Review on Multi-Functional Pancake Griddle Pan With Bonus Waffle Maker And Silver Dollar Pancake Features by Ghostnote Azevedo

My grand kids love their animal pancakes.It takes a bit of practice to learn to flip the pancakes, but the more you do it, the easier it gets. You need a small, thin silicone coated spatula. (I used my small OXO spatula)Put in 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter. To make sure I do not overflow the indentations, I use a small #40 cookie scoop that is just the right size. I used the back of the scoop to spread out the batter.Remember the rule of pancakes, "the first one is usually a throw away…” I make that one in the middle indention. That way by the time I get to the second round, the outside of the skillet is ready to make perfect pancakes.Fun way to get the kids to eat eggs with their pancakes. It makes cute little omelet disks.Just remember you have to hand wash the pan.I have never had a skillet I had to assemble. This was a first. It was not difficult. You will need a Phillips head screwdriver.I selected the blue pan with the light interior. Food seems to cook without burning easier on pans with a light interior. Not my rule, its America’s Test Kitchen’s advice.This pan is a hit with the grand kids. I prefer my huge, flat griddle. But, if it makes the grand kids happy then this is the pancake pan we use.Buttermilk PancakesMakes 10 large pancakes or about 30 in the animal pancake pan. 1 1/4 cups buttermilk or Whole milk (I normally use whole milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice) 1 Egg, beaten 3 tbsp Butter ½ to ¾ cup of carbonated water (plain, Sprite, 7-Up, or Ginger ale) - optional (The buttermilk gives the pancakes flavor, the carbonation makes them light and fluffy.) 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour (You can make these healthier by omitting some of the all-purpose flour using this formula instead: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup whole wheat flour, 1-2 tablespoons hemp seeds, or flax meal [Chia seeds can also be used]) 3 1/2 tsp Baking powder 1/2 tsp Salt 1/4 cup SugarButtermilk sold in today’s grocery stores is no longer real buttermilk, so I do not bother buying it. I just combine whole milk with lemon juice and let it sit 30 minutes to one hour.Combine your milk and lemon juice if using. Let it sit while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in the microwave. 30 seconds will be almost enough time. Set aside to cool.Combine dry ingredients. Stir to combine.Add buttermilk, egg, butter to dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Slowly add in the carbonated water up to ½ cup. Set the rest of the carbonated water aside in case you need it. The batter will thicken as it sets. I often thin it 2 or 3 times while cooking. Let batter sit at least 30 minutes to hydrate. (If you need it to sit longer, cover it and refrigerate until ready to use.)Place pan on just below medium heat.If using the animal shapes pancake pan – use a #40 scoop – 1 ½ tablespoons of batterThe pan is non-stick so you do not need butter. However, the animal shapes will show up better if you use butter. It helps with the browning. (With the pancakes where I omitted the butter, they cooked to a beautiful golden brown. My grand kids complained because they could no longer see the animals.) I applied the melted butter with a silicone brush. The animals showed up best on the pancakes that I came close to burning and faded away on the pancakes I cooked to golden perfection.I used a thin OXO spatula to flip the pancakes. It was pretty easy.To scoop them up, I used the spatula and a folded, cooked pancake as a "pusher” to push the cooked pancake onto the spatula. It was pretty easy as long as I had the "pusher” ready to assist.