Fancy Pancakes of Summer 2008

I made fancy pancakes twice on my Mississippi trip; these pancakes on right make up for the crappy ones I made a few days earlier. Can you identify the six figures in these fancy pancakes? (Answers at end of post. Hint: top left 2 are from a children's book.)

The crappy pancakes were made with my 10 month old niece on my hip and my nephews bickering nearby. Even after I turned on Nickelodeon for them, it was tough to create American flags, trees, horses and airplanes while carrying my niece. I didn't take a picture of the bad pancakes because I was trying to fairly distribute the pancakes while monitoring the baby playing on the kitchen floor. Plus, I was flustered at my poor baby-sitting skills.

Read below for 7 fancy pancake-making tips:

• A tablespoon is the best tool for pancake art.
  
• You have to have confidence to make fancy pancakes. When the batter starts dropping, you have to go for it. Have the image of Clifford the Big Red Dog in your head so you can make the front half, then quickly dip the tablespoon in for batter to make his back half. Save just enough for his tail.
  
• You've also got to keep your designs fresh. Think outdoors, think TV, think holidays, think letters, think shapes, think astronomy.
  
• The batter can neither be too think nor too runny. Skim milk is fine to use.
  
• I prefer a higher-heated griddle, close to 400 degrees. The griddle is essential; its large size keeps the pancakes flowing in copious amounts..
  
• For fun, add food coloring to batter.
  
• Blueberries and chocolate don't work well for the complex shapes, but you could puree blueberries and mix them in.

Answers: Back, L-R: Max and Ruby (bunnies from a book with the same title), Clifford
Front, L-R: Dinosaur head, star, monkey