And if you are wondering how it tastes??? My kids polished off a bowl of it in just three days.

Here’s what we used:

Heart Shaped Cherrios
Mini Pretzels
Mini Marshmallows
Dried Starberries
Craisins
Yogurt Covered Raisins
White Chocolate Chips
Animal Cookies
Pink and Red M&Ms

I used 1 cup of most ingredients but did 2 cups of the Cherrios and marshmallows.

I used this label to make gifts for friends.

You can get these labels HERE.

The post Valentine’s Day Trail Mix appeared first on Burnt Pancakes.

I created these cute turkey donuts with my boys and they really are as fun to make as they are to eat. Set up a little table on Thanksgiving with the ingredients and let the kids go to town!

Here’s What You Need:

Fruit Loop Cereal
Mini Donuts
Toothpicks
Candy Eyes
Frosting or Gel

The post Thanksgiving Turkey Donuts appeared first on Burnt Pancakes.

No, I am not a trained baker but I do find so much joy taking a theme and creating a cake to go with it. I hope one day my sons will look back at the birthday cake tradition I have started for them and appreciate the special cakes I created.

Please enjoy some of my “not so perfect but oh so special” birthday cakes that I have made my sons over the years. I think the tank cake I made for my oldest son’s Army birthday is still my favorite.

Bear Cake

Ninja Cupcakes

Tank Cake

Lego Cake

This was not my cleanest looking cake but my son still talks about it to this day.

Baseball Cake

See how to make this baseball cake HERE

Construction Site Cake

See how to make this cake HERE

Super Mario Cake

I used M&Ms and butterscotch chips to make the Mario design.

Beach Cake

Get this beach cake set HERE:

“The Big One” Fish Cake

Get this cake topper HERE

(As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no cost to you).

Naruto Cake

Get this Naruto Birthday decoration set and cake topper HERE

Sponge Bob Cake

Get the Sponge Bob Cake topper HERE

The post Birthday Cakes for Boys appeared first on Burnt Pancakes.

1. Magic Leprechaun Rocks

A few years ago, I made these Magic Leprechaun Rock for my son and he still talks about them to this day. The best part is, your kids will be so surprised when they wash them with the special Leprechaun water (vinegar) a gold coin appears.

What You Will Need:

1 cup baking soda
1/4 cup water
green food coloring
gold coins
vinegar

(This makes approximately 4 rocks)

I bought these gold coins and I loved that they had little shamrocks on them.

(As an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

How to Make Magic Leprechaun Rocks

First, combine 1 cup of baking soda with 1/4 cup of water. Mix until combined and it holds together. You can add more water if it is dry. Add green food coloring and mix. Take a gold coin and form a ball around it using the mixture.

Place the rocks on a plate and let dry over night. I made a double batch.

Make sure not to get caught green handed. Good thing this food coloring is washable!

On St. Patrick’s Day, leave this note out for your kids with a jar of vinegar labeled with the sign Leprechaun water. To get the kids to put the rocks in the vinegar, the note says, “These rocks contain magic inside, but first they must be washed and dried.”

Watch the surprise on your kids’ eyes when they discover what happens when they clean the rocks.

Watch my YouTube video to see how to make the rocks and see how what happens when they are placed in the vinegar.

Download this leprechaun note and water label for free here:

2. Leprechauns Don’t Flush!

My boys got the biggest kick out of this one last year. It is so easy to pull off and your kids will not stop talking about it. It’s the funniest surprise.

All you need is some washable green tempera paint and green food coloring.

Dip the bottom of your fists in the paint and make a left and right foot. Then add toes using your pinky finger and add some green food coloring to the toilet bowl.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!!

The post St. Patrick’s Day Ideas For Kids appeared first on Burnt Pancakes.

Well, it’s almost St. Patrick’s Day and I wanted to come up with a treat for my boys that would actually be healthy. I decided to try making a rainbow fruit tray and I have to admit, I really like how it turned out. The best part was that my boys ate almost all of it. Yep, that’s right, my boys ate almost an entire plate of fruit.

Fruits:

Here are the fruits I used plus some other options depending on what’s in season or available at your store.

Red: strawberries or raspberries
Orange: mini orange tomatos, cuties or cantaloupe
Yellow: pineapple, mango
Green: grapes, honeydew, kiwi
Blue: blueberries
Purple: grapes, pomegranate seeds
White Clouds: ok, this isn’t fruit but marshmallows, or a fruit dip are super cute (and yes, my boys went for the clouds first).

My boys actually loved this! I’ve never seen them eat this much fruit.

Here is evidence that they liked it. I guess you can say that they weren’t fans of the tomatoes though.

I love this idea for a St. Patrick’s Day treat but it would also work really well for a birthday party, shower or other gathering. If you want a more sanitary option for large groups, try making them with skewers to create individual snacks.

The post Rainbow Fruit Tray: A St. Patrick’s Day Treat appeared first on Burnt Pancakes.

On A Roll

The object of this game is to roll 10 candy hearts so they all have the word side up. Players put 10 hearts in a cup and roll them onto a table. Then they take the ones with the words facing up and move them to the side, replacing the blank side facing hearts back in the cup. Play continues until one player has all 10 hearts facing up.

Heart-A-Stack

The object of this game is to stack the most candy hearts in one minute. After the one minute timer goes off, the player with the highest stack wins.

Let’s Face It

This one might be my favorite. Get your camera ready because you will get some pretty comical pictures. The object of the game is to get the candy heart into your mouth. Here’s the catch, you have to stick the heart on your forehead and can’t use your hands. It is surprisingly hard but way too much fun!

Heart Transplant

The object of this game is to move as many candy hearts into a cup in one minute, using only chop sticks.

These light up Light Saber chopsticks are favorites of my boys. You can find them HERE.

As an Amazon affiliate I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Valentine’s Day Pyramid

Get yourself 21 red plastic cups. The object of the game is to see who can stack and unstack the pyramid of cups the fastest. To make the pyramid, players start with 6 cups on the bottom then 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. For younger children, you can change the rules to just stacking and not unstacking or use less cups. This one is always a hit. My seven year old’s fastest time was 74 seconds. Can you beat that?

Heart Order

For this one, the object is to put five cups in order based on how many candy hearts the player thinks are inside. To prepare, fill the cups with 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 hearts and cover them (I used foil). Players have one minute to place them in the order they think is correct. Player with the most correct cups wins.

Don’t Blow It

Using a straw, players have one minute to transfer as many candy hearts from a table to a cup.

Hold Your Tongue

Putting a wooden tongue depressor in their mouth, players have one minute to stack as many candy hearts on the stick as possible. When the one minute timer goes off, the player with the most wins.

Race For Your Love

The object of this game is to blow a candy heart from one end of the table to the other first. If the heart falls off or if a player uses their hands, they must go back to the start. To make this more challenging, you could have players race to the end of the table and back.

Watch us play these games on my YouTube Channel:

The post Valentine’s Day Minute-to-Win-It Games appeared first on Burnt Pancakes.

They were a hit and have since become one of my favorite cookies to make around the holidays. The spice of the gingerbread with the citrus of the orange is the perfect combo.

What you Will Need:

1 1/2 sticks Salted Butter, softened

1 2/3 c Sugar

1 Zest from 1 Orange

4 c All-Purpose Flour

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 1/2 tbsp Ground Ginger

1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1/2 tsp Ground Allspice

2 tbsp Ground Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Ground Cloves

1/2 tsp Salt

2 Eggs

1/2 c Dark Molasses

1/4 c Orange Juice

For the Icing:

2 c Powdered Sugar

4 tbsp Orange Juice

First, in an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and orange zest in a mixer until smooth.

in a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredient (flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and salt). In another bowl , mix eggs, molasses and orange juice. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mix and add the egg mixture. Mix until it holds together.

Divide the dough into two balls and wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper. Set the dough balls in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to cool.

Preheat the over to 350° and cover the counter with flower. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to about 1/4″. Use cookie cutters to create cookies and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. I like mine a bit crispier so I cook them a bit longer but if you prefer softer cookies, take them out when they are just browned. Place them on a baking rack and allow them to cool thoroughly before frosting with icing.

For the icing, mix powdered sugar with orange juice. I usually start with one tablespoon at a time until I get a consistency that is thick but and not too runny. You can then add to a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the tip of a corner cut off.

The post Orange Gingerbread Cookie Recipe appeared first on Burnt Pancakes.

What You Will Need:

Pancake Mix
Whipped Cream
Strawberries
Blueberries or Chocolate Chips (for eyes)
Bacon
Bananas

Pancake Santa

Pancake Reindeer

Well, this one turned out more like a Christmas puppy, but my middle son has never cleaned his plate in one sitting before so I call this one a win!

Watch me make them in this video:

What do you think? Would your kids devour these on Christmas morning?

The post Christmas Breakfast for Kids appeared first on Burnt Pancakes.

Christmas Cup Stack

The object of the game is to stack 21 cup up and then take them down the fastest. The base of the stack should have 6 cups, then 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The first person to collect all the cups back into their pile wins. This was a little challenging for my 4 year old so his task was to stack them to the top.

What you will need:

21 plastic cups

Marshmallow Grab

The object of this game is to move as many marshmallows from the plate to a cup using only chopsticks. I gave my younger son large marshmallows and my older son small marshmallows to make it more fair.

What You Will Need:

Marshmallows (large or small depending on age)
Chopsticks
Cups (1/person)
Plates (1/person)

Snowball Drop

The object of Snowball Drop is to drop as many “snowballs” (cotton balls or marshmallows) into a cup on the floor in one minute. You can decide to either have players stand on the floor or on a chair to make it more difficult. My rule for my boys was that they could not bend their knees or bend over.

What You Will Need:

Cups
Cotton Balls or Marshmallows
Chair (optional)

Snowman Art

The object of this game is the draw the best snowman in one minute…with the paper on your head. Yes, that’s right, you put your paper on your head and draw the best snowman. The host of the party judges the drawings. We agreed to have my 4 year old draw his on the table. This one was too much fun! My boys asked me to play it over and over.

What You Will Need:

Paper (we used card stock cut in half)
pencil or marker

You be the judge! Whose snowman wins?

Snowball Race

The object of this game is to move the most snowballs (cotton balls or marshmallows) from a plate, to a cup, using just a spoon, in one minute. We place the plate of snowballs at one end of the table and the cup at the other end.

What You Will Need:

Cotton balls or marshmallows
Spoons
Plates
Cups

Candy Cane Fishing

This one is loads of fun. The object is to catch and drop as many candy canes as possible in one minute. Start by setting up a row of candy canes on the edge of a table. Players will hook a candy cane with their candy cane pole and move it to a cut. I attached a candy cane to a string for my older son but let my 4 year old hold his candy cane without a string.

What You Will Need:

Large Candy Canes
String
Cups

Christmas Charades or Pictionary

This is a Christmas take on the classic game of Charades or Pictionary. In one minute, how many Christmas words/phrases can a player act out or draw and have their team guess. You can get these printable cards from my Etsy Shop. Get them HERE

Watch us play all these games here:

The post Christmas Games For Kids appeared first on Burnt Pancakes.

Marshmallow Snowflakes

What you will need:

Small Marshmallows
Large Marshmallows
Toothpicks

Take 8 toothpicks and add 2 small marshmallows to the ends.

Take one large marshmallow and add four toothpicks to the corners and then four toothpicks in between the corners.

Celery Reindeer Snacks

These are super easy and make a healthy snack too!

What you will need:

celery
peanut butter (or any nut butter)
candy eyeballs (or mini chocolate chips) I found the eyes in the baking aisle of our local grocery store
Pretzels
Red M&Ms

Grinch Kabobs

These are pretty self explanatory. All you need are toothpicks, mini marshmallows, strawberry ends, bananas and grapes. Stick them on a toothpick and display them on a plate for this fun and festive treat. NOTE: My four year old finished off an entire plate of these but I didn’t feel bad at all because they are mostly fruit!

Tip: the bananas we used were pretty large so after cutting the rounds, I then cut them in half to make semi-circles. They fit better this way and laid flatter on the plate.

What You Will Need:

Toothpicks
Mini Marshmallows
Strawberries
Bananas
Grapes

Reindeer Cracker Snacks

These are soooo cute and make the perfect Christmas Party snack!

What you will need:

Ritz Crackers
Peanut Butter (or any nut butter)
Pretzels
Candy Eyeballs (I found them in the baking aisle) or mini chocolate chips
Red M&Ms

Marshmallow Snowmen

What You Will Need:

Toothpicks (2 per snowman)
Hershey Kiss
Frosting
Mini M&Ms
Pull Apart Licorice
Black gel icing

I stuck one toothpick through the top and one through the bottom to hold the marshmallows together.

The store bought icing made the perfect glue to hold the mini M&M buttons.

I cut a small horizontal slot in the head and put in a red mini M&M for the nose.

Pretzel Presents

What You Will Need:

Square pretzels
Red and Green M&Ms
Hershey’s Hugs

Place the square pretzels on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Add one Hershey Hug to each pretzel. Melt them in the over at 200 degrees for about 4-5 minutes until they are soft enough to press an M&M into.

Cover each pretzel with an M&M pressing them down gently. Place the sheet in the refrigerator or freezer to chill.

Store them in an air tight container.

Rice Crispy Trees and Rice Crispy Wreaths

These turned out so fun. I followed the recipe on the Rice Crispy box but added green food coloring to the melted marshmallows. I thin formed the treats into wreaths and trees and decorated them with mini M&Ms, icing and licorice strings.

Tip: before handling the rice crispy treats, spray your hands with oil so it doesn’t stick

Display all your treats on a board and you’ve got yourself a great holiday snack display!

Watch me make all these treats on my How To Video on YouTube

The post Easy Christmas Treats appeared first on Burnt Pancakes.