heat until hot enough to make your butter sizzle. Then take your stick of butter, peel back the wrapper by about an inch, and rub a bit of butter (about a teaspoon) directly on the pan. Then pour in 1/4 cup of batter into the pan. I like to use a measuring scoop for this because I can use the flat back of the scoop to encourage the batter to spread a bit further (see photos below). You’re looking for about a 6-7 inch diameter pancake. Keep the heat on medium and cook until pancake bottom takes on a toasty brown color (about 1 minute if your pan is truly hot). There is a sweet-spot temperature: hot enough to cook your pancakes quickly but not hot enough to make the butter smoke. Use a spatula to flip your pancakes and cook the other side until it takes on color too. If your first pancake seems too thick, add a tablespoon or two of water to your batter to thin it out before making your next pancake.
STEP FIVE
Repeat the processes and Make the rest of your pancakes. Top with Rhubarb Compote.
Pancakes can be kept warm in the oven until you’re ready to eat. We’ve never had any leftovers; however, if we did, I’m sure my kids would make roll-up sandwiches with them and eat them for snack.