Do you enjoy experimenting with traditional foods? I think it’s fun to look for new ways to serve or otherwise jazz up family favorites.

And pancakes are a perfect example of one of the staples I toy with. In case you’d be open to messing around with the pancake, here are a few ways to snazzy up this traditional breakfast food. Read on with this thought in mind: Wouldn’t a pancake bar make an easy but delightful New Year’s Day or other holiday breakfast?

Let’s start with the syrup. You’ve probably already discovered flavored syrups—flavors other than maple should definitely be considered. For instance, vanilla and coconut cream, marionberry, raspberry, boysenberry, elderberry, strawberry-rhubarb, blueberry, huckleberry, peach, cherry, apricot, plum, lemon, buttermilk, cinnamon-apple, and cinnamon cream…the list just goes on.

But wait, there’s more. Why stop with syrup? There’s caramel whipped cream or any flavored whipped cream, for that matter—always excellent on pancakes. Or as an extra special treat, why not spread luscious Bavarian cream filling between pancakes before drizzling the syrup?

Besides unique syrups and flavored creams, adding fresh fruit slices (bananas, berries, peaches, cherries, even mangoes), canned drained crushed pineapple, chocolate chips, or some toasted nuts is also scrumptious. Besides using fruit, you could also jazz up a typical maple-syrup-topped pancake by adding crispy crumbled bacon and shredded sharp Cheddar cheese!

And how about making stuffed pancakes, filling them with fruit or cream fillings. Fruit fillings could include raspberry, lemon, cherry, blueberry, and apple. Cream fillings, besides the above-mentioned Bavarian, could include cream cheese, chocolate, banana, vanilla, coconut, even lemon. You can even stuff them with Nutella®, as shown below!

As I was exploring the pancake bar idea, I happened onto the Prepared Pantry’s explanation of why you ought to use a bakery-grade fruit filling when doing stuffed pancakes (or making hand pies). This caught my attention because first of all, I didn’t know there was such a thing. I’d just go buy a can of pie filling from the grocery store. What’s the difference between bakery-grade and grocery store canned fillings, anyway?

According to Dennis Weaver, baking expert and owner of the Prepared Pantry, there are two main differences:

• Flavor.  It’s more intense. There’s more true fruit flavor in each bite.
• Consistency.  The consistency is different in two regards: The pastry filling is firmer, less runny, and the chop of the fruit is finer. In a bake shop, they’ll apply the fillings with a pastry bag, which is what you need to do when stuffing pancakes.  Whole cherries and large apple chunks won’t flow through a pastry bag tip. You can also buy them in a tube and just snip the end for applying the filling.

If the idea of a holiday pancake bar interests you, you might even consider creating your own flavored syrups. You start by making a thick sugar syrup and adding your favorite flavorings (there are lots of recipes on the Internet). But to get you started, here’s a syrup recipe that I found on www.foodandwine.com that we’ve used and love. It’s perfect for this time of year—ruby red cranberry syrup. (It’s delicious over cheesecake, too, by the way.)

I’ll close offering a toast to a Happy New Year, kicking it off with perhaps one of the best New Year’s Day breakfasts ever, and may your pancake making and serving never be the same again!

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