Chocolate Strawberry Pancakes - Mother's Day Brunch

Mother's Day is coming this Sunday. Everyone knows that moms love brunch, especially served in bed. When I originally planned this post, I was going to include an entire menu for a Mother's Day brunch with a round-up of recipes and four original recipes of my own. Well, this turned out to be so big that I had no choice but to split them up into 3 different posts. Today, I have a sweet option that your mom will DEFINITELY love as well as a round-up of other sweet recipes for brunch she's bound to love just as much.

These pancakes are the bomb. I used dark chocolate chips to give them a bit more depth and chopped them roughly. When chopping the chips makes sure that the chocolate is evenly spread throughout the entire pancake rather than a few morsels here and there. Keeping the strawberries chopped is also best because it prevents any large gooey, wet clumps in the cooked pancakes. The smaller the mix-ins are, the better they are going to spread throughout the pancake batter and the end result will be that much better. 

CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY PANCAKES
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted + 1 tablespoon for the griddle
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
3/4 cup strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, chopped fine

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in the milk, butter, vanilla and egg and mix until you come to a smooth and slightly clumpy consistency. Fold in the strawberries and chocolate and stir till well incorporated throughout the whole batter.

2. Heat a griddle over medium-high heat and add the reserved tablespoon of butter. When the butter has melted, make sure to swirl it around or use a spatula to coat the entire surface. Ladle about 1/4 cup of batter at a time to the griddle, forming the pancakes. Wait for them to bubble and flip. Let cook about 3 minutes longer until they've cooked all the way through*. The longer you cook, the less time the pancakes will need on the griddle as it gets hotter. Reserve the cooked pancakes on a platter in the oven until all have been cooked. Serve.

*Note: Test to see if a pancake is done by pressing down with the flat side of a spatula. If it pops back up, it's ready. If it stays sunken, it could use a few moments. Also check to see if there is any wet batter trying to seep out the sides. That's a red flag that they need more time. If you're really unsure, you can poke a small hole in the center of the pancake with the spatula to see if it's fluffy or wet. Just make sure to plate it with the hole-side down.

So what are you making mom for Mother's Day? Eggs? Bacon? Pancakes? French Toast? Cold cereal? It's ok, it's the thought that counts. Check out more sweet brunch mains below:

Blueberry French Toast Casserole - Manila Spoon
Blueberry Lemon Oven Pancake - Well Plated
Heart Pancake Skewers - Cincy Shopper
Key Lime Pancakes - Key Lime Pie Pancakes
Maple and Bacon Stuffed French Toast - Eat It And Say Yum
Overnight Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Bake - Life Made Sweeter
Overnight Peach French Toast - Well Plated
Red Velvet Crepes - Six Sisters Stuff
Red Velvet French Toast - Cafe Delites
Skinny Crunchy Stuffed French Toast - Savory Nothings
Strawberry Stuffed French Toast - No Biggie