If you remember going out to get pancakes as a kid and want to re-create your favorite restaurant variety at home, give these chocolate chip pancakes a whirl. A buttermilk batter with miniature chips is all you need to make a fun breakfast for weekends, and you can double the recipe if you want to do a little advance meal preparation. These pancakes don’t take long to make, and before you know it you’ll have a stack of chocolate-filled buttermilk pancakes ready to devour. Whether these are for just you, a family or another get-together, they’ll be a much-appreciated dish.
Chocolate Chip Pancakes Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: The perfect flour for pancakes; the protein content of all-purpose gives the pancakes some structure but still allows them to become fluffy.
- Sugar: Pancake batter should be at least a little sweet and cakey, so don’t leave out the sugar.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Baking powder is the main rising agent, but you’ll need extra baking soda to counter the acidity of the buttermilk. Otherwise, the buttermilk could overwhelm the baking soda that’s already in the baking powder and prevent it from working.
- Large eggs: Eggs function as the binding and leavening agents.
- Buttermilk: This flavors the batter and makes it richer, which helps its structure as it rises. Also, remember that extra baking soda you added to counter the excess acidity from the buttermilk? The buttermilk will activate that soda, so you’ll get extra rising power.
- Miniature semisweet chocolate chips:Â Miniature chips obviously don’t take up as much space as regular chips, so each bite has a better mix of chips to cake.
Directions
Step 1: Mix the batter
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Mix the eggs, buttermilk and some vegetable oil in another bowl. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring until just moistened. Grease a griddle and heat it up over medium heat; when it’s hot, add batter using a 1/4-cup measure.
Step 2: Add the chips and finish cooking the pancakes
Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of miniature chocolate chips over the tops of the circles of batter. When the tops of those pancakes start to bubble, turn them over and cook until the second side turns golden-brown.
Chocolate Chip Pancakes Variations
- Change the chocolate chips: This recipe calls for semisweet chips, but you can use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, candy-coated or whatever variety you like. The flavor will change, but as long as you enjoy it, that’s what counts.
- Use blueberries instead: Buttermilk pancakes serve as the base for many add-ins, and blueberries are one of the more common ones. Switch out the chips and add the berries if you prefer fruit; try these buttermilk blueberry pancakes, too.
How to Store Chocolate Chip Pancakes
You can store leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week. It helps to wrap them in foil first. Be sure they’ve cooled down before wrapping and storing them.
Can you freeze chocolate chip pancakes?
Cooked pancakes freeze very well. Make the pancakes as directed and let them cool completely. Wrap them securely in freezer-safe wrapping and store them in a freezer bag for up to three months.
Chocolate Chip Pancakes Tips
What can you use if you don’t have buttermilk?
While only buttermilk can provide that buttermilk taste, a few substitutes can provide the other benefits such as making the cakes more tender or higher rising. One option is plain yogurt; use that in a 1:1 substitution. Or, for each cup of buttermilk, mix 1 tablespoon of either white vinegar or lemon juice into however much milk will bring the mixture to measure 1 cup. If you have cream of tartar, mix 1 3/4 teaspoon of that into 1 cup of milk as another option.
How do you avoid flat pancakes?
The recipe instructions have you barely mix all the ingredients until they reach a “just moistened” stage. Pay attention to this because the more you mix the batter, the tougher and flatter the resulting pancakes can be.
How do you stop the chips from melting completely?
When you add chocolate chips to batter on a hot pan, they’re going to melt somewhat, no matter what. But you can stop some of the chips from melting completely by mixing the chips into the batter before pouring the batter on the griddle.
Do you really have to throw out the first pancake?
Somehow, someone years ago decided that the first pancake of any batch was invariably bad and needed to be tossed out, and that “rule” has spread like watery pancake batter. But it’s not true. The first pancake you make may look a bit different because the pan isn’t as warm, because the butter or oil used to grease the pan is fresh, etc., but it’s completely edible and will taste fine. Don’t waste that batter and those chips. Do try some of these other pancake recipes when you have time.
