Rainbow sheet pancakes

Have you ever met a kid who doesn’t love pancakes? There’s “cake” in the name, so I’m convinced the answer is a hard no! All three of my kids are pancake monsters. As you may know by now, I don’t love baking and that’s mainly because I don’t like measuring ingredients. This is why we’ve been making surprise pancakes for years. Depending on which ingredients I have on hand, each day I concoct a new version of a pancake, using my general formula with slight variations. My Instagram followers are always asking for my rainbow sheet pancakes recipe, but I’ve never been able to share one because it changes daily. Well, my book, “Prep And Rally: An Hour of Prep, A Week of Delicious Meals” was finally the push to perfect my pancake recipe and write it down at last. So, my friends . . . here you go. The best pancake in the world. It’s healthy, it can be halved for a smaller batch, and it can be made the traditional method in a skillet or even be baked into the perfect healthy muffin. Top with fruit or chocolate chips or leave plain—no matter what, these pancakes are always perfection.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

For the pancakes

1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or cooking spray, for the pan
3 large eggs
2 cups milk of choice
1 cup pure maple syrup
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup almond flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the toppings

1 cup strawberries, cut into small dice
1 cup peeled small-diced fresh mango
1 cup thinly sliced bananas
1 cup thinly sliced kiwi
1 cup blueberries
Pure maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 500°F. Grease a standard baking sheet with the butter or cooking oil spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, and maple syrup. Add the whole-wheat flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk (use an actual whisk to evenly distribute the ingredients!) until just incorporated. Pour the batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Place on the middle rack in the oven and immediately lower the oven temperature to 400°F. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until set and golden on top.
3. Remove from the oven and top with rows of fruit to create a rainbow. Serve hot, cut into squares, with maple syrup to top!

Hot tips:

• Swap in any fruit your family loves or fruit that you’re trying to use up! Or if your family prefers chocolate (like mine), nix the fruit altogether and mix chocolate chips into the batter before baking.
• Use all-purpose flour in place of the almond meal if you have nut allergies.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and serve warmed up the next day for a quick and easy breakfast.
• If you have a smaller crowd, feel free to cut the recipe in half. Use 2 small eggs and bake in a quarter sheet pan; alternatively, cook the batter on the stovetop in a buttered skillet as traditional pancakes (you’ll get 12 to 15 pancakes).
• This recipe also makes the perfect muffin. My kids gobble them up! Simply mix the batter together, add any extras (chocolate chips, blueberries, shredded apple, etc.), and bake in muffin tins lined with cupcake liners, using the same directions as the original recipe. You’ll get about 22 muffins with the full pancake batter recipe.
• When we’re shorter on time and need a quick pancake (and want to use up browning bananas), we opt for banana pancakes. I make these three times a week, and the kids love helping me make them (and beg for them), so the recipe needed to be quick. Mash together 4 bananas in a medium bowl. Whisk in 4 eggs, ½ cup whole-wheat flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, a pinch of salt, and a drizzle of vanilla extract (optional). Fry in butter in a nonstick skillet with chocolate chips, then flip to cook the other side to make about 15 pancakes.

For more tips on picky eating, check out Dini Klein’s recommendations here.

This recipe is published from Prep + Rally by Dini Klein. Copyright © 2022 by Dini Delivers LLC. Interior Photography © 2022 by Ren Fuller. Reprinted by permission of Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.