Recipe: Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Yummmm…. Whoever came up with Chocolate Chip Pancakes was a genius… what better way to get a kid to dive into breakfast than with Chocolate Chip Pancakes… and truth be told… adult chocolate lovers love them too!

I admit when my son was growing up I wouldn’t think of making Chocolate Chip Pancakes… after all… you serves chocolate for breakfast??…. or even a supper?? …. guess I wasn’t always the coolest Mother… which was absolutely silly… it would have been fine now and then.

The old Bill Cosby stand-up bit about him serving chocolate cake to his kids for breakfast when his wife was away.. comes to mind…. as he so correctly pointed out…. it has milk (the glass you drink with the cake)and flour and eggs… makes perfect sense… I always wanted my Father to think like that… but alas he never did… and as an adult …. I have more than once eaten cake for supper or even breakfast.. and thought… well… it has eggs in it… and I’m an adult now …. I can do that…

Okay.. back to Chocolate Chip Pancakes…. so maybe a treat now and then … a breakfast with chocolate will definitely start the day off with a smile!

TIPS

Most of the tips are the same as my Light and Fluffy Pancakes… I’ll re-list them here to make it easy for you..

The recipe calls for a significant amount of baking powder… 3 ½ teaspoons… which as most bakers and cooks know.. that is a lot.. you need it…. furthermore …. make sure your baking powder is not expired… I can’t impress on you enough the importance of fresh baking powder..

I sift the dry ingredients twice… it takes just a few extra seconds and is well worth the effort.

I put the milk in the microwave just long enough to take the chill off it…
Mix the batter lightly.. don’t whisk it… just stir it until it’s fairly smooth … mine has tiny lumps left but nothing too sizeable… don’t over mix it.. but don’t under mix it either.

I use vanilla sugar… adds a little flavor without overpowering it.. see my post about vanilla sugar for information about it… you can use regular sugar also.
I add a teaspoon of vanilla… again.. it adds flavor without making it obvious… it’s optional. You think about leaving the vanilla out because of the chocolate chips… put it in .. it balances out the chocolate perfectly.

I add about ¾ of a cup of chocolate chips… minis are great to use.. but regular sized ones are fine too… add more or less to your taste.

I use a ¼ cup dry measure to scoop the batter… I fill it to about 1/8 inch from the top.. it makes 3 ½ inch pancakes…. you can make them larger but… this is a good size.

Flip the pancake only once.. any more and you toughen it.

This recipe makes about 14-16 pancakes… figure at least 3 per person…

The leftovers keep well in an airtight container.. just put them on a plate with a piece of waxed paper over them and give them a quick nuke in the microwave to reheat them… great for quick breakfasts during the week.

So indulge a little… a little chocolate once in a while in the morning.. makes it special!






Recipe: Chocolate Chip Pancakes

All you need:

1 ½ cups flour
3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar or white sugar * see Tips
Pinch of salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 ¼ cup warm milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
¾ cup chocolate chips (or to taste)
Butter flavored cooking spray

All you need to do:

Sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt… then sift it again into a large bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and milk… then add the melted butter and vanilla, whisk until mixed well.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing with a spoon. Mix until fairly smooth with tiny lumps.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Let the batter rest for 20 minutes.

Spray a griddle pan with butter flavored cooking spray.

Heat the griddle over medium high heat. Scoop scant ¼ cup measure of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Check the bottoms of the pancake periodically so they don’t get to dark.. adjust the heat if necessary…. when the top has lots of bubble.. flip them over and cook until light golden on the bottom.