Hot Chocolate Pancakes

Snowy, cold winter days require lots of hot chocolate. And snowy, cold winter days are the perfect reason to make a big breakfast. After all, you need a good, hearty breakfast to snuggle up on the couch watching movies all day while the snow comes down in droves. so a combination of hot chocolate and pancakes sounds fantastic. And they are. Fluffy pancakes flavored with cocoa, chocolate chips and marshmallows mimicking the lovely flavors of hot chocolate. I've been wanting to make these pancakes for a while (hello--dessert for breakfast is my favorite) and finally got a chance. These made for a completely indulgent, but totally delicious, breakfast. Even Dave liked them and he doesn't believe in dessert for breakfast.

These pancakes made their way onto my Pinterest board from Betty Crocker and are a super simple, particularly since they start with a prepackaged pancake mix. I'll take advantage of those shortcuts as often as possible now that I've got a baby interrupting my kitchen time (and I don't mind at all). I did make some adjustments, adding marshmallow bits to the batter and making chocolate milk since I had chocolate syrup and milk on hand, but not chocolate milk. Easy enough. If you have some snow days and some kids home from school as a result, I suggest starting the day off with some fun--make these pancakes and let the kids decorate them with all the best things for hot chocolate--mini marshmallows, chocolate syrup, sprinkles or whipped cream. Yum!

Hot Chocolate Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups prepackaged baking mix
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup milk
2 Tablespoons chocolate syrup
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup marshmallow bits

In a medium bowl, whisk together baking mix, sugar and cocoa powder.

Combine milk and chocolate syrup and whisk to make chocolate milk. Add eggs and vanilla extract, whisking to blend together.

Add milk mixture to dry ingredients and stir until just fully incorporated, taking care not to overstir.

Gently stir in marshmallow bits.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, or an electric skillet to 325 degrees F. In batches, pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto skillet for each pancake. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until edges are set and top begins to bubble.

Carefully flip and cook for another minute or so until set and gently set and browned.

Transfer cooked pancakes to a 200 degree F oven to keep warm until the rest of the pancakes are complete. Serve with chocolate syrup, mini marshmallows, and mini chocolate chips.

Makes 18 pancakes.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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