My daughter and I make pancakes on Saturday or Sunday every weekend. We usually do this in our pajamas and we always make a disaster zone out of the kitchen. It’s delicious bonding time that I wouldn’t trade for anything. Except maybe chocolate. But with these pancakes, absolutely no sacrifices are made.
The two of us love chocolate, strawberries, and pancakes so it seemed that marrying these ingredients would be an exciting way to get out of our standard blueberry pancake rut. We were pleasantly surprised. She enjoyed dropping her favorite fruit in to the batter and I enjoyed indulging in something at breakfast that beat just about any dessert I’d had recently.
In this recipe, you get to have a rich, satisfying serving of chocolate without overdoing it, all the while filling up on a whole grain pancake loaded with fresh, juicy strawberries.
The pancake itself is a made with a combination of whole wheat and all-purpose flours, with coconut milk, vanilla, and of course big, plump strawberries. Then we add just a few mini chocolate chips. They are light, fluffy, and exactly what a pancake should be.
Then, we skip the maple syrup and instead create a fudge-like sauce using only two ingredients you already have in your pantry! Honey and cocoa powder are swirled together to create a rich fudge sauce that’s actually completely guilt free. It’s also perfect for drizzling.
This Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pancakes recipe makes eight pancakes – or two pancakes for each of four people. If you have remaining fudge sauce, put it in a resealable container and enjoy on future pancakes, ice cream, yogurt, or anything else that could use a sweet topping!
Serve these pancakes for the family on the weekend, for a sexy breakfast in bed, or for an unexpected way to start Valentine’s Day!
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pancakes
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
pinch salt
1 cup milk (we used coconut, any will work)
1 Tbsp. oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sliced strawberries
2 Tbsp. mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. coconut milk
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat skillet or griddle to medium-high heat.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
3. In a second bowl combine the milk, oil and vanilla then add to the dry ingredients. Thoroughly combine until the batter is smooth.
4. Gently fold in the strawberries and chocolate chips.
5. Spray the griddle and then scoop 1/3 cup of batter. Let cook until bubbles appear across the top of the batter and the edges appear firm. Carefully flip and cook for another minute or two and remove.
6. While the pancakes cook, prepare the chocolate sauce. Combine the honey, cocoa powder, and milk until well combined. Drizzle one tablespoon on top of the pancakes in place of syrup.
Try 13 Healthier Breakfast Recipes in our Baker’s Dozen eCookbook, including these pancakes or Apple Cinnamon Streusel Doughnuts.
photos by Dana Shultz / DietsInReview.com