April 10, 2022
Warmer weather is finally upon us! Kev and I are knee deep in preparing our home to welcome our bundle of joy in just under two months. We’ve already set up the nursery furniture and the car seat, the two most important steps. My next goal was to make sure we get enough clothes for our little one before the arrival date. Preparations for baby aside, I have shifted my focus back to recipe development – letting the flavors of the seasons guide me in my recipe development as much as possible. I took a slight detour for this recipe and found inspiration in one of Kev’s favorite candies, Whoppers. Kev and I have different ways of enjoying our Whoppers. Kev loves to pop them into his mouth like popcorn and chew on them. He loves the crunch from the candy. I prefer to just let the milk chocolate coated malted milk balls melt slowly in my mouth. The chocolate and the malted milk powder melts in perfect unison and makes for just the right balance of chocolate and malted milk flavor. For both of us, the best part of Whoppers is definitely the malted milk center. Whoppers are known for their nutty, milky flavor from the malted milk center and the melt-in-your-mouth delicious chocolate exterior. It’s the one candy Kev looks forward to eagerly throughout the year. He usually gets to indulge in these treats during Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and his birthday. Being able to enjoy the flavors of Whoppers outside of those holidays is a true treat for Kev. The candies inspired me to recreate those flavors in another breakfast treat, pancakes. I started playing around with my recipe for malted milk chocolate chip pancakes right around January in preparation for Valentine’s Day. I made the pancakes over and over again for brunch over the last couple of months. After multiple trials, I am finally excited to share my recipe for malted milk chocolate chip pancakes. Lately, I’ve been having strong cravings for carbs throughout the day. The cravings are even stronger than my usual cravings for carbs. I could blame it on the pregnancy cravings, but the truth is I pretty much crave carbs all the time. Pancakes are no exception. There is something so satisfying about the nutty, milky flavor of malted milk paired with the delicious, sweet, and creamy chocolate. I tried to keep these elements in mind as I developed my recipe for malted milk chocolate chip pancakes. When I thought about the perfect malted milk chocolate chip pancakes, I thought about the pancakes having a distinct malted milk flavor weaved throughout the stack of pancakes and tons of chocolate chips sprinkled evenly throughout the pancakes. To achieve this, I folded in malted milk powder directly into the pancake batter and added enough chocolate chips to still allow the malted milk flavor to shine through the pancakes. Finding the perfect balance of ingredients and ratios is the key to perfect pancakes. These pancakes are also super fluffy without the addition of eggs all thanks to the leavening power of baking powder. Who would’ve thought pancakes without eggs could still be so fluffy? My malted milk chocolate chip pancakes were able to accomplish the fluffiness Kev and I both love in our favorite pancakes. We have to be careful with enjoying these pancakes in our household because they are truly addicting. It’s easy to indulge in one too many of these pancakes if we aren’t paying attention just like the candies themselves.
For the malted milk chocolate chip pancakes:
(makes 4-5 medium-sized pancakes)
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 1 tablespoon baking powder
· 2 tablespoons malted milk powder
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· 1 cup whole milk
· 2 tablespoons maple syrup
· ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
· 2½ tablespoons unsalted butter
· maple syrup, for serving
· butter, for serving
Directions:
1) In a bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, malted milk powder, and kosher salt. Slowly add in the whole milk, maple syrup, and whisk until combined. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. Set aside.
2) Heat a skillet on medium heat. Add in ½ tablespoon of unsalted butter. Let the butter melt. Use a ⅓ measuring cup to scoop up the pancake batter and add it to the pan with the melted butter. Cook the pancake for 1-2 minutes. Flip the pancake over and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Transfer the cooked pancake to a serving plate. Repeat these steps to cook the rest of the pancakes and transfer them to a serving plate.
3) Serve the pancakes with maple syrup and butter. Feel free to top the pancakes with more chocolate chips, if desired. Enjoy!
Takeaways: I prefer using mini chocolate chips rather than regular-sized chocolate chips to allow the chocolate chips to melt more evenly throughout the pancakes. The mini chocolate chips also give the pancakes a better balance of malted milk and chocolate flavor – just like the chocolate candies Kev enjoys so much. The ingredients can be scaled up twice or three times to make pancakes for a larger crowd.