For this Valentine’s Day, I’m here to share with you some ideas to enjoy the holiday with those you love most. Of course, you can always order food out or dine in if you’re comfortable with that, but you can still have a memorable day at home. I always love to get everyone involved in cooking food on Valentine’s Day – I guess you could say cooking is my love language.

Since Valentine’s Day is on a Sunday this year, I thought it would be fun to have a Valentine’s Day breakfast/brunch. Since I have little kids, the day has turned into a family holiday.

This year, I’m thinking we will make heart-shaped pancakes, so the kids can decorate their own pancakes with whipped cream and red, white, and pink sprinkles. To make heart-shaped pancakes, you have two options. You can get a heart-shaped cookie cutter, spray it with nonstick cooking spray, and pour the batter directly into the cookie cutter that will lay flat on a frying pan. Or you can place your pancake batter in a squeeze bottle or baggie with the end cut off. Essentially, you will draw a heart right on the griddle. Then, you’ll fill the heart with batter. I find this technique much more challenging since it takes a lot of practice!

I always serve breakfast with some sort of protein, like bacon or sausage. On Valentine’s Day, I might get crazy and make both! Of course, a bowl of fresh fruit is a must! It’s strawberry season here in Florida, so bring on all the strawberries. For Mom and Dad, you can pop a bottle of bubbly and have mimosas or make Bloody Marys at home.

If brunch or breakfast isn’t your thing, you can always make dinner instead. My kids love to decorate any and all food that they can get their hands on. So, we will probably make cut-out sugar cookies or a cake for them to decorate. Whichever the sweetest dessert is, it will most likely end up as our dessert for the day. I recently saw that Publix has kits in the bakery providing you with baked cupcakes or cookies. The kit includes frosting and sprinkles as well. It’s a perfectly easy activity to keep the kids busy without forcing you to bake a treat.

Prior to kids, we always cooked dinner for just the two of us. Since having kids, it’s been our tradition to have Outback Steakhouse delivered. My family looks forward to it every single year, and it’s become our new tradition. Make sure you put your order in early since it will get very busy on Feb. 14.

Whichever way you plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day, I hope it’s a wonderful day filled with love and delicious food!

Heart-Shaped Pancakes

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Heart-shaped cookie cutter or squirt bottle

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then, add in the buttermilk, milk, eggs, and melted butter. Mix for 30 seconds until all ingredients are blended.
2. Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray. If using a cookie cutter, spray the cookie cutter with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and pour a thin layer of batter into the greased cookie cutter that is laying flat on the griddle, using about 2-3 tablespoons for each pancake, depending on the size of your cookie cutter. (You want a thin layer as it will eventually rise as it cooks.) If you plan to free-hand the hearts, you’ll want to grease the pan, draw the heart on the pan, and then fill in the heart with the batter.
4. Once bubbles start to form (about 1-2 minutes), remove the cookie cutter and flip the pancake. Cook an additional 1-2 minutes until brown but not burnt. Remove from the griddle and repeat until all the batter is used. Before plating, sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with butter and maple syrup.

Notes: If you just want to make traditional round pancakes, ladle about 1/4 cup of the batter into a pan and follow step four of the cooking instructions.