Nordic Ware Zoo Friends Pancake Pan

What a great idea! No need to try and fit 3 or 4 pancakes on a rounded frying pan (then have the batter run together) -- just use the silver dollar pancake pan.For batter, I use a pancake mix, substituting milk, apple juice, and/or soy milk for the water, adding apple sauce, sometimes cinnamon. The pan works for liquid batters and thicker batters alike.It's easy:-Turn the stove on to medium-high, and wait a little for it to heat up.-Put a bit of butter in each slot.-Pour the dough into those rounded spaces. The instructions say a tablespoon of batter, and that works great (a little more if you are using a slightly larger spoon will be fine).-Optional add ingredients like berries, apples, peaches, nuts, chocolate chips, etc.-Wait until it bubbles.-Use a rubber spatula (one that won't melt) to flip the pancakes (a stiff flat spatular will not fit inside the circles).-Flip in the order you poured, often by the time you've filled each circle the first will be ready or close to ready to flip.Voila -- perfect pancakes.-Optional: put in more butter and start a second batch.The pan is really easy to clean (hand wash). I normally don't like things like cupcake pans because washing is difficult, but this pan is still flat enough it's really no harder than cleaning a frying pan. It's fairly light, too. It is non-stick, making it easier to cook with and to clean.I've used my pancake pan every time for pancakes since I bought it 10 months ago. I originally got the idea from a physical goods store, but as is often true, Amazon had a better price. The pan has held up and had no problems, and it makes the cutest round pancakes, earning it a glowing 5-stars.Update September '16:I use this pan a couple times a month and it's still one of my favorite kitchen devices. Love it.

Nice pan for pancakes 🥞.. small for my grandkids...

This pan is so much fun! The emoji faces are so cute. It’s the only way I have been able to get my 3 year old picky eater to eat pancakes. The construction is very sturdy. It has some weight on it- lighter than a cast iron pan and heavier than a regular frying pan. The pan is also very easy to clean due to the non- stick surface. One thing to note is the pan heats up very quickly so have your pancake batter ready to go! And a slim spatula helps to flip the pancakes. Overall I would recommend getting this pan.

I purchased this to be able to make breakfast sandwiches for my kid to eat on the run since she likes to sleep in. I like that you can cook the pancakes, eggs and even sausage the same size then wrap everything up and freeze it for a quick hearty breakfast - cheaper than the pre-made ones you can buy and you can control the sugar and sodium. I like the size of the wells on this pan better than the similar Calphalon pan - although they both have excellent non-stick surfaces. To protect the non-stick surface and to make flipping back into the wells easier, I recommend a small silicone spatula.As others have said, it is hard to control the volume you pour into each well without making a mess. I highly recommend using a squirt bottle to fill them. I use the Tovolo Pancake Pen (http://www.amazon.com/Tovolo-28015-Pancake-Pen/dp/B0036DD9OW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401194130&sr=8-1&keywords=tovolo+pancake+pen) and have been very happy with it. In fact, if you're only making pancakes and don't care if they're exactly the same size you can just use the pen and a regular non-stick skillet.The combination of this pan, a pancake pen, silicone spatula and a good pancake recipe would make a nice wedding shower gift. For a good recipe, try the buttermilk pancake recipe in Joy of Cooking and substitute self-rising flour for all-purpose.

This is a nice pan for making the grandkids pancakes. They love the faces imbedded in each one. They use syrup to decorate the faces. One grand baby said "her pancakes were wearing makeup" as she decorated the eyes and mouths, it was quite comical. The only difficulty is when its time to turn them, but we took care of that. Have an electric griddle or another pan pre-heated along side the cooktop, when the batch of smileys are ready, flip them over onto the waiting pre-heated surface to continue cooking. Also the directions say to use a cooking spray, so do not leave that step out or they will be difficult to remove when taking them out. We make the batter just a tiny bit thinner and put it in a squeeze bottle, that makes it much easier to fill the molds. I also will carefully highlight the features first, let them cook until darker, then fill the face to give more expression to the smileys. You can also do the opposite for different effects. The kids love them and gobble them up!

I bought this pancake pan on Amazon after seeing it on Nordic Ware's website at nearly double the price. I'm glad I did. It's my 2 year old son's first real Christmas where he gets all of the holiday symbols. He's obsessed with Santa, trees, snowmen and the Gingerbead man. This pan has all the favorites, as well as a star and snowflake.Pros: It has a very high quality non stick surface, and pancakes never stick. It makes uniformly cooked pancakes with a very clear image on one side of the pancake. It also comes with a recipe on the back. The handle also stays nice and cool. The images are super cute!Cons: package is missing a few very important pieces of information, such as how much batter to use. I ended up just searching online for a silver dollar pancake, and found that it's a tablespoon and that works but you need to spread it out a little. Unfortunately the image is only really clear on one side; the second side doesn't really show a clear picture when finished, but not a super big deal since you're really only looking at one side when you're eating it. Also, it's kind of hard to get in and flip the pancake. You need a thin spatula to lift it up.Overall, totally worth it for $26.95. I'll keep experimenting and hopefully get it