These 'Elf'-Inspired “Spaghetti” Pancakes Will Become Your Family’s Favorite New Tradition

When it comes to Christmas movies, few are as quotable as Elf. The original manchild comedian, Will Ferrell, is pitch perfect as Buddy, a human raised by elves in the North Pole, who decides to seek out his birth father in the mystical land of Manhattan. Almost every line he utters is destined to be repeated—he even redeems the somewhat creepy “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”—but one scene forever stands out in my mind: Buddy’s take on spaghetti.

“We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup,” he shares, after dousing his pasta in maple syrup.

While that quote has inspired many a T-shirt and Etsy shop, it’s the next scene that’s firmly seared in my brain: When Buddy makes breakfast, covering a pile of spaghetti noodles with fistfuls of mini marshmallows, crumbled Pop-Tarts, chocolate syrup, and well, just about anything sugary he can get his hands on.

Equal parts hilarious and disgusting, I wanted to recreate that moment with my family a few years ago…only minus the pasta. Pancake cereal was the latest TikTok trend, and I thought, why not make it a true breakfast? I filled pancake batter in a zip-top bag, snipped a corner, and used that to pipe swirly flapjacks onto a pan. (Forming one long, continuous piece proved easier to flip—and made for a nicer presentation—than creating a bunch of haphazard strands.)

It was an instant hit. Now, in the shop-wrap-decorate-and-carol-filled weekends leading up to Christmas, I try to set aside one morning to make these and enjoy a rewatch of the classic. It slows us down, gives us a chance to connect—and an excuse to have what’s basically dessert for breakfast.

You’d have to be a cotton-headed ninny muggins not to enjoy it, honestly.