New IHOP dishes inspired by a Christmas classic
By Jerrison Oracion, Senior Columnist
During each holiday season, IHOP offers a special menu which features new pancakes to promote a new holiday film. This year—perhaps because there are not a lot of holiday films to inspire a dish—IHOP decided to create dishes based on a very popular Christmas book (and meme). In the featured book, The Elf on the Shelf, Santa Claus sends his elves to houses around the world to check on children and to find out if they are naughty or nice.
The elves report back to jolly old Saint Nick at the North Pole and determine the naughty or nice list. The book includes an elf doll that you can place around the house so that kids will behave for Christmas. Saturday Night Live spoofed the book; the skit included Jason Momoa playing an elf who continually checked on the same child until they became a teenager. The recent check-up with the teen turns disturbing to the elf.
The Elf on the Shelf menu has pancakes that look like Santa’s elves snuck inside the kitchen at IHOP to make these festive tasty breakfasts. There are two main dishes on the menu and I ate one of them.
The Jolly Cakes are their signature buttermilk pancakes coloured green with cream cheese icing, whipped cream on top, and elf sprinkles that look as dazzling as the ornaments on a Christmas tree. While it is similar to IHOP’s other featured pancakes, this pancake is very soft and fluffy. I am not sure what other ingredients they put inside it to make the pancake look green. The cream cheese icing makes the pancake more festive, and the elf sprinkles are crunchy and taste like holiday spirit.
If you are not a fan of pancakes, there are the Oh What Funnel Cakes—two funnel cakes dusted with icing sugar and topped with strawberries, whipped cream, and elf sprinkles. Both dishes can be included with their breakfast combos, which also include eggs, bacon, or sausage, or thick-cut ham, and hash-browns. They also have a special drink called the Merry Marshmallow Hot Chocolate which is pretty much just hot chocolate with whipped cream and the elf sprinkles.
Like in the book where The Elf on the Shelf encourages everyone to spread some good joy, do the same for your stomach at your local IHOP during the holiday season.
