In times gone past, if I made pancakes-with-stuff

Banana pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes, blueberry pancakes, that sort of thing - I'd make my batter, stir in the filling, and try to make it like that.

Unsurprisingly to those of you who've tried this method, I'd have some pancakes with hardly any of whatever-it-was, some with a lot, and a whole bunch of whatever-it-is at the bottom of my bowl when all the batter was used up.

I've since stumbled upon a better plan that's so elegant in its simplicity that you don't have to tell me, I'm the last one to figure this one out. I'm posting it anyway just in case I'm *not* the last and one other lonely person reading has been struggling with this same exact problem.

When you're making pancakes, instead of stirring in the fill-in, make them in the usual way (tip: making them with half-seltzer, half milk makes them fluffier than if you make them with milk alone), spoon them into the pan, and then sprinkle the fill-in on top before you flip it. It works like a charm, and this is how you get smiley face pancakes!

Which is what I did for breakfast this morning, and also, like my father used to do years ago, I took the last dregs of batter and fried it in little "dollops" swimming in butter. As a kid, my father would make that last at my request and give a plate of them just for me. (He preferred HUGE pancakes to tiny ones.) They're rich and buttery and I didn't want to share them at all today, haven't had them in years, but I did anyway. It's probably definitely better to share them with the nieces than to have them to myself. (Maybe.)