I opened up this recipe this week with the intention of pinning it to my Pinterest recipe board.  Then I went to my recipe board and discovered that I’d pinned this exact recipe four times over the last 2 years.  My subconscious must really want these pancakes.  I decided, no more pining for a pin!  I made these bad boys this morning for breakfast, right when the clouds rolled in and it started raining.  We enjoyed the rest of our coffee on the front porch while watching the rain and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t the perfect way to spend the morning.

These pancakes are intense, rich, but not too sweet.  I accidentally left out the melted butter from the batter (believe me that I would never do that intentionally) and they turned out just fine!   Matt had pancake syrup on his and I had creme fraiche sweetened with a bit of honey on mine and I will proudly say that my way was the best.  But his way photographed better 🙂 Whatever you decide to put on top of these pancakes, be it whipped cream, syrup, powdered sugar, yogurt, it’s going to be the right decision.  The baby girl loved them, too and called them “panpays”, which was nearly the cutest thing I’d heard all week.

Enjoy your weekend!  Hope you find time to make these desert-like pancakes at some point!

Chocolate Pecan Pancakes*
makes about 10 pancakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oilPreheat oven to 225 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla; pour over flour mixture, whisking to combine. Fold in chocolate chips and pecans; let batter stand until slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.

  In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat until a water droplet sizzles; swirl to coat bottom of pan with oil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Spoon four small mounds (1 heaping tablespoon each) of batter into skillet. Cook until bubbles appear in center, 3 to 4 minutes. With a thin spatula, flip pancakes; continue cooking until set, 3 to 4 minutes more.

  Transfer to a baking sheet; cover loosely with foil; place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining oil and batter in three more batches (adjust heat as necessary to avoid overbrowning).

  Stack ’em up and enjoy, topped with anything you’d like!

*recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Living