NYC Rainbow Skyline Pancake Dippers
Colorful skyline pancakes with fruity sunrise yogurt dip.
Daily recipe · June 09, 2026
A little about this dish
Celebrate Children's Day with a playful, skyline-inspired brunch plate that feels made for New York City in June. These Rainbow Skyline Pancake Dippers are fluffy mini pancakes arranged like city buildings, served with bright strawberry-yogurt 'sunrise' dip and fresh fruit confetti. The key ingredients are buttermilk pancake batter for tenderness, natural food coloring from berries and spinach for cheerful colors, and creamy yogurt for a kid-friendly dip that keeps the dish light and fun.
Ingredients (for 4)
- All-purpose flour — 2 cups
- Buttermilk — 1 3/4 cups — room temperature
- Large egg — 1
- Unsalted butter — 4 tbsp — melted
- Baking powder — 2 tsp
- Baking soda — 1/2 tsp
- Strawberries — 1 cup — hulled and chopped, divided
- Blueberries — 1/2 cup
- Baby spinach — 1/2 cup — packed
- Plain greek yogurt — 1 cup
- Maple syrup — 1/4 cup
- Vanilla extract — 1 tsp
- Lemon juice — 1 tsp
- Powdered sugar — 1 tbsp
- Mini chocolate chips — 2 tbsp
- Mint leaves — 8 to 12 — for garnish
- Neutral oil — 1 tbsp
- Salt — 1/2 tsp
- Granulated sugar — 2 tbsp
Preparation
-
Step 1 — 🥣🌾✨In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar.
-
Step 2 — 🥛🥚🧈In another bowl, whisk the room-temperature buttermilk, egg, melted unsalted butter, and vanilla extract until smooth.
-
Step 3 — 🥄🍥👌Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined. A few small lumps are fine.
-
Step 4 — 🥣➗🎨Split the pancake batter evenly into 3 bowls. Leave one bowl plain.
-
Step 5 — 🍓💗🌀Blend 1/2 cup chopped strawberries with the lemon juice until smooth, then stir some into one bowl of batter until pink.
-
Step 6 — 🥬💚🔄Blend the baby spinach with a little buttermilk until very smooth, then stir enough into the third bowl of batter to make it green.
-
Step 7 — 🥣🍓🌅Stir the Greek yogurt with the remaining chopped strawberries, powdered sugar, and maple syrup. Swirl lightly so it stays streaky, then chill until serving.
-
Step 8 — 🔥🍳🧈Warm a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-low heat and lightly grease it with extra butter and the neutral oil.
-
Step 9 — 🏙️🎨✂️Transfer each batter color to a squeeze bottle or zip-top bag with a tiny corner cut off. Pipe skyline shapes like rectangles, stepped tops, and antennas onto the skillet.
-
Step 10 — 🥞⏲️🔁Cook each pancake for 1 to 2 minutes until bubbles form and the edges look set. Flip carefully and cook 30 to 60 seconds more. Repeat with the remaining batter, greasing the pan as needed.
-
Step 11 — 🍫🏢✨Press mini chocolate chips onto the warm pancakes to look like little windows.
-
Step 12 — 🌇🍽️🥣Place the pancakes standing or overlapping on a platter to create a colorful skyline. Set the strawberry-yogurt dip in a small bowl at one corner like a sunrise.
-
Step 13 — 🫐🍁🌿Scatter the blueberries around the plate, drizzle with extra maple syrup, and finish with mint leaves before serving.
A final fox tip
This dish is extra fun because kids can help choose the skyline shapes and colors. For an even more iconic NYC touch, make one tall pancake shaped like One World Trade Center. You can also swap in mashed blueberries for purple batter or mango puree for golden 'sunset' tones. If serving a crowd, keep cooked pancakes warm on a sheet pan in a low oven.