Start your morning off right with a stack of Spiced Chocolate Chip Pancakes with cinnamon and clove then drowned in a thin homemade caramel syrup. Recipe makes two mini stacks of pancakes to enjoy breakfast for two.
When I stay overnight at my parents, they make me breakfast. I rarely eat a nice breakfast during the week, usually a bagel or some oatmeal when I’m at work. The weekends are reserved for an actual sit-down breakfast, which usually consists of hash browns, bacon, and either these Spiced Chocolate Chip Pancakes or chocolate chip waffles. Dad makes fun of me because I tell him to put too many chocolate chips in mine. I even made Homemade Caramel Syrup because chocolate and caramel go together and it’s so much better than those fake maple-flavored syrups.
I have to admit if my parents are making the pancakes, they are not spiced. That’s just how we ate growing up. If I’m making them, I automatically put in cinnamon and clove, which intensifies the flavor of the chocolate. I never knew spices could make that much of a difference in something so ordinary until I made Spiced Cookie Dough Ice Cream over the summer. That’s when I got the idea of adding cinnamon and clove to my pancakes. You’ll never go back to plain again.
Can I be honest with you? These photos are somewhat of a lie. I don’t eat stacked pancakes with butter or syrup. I am perfectly content with three pancakes in a single layer on a plate. If there are enough chocolate chips, I don’t need butter or syrup. But that all would make for boring photos, wouldn’t it?
Of course, being a food blogger, I had to eat the food as styled, so I ate the stacked pancakes with the butter and syrup. And then I wondered why I don’t eat pancakes like this more often. Since the pancakes sat there for a bit, the syrup soaked into the pancakes, which made them even better. I guess there are benefits in not eating right away!
These spiced chocolate chip pancakes have become a family tradition. If I’m with my parents, whether they visit me or I visit them, we end up eating some form of this recipe (with or without spices and/or syrup). That means tomorrow morning (Christmas!) I will be asking for a stack (that I will spread out because I like eating them one at a time).
Spiced Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Homemade Caramel Syrup
Ingredients
Pancakes
- 1 cup flour
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 Tablespoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon clove
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Caramel Syrup
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons water
Instructions
- For the pancakes: Preheat the oven to 200F. Have a baking sheet and cooling rack ready.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and clove. Set aside.
- In a large measuring cup, whisk together the egg, milk, and oil. Pour into the dry ingredients and whisk together until everything is moistened (do not overmix - lumps are ok). Whisk in the chocolate chips.
- Heat up a skillet (alternatively you can use a griddle). When it is hot, pour in 1/4 cup of the batter. When bubbles form on top and edges are firm, flip and cook the other side. It won't take as long to cook the second side. When it is brown, remove and place on the cooling rack.
- Repeat with the remaining batter. When all of the pancakes are done, place onto the baking sheet and warm up for a few minutes in the oven.
- For the syrup: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter on medium-low heat. Add the brown sugar and mix together until it's moist and sticky. Add the water and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. The syrup will be thin. Remove from the heat and serve with pancakes.
Source: Adapted from The Kitchn
Jen @JuanitasCocina says
Murray Christmas, to you and yours!
Miriam @ overtimecook says
These pancakes look so amazing! Now I’m hungry and I kinda want my parents to make breakfast for me. (Wait, do you make it for them?!)
Happy holidays!
Laura says
I love adding spices to my pancakes too. These look amazing,
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
Caramel syrup!? Woo!
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
Carla, this is food porn at its finest – I mean, those shots of your homemade caramel syrup cascading down to drench those gorgeous, chocolate-laden spicy pancakes?! I’m dying from hunger here! I take so much joy from reading your hilarious posts and drooling over your insanely stunning photos. I’m really glad to have met you this year. You’ve definitely made my life that much more delicious. Merry Christmas!
Carla says
Your comments always make me smile, Nancy! Merry Christmas to you as well :)
Hannah says
So, I am intrepid new blogger, if you will. But I am dying from lack of wise bloggers to show me the ropes. Your blog is to die for! What sort of camera might one use? Etc.
Are there any blogging-boo-boos I should stay away from?
Anyone can answer!
Thank you and Merry Christmas.
Carla says
Thank you, Hannah!
First, welcome to the world of blogging! That is such a loaded question and not enough room to explain it all, but I’ll throw some tips out. Are you on Facebook or Google Plus? I’m in food blogger communities on both platforms. They’re great to learn from other bloggers.
As far as cameras, it isnt necessarily what camera you are using but rather how well you are using it. Whether it’s your phone, point and shoot, or DSLR, things like lighting and composition remain the same. With that said, I use a Canon Rebel XS.
Scotty B says
Jeez! This looks OMG amazing!
Anita at Hungry Couple says
I love your honesty. I also never eat stacked pancakes or syrup or anything this remotely heavy but I guess I’d be “forced” to if I was photographing it. :) When I first met Brian, he had a kitten named Annabelle and I bought her one of those wind up mice to chase. She killed it in a day. :) She passed away at 6 months from feline leukemia (she had been a stray) so I understand how you feel. Our pup is still young but I’m dreading the day when her time starts getting short. Have a wonderful holiday and new year!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
You’re a much better food blogger than me. I just don’t like syrup on my pancakes so my pancake pictures sadly lack the beauty that is the stacked pancakes with syrup picture. *sigh*
Summer @ Mallow and Co says
Ha ha, that’s great–honestly I don’t eat pancakes in a stack either (although I can’t lie, I do douse them in syrup). But it makes for an awesome photo. Now I am craving pancakes like no other… and I just ate breakfast. I think I’ll have to make these for an early lunch ;)
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
I love these. LOVE. Cinnamon in pancakes rock. And chocolate – YES.
Halley says
Is there a way to do-ahead with this recipe? If only for the cakes only. I’m planning a big brunch and this is my boyfriend’s possible non-cake birthday cake. I just want to get them out of the way before diving into chili lime salmon, Mexicana scrambled mess, etc.
Carla says
Absolutely! I freeze extra pancakes all the time. For the syrup, you can refrigerate it then reheat it when ready to serve (it may have a different texture when cold but I assure you it’ll thin back out like a syrup when heated).
Aurica says
hhhmmmm yummmmy..that’s all i can say for this spiced chocolate chip pancakes
Al says
I stumbled upon this page while looking for a spiced pancake recipe and decided to give it a shot, minus the chocolate chips and caramel syrup. I was wary about the 2 tbs of baking powder, as it seemed like a really high ratio to the cup of flour, but decided to try the recipe as-written before making any changes. While the pancakes were really light and fluffy, they also had an overwhelming taste of baking powder. I don’t know if it was a typo (2 tsp makes a lot more sense for the one cup of flour) or if the chocolate chips and caramel syrup somehow mask the flavor, but I probably will make these again and reduce the amount of baking soda by at least half.
Carla Cardello says
Did you use baking powder or baking soda? You said both powder and soda in your comment. As far as the amount, yes that is correct. It helps make them light and fluffy. The original recipe where I adapted it from calls for that much, so it’s not just me. However, I do know some people are sensitive to the taste of baking powder.
Al says
I meant baking powder! Perhaps I am sensitive to the taste, which is unfortunate because the pancakes really were quite fluffy. I do love the addition of cinnamon and cloves, and I will definitely have to try it with the chocolate chips at some point. Thanks!