As you might suspect from the name, the mixes were dreamed up by a dad—in fact, two dads, who happen to be brothers. Often, when the men were put in charge of feeding the kids, they found themselves making pancakes. They put their heads together to determine how to make the best pancakes for their broods, and knew they had found the right recipe when the kids kept demanding “Daddy cakes.” (Hopefully, the kids won’t be demanding a royalty on the name.)

Now a line with a broad variety of flavors, Daddy Cakes is a gourmet convenience food that’s worth the extra shekels. There’s no need to add eggs, milk, oil or anything but water to the mix; in five to ten minutes you’ll have a smokin’ stack of flapjacks (we mean that figuratively, of course—keep your eye on the temperature of that frying pan). You can add a couple of eggs and vegetable oil for a fluffier pancake; but we found that they were just as delicious either way, so save the ingredients and the calories.

Read the full review and check out all of the flavors of these easy-to-make mixes.