Dunkin' Donuts Engineers A Handheld Pancake Breakfast

by Jason Best, Posted Nov 4th 2010 @ 1:00PM

Photo Courtesy Dunkin' Donuts

It's funny how the future plays out: no flying cars yet, but now a pancake breakfast you can pop in your mouth like a bonbon.

Yes, it's time to mark another milestone in the quest of American fast-food science to render utensils as obsolete as the abacus and the telegraph: Dunkin' Donuts has unveiled Pancake Bites. As the company describes them in its press release, these "portable, bite-sized sausage links wrapped in a maple-flavored pancake" are just the sort of on-the-go meal that "busy people will flip over."

We're always a little dubious of the claim that people who are so harried that they don't have time to pick up a knife and fork are actually thrilled when they're given yet another excuse not to sit down and take a break already. Nothing seems to scream "I need a vacation!" like sitting in rush-hour traffic with a bag of Pancake Bites in the passenger seat.

In any case, the pint-sized mutant hybrids look remarkably familiar, like hush puppies or mini corn dogs (which is to say that they're a bit homelier than, say, a strawberry-frosted doughnut with sprinkles). They're small, but they pack a punch: a serving of three contains 300 calories and about 20 grams of fat.

And, of course, no story about a product that's intended to be eaten on the run rather than savored would be complete without this classic tag: "Hurry, they're available for a limited time only!"

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Filed Under: Fast Food, Chain Stores / Restaurants
Tags: breakfast food, dunkin donuts, pancakes

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-05-2010 @10:38AM Judith Dangler said... We have two Dunkin Donuts where I live and neither one of them make the donuts there. They taste day old and stale. I am so disappointed I could cry. I loved Dunkin Donuts, and still enjoy them when I go to a different area. If they continued to make their donuts on site, they wouldn't have to continually add unrelated items to their menu.
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11-05-2010 @4:55PM Al Schrader said... Take your cooked sausage links & cut them into discs. Pour your pancakes, then drop them right into the pancake, & flip. Serve topped with blueberry pie filling & real whipped cream.

Or, take two thin pancakes and place a thin sausage patty between them & eat it like a sandwhich. I top it with butter & syrup.....Al-

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11-05-2010 @12:07PM phyllis said... Dunkin Donuts stole the idea from Denny's restaurant. They hae been making the pancake balls for yrs. I make them at home and for kids events myself. So, it's not a new discovery for donuts. Sorry!!!
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11-05-2010 @1:57PM paul said... It's no wonder we Americans are the fattest people in the universe.
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11-05-2010 @5:19PM carol said... Only if you OVER eat. Donuts or any other fast food meals will not make you fat unless
you eat it 24/7. Please get a clue and stop blaming food for being overweight. You have
to take responsbiility for putting it in your mouth in the first place.

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11-05-2010 @2:16PM D'Andrea said... I would try them but I am in a no stop light or store town. Besides, I've been making them for my kids for years! Maybe I should have gotten the patent on this!!
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11-05-2010 @3:55PM katie said... I don't know who came up with the idea, but it wasn't Dunkin' Donuts, when I was in middle school ithis was one of the breakfasts that the school served.
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11-05-2010 @6:25PM Cindy said... Sonic Drive-In (here in Texas) used to make these about 12 years ago or more. Like a hot-dog on a stick, they would take a whole breakfast sausage, dip it into a sweet, pancake like batter, then deep fry it until it was golden brown. Quite tasty really.

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11-05-2010 @4:14PM Mr. B said... F*** people on the go. So much garbage exists because of them.
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11-05-2010 @4:32PM Megan said... @ Judith Dangler: If you're so disappointed about about donuts that you "could cry," then you probably shouldn't be eating them anyway, and you seriously need to reconsider your priorities!
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11-05-2010 @4:59PM Al Schrader said... But if you really wanna go kool, chop the cooked sausage links & mix it right into your pancake batter, then put the batter into a pastry bag & carefully squeeze the batter into the deep fryer oil same as for funnel cake. Remove the curly pancakes & dust with powdered sugar....Al-
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11-06-2010 @9:12PM paul said... Get a grip Carol, and stop projecting your own eating issues onto other people.
Its a fact that 70% of Americans are over weight and close to 50% are obese - yet the fast food peddlars keep enticing us with ever tastier, easier and cheaper ways to put on weight. If only most people could regulate what they eat, but the sad truth is they can't and that's what the fast food peddlars make their billions on.
By the way, I'm 46 years young, 5'4" and 140 lbs. I don't exercise much but I do eat healthily, I do eat fast food occasionally and I'm not a health nut - just someone who knows how to regulate what I eat.
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