Chocolate Chip Pancakes For Two

Start your morning off right with a stack of small batch Chocolate Chip Pancakes For Two made from scratch with cinnamon and clove.

When I stay overnight at my parents, they make me breakfast.

I rarely eat a big breakfast during the week, usually some fruit or oatmeal.

The weekends are reserved for an actual sit-down breakfast, which usually consists of hash brown bowls, bacon, and either chocolate chip pancakes or ham and cheese waffles.

When it’s only me on the weekends, I still want easy chocolate chip pancakes.

However, I don’t want to stand there and make millions of pancakes one at a time in my skillet when I want to eat breakfast now and not later.

And I’m certainly not going to buy a griddle just so I can make multiple pancakes at once. Nobody has room for that!

That’s why my Chocolate Chip Pancakes For Two recipe makes a small batch of 6 pancakes. Less time cooking, more time eating.

One serving is roughly 3 pancakes per person. Now I’m certainly not going to tell you that you can’t eat the whole stack. One stack is basically one serving anyway, right?

And these are what I call easy chocolate chip pancakes because all you do is stir then cook.

As I was researching recipes for chocolate chip pancakes, I noticed a lot called for whipping the egg whites then folding into the batter.

Listen, I’m not a morning person so that will never happen in my kitchen. Whipping egg whites is reserved for angel food cake, not small batch pancakes.

I also found a recipe to make pancakes for one, but it called for 1/4 of an egg.

Did you catch that? You literally measure out 1/4 of an egg. Raise your hand if you want to do that.

Yea, I didn’t think so. My pancake recipe for two calls for 1 whole egg. I made sure to balance it out with enough flour so the batter isn’t too thin.

And if you’re making pancakes for one, you can easily freeze the extras for another morning.

Ingredients For Pancakes For Two

Like everything else on this blog, these small batch pancakes are made from scratch. No baking mixes or Bisquick needed.

You just need the following basic pantry ingredients:

• All-purpose flour: Helps thicken your batter.
• Sugar: Adds a bit of sweetness to your batter.
• Baking powder: The key to making fluffy chocolate chip pancakes. It may seem like a lot, but trust the recipe.
• Cinnamon and clove: Although plain is delicious, spiced chocolate chip pancakes are even better.
• Salt: Makes sure your pancakes aren’t bland.
• Egg: Uses 1 whole egg despite being small batch pancakes.
• Milk: Whole milk is best because the extra fat ensures the pancakes stay moist.
• Vegetable oil: Fat needed in the recipe. Use a neutral oil like vegetable or canola as olive oil may add an unwanted savory flavor. You can also substitute melted butter.
• Chocolate chips: Although this is a recipe for chocolate chip pancakes, you can stir in almost anything you’d like, including blueberries.

I never knew spices could make THAT much of a difference in something so ordinary until I made Spiced Cookie Dough Ice Cream.

That’s when I got the idea of adding cinnamon and clove to chocolate chip pancakes because they intensify the flavor of the chocolate. You’ll never go back to plain again.

Not in the mood for pancakes? Check out my French Toast Casserole For Two which can be prepped the night before.

How To Make Homemade Pancakes For Two

To make your pancake batter from scratch without boxed mix, first gently whisk together your flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, clove, and salt.

Next, whisk in your egg, milk, and oil. Once that’s all combined, stir in your chocolate chips.

Before cooking, let your batter rest for at least 5 minutes. This allows the gluten to relax so the pancakes don’t toughen up while cooking.

The batter will also thicken a little more because the flour absorbs the liquid. If you let it rest longer and the batter is too thick, whisk in a little more milk to loosen it.

Next, heat your skillet. Ideally you want a non-stick pan. However, you can lightly grease it with cooking spray if necessary.

I let mine heat up while dry (aka no butter or oil). To make sure it’s hot enough, I throw in a few drops of water. If they sizzle and evaporate quickly, the pan is ready.

Once your skillet is hot, pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan. Your pancake is ready to flip when the edges are set and bubbles form in the middle.

The second side won’t need as much cooking time since it’s already halfway cooked.

The heat will fluctuate while cooking. If your pancakes are getting too brown, turn the heat down. If your pancakes are taking too long to cook, turn the heat up.

Once ready, serve your pancake recipe for two with lots of butter and syrup.

What To Put On Top Of Pancakes

In addition to butter and maple syrup, serve your pancakes with homemade strawberry sauce or homemade whipped cream.

How To Freeze Chocolate Chip Pancakes

If you’re making pancakes for one, pancakes do freeze well! Let the extras cool completely then store in a single layer in a freezer locked bag.

How To Rewarm Pancakes

Even though you’re only making small batch pancakes, they get cold quickly if you don’t serve them straight from the skillet.

If you’re making all six and waiting until the end to eat, preheat your oven to 200F. Once you’re done cooking, stick the pancakes in the oven for about 5 minutes or until warm.

Don’t feel like turning your oven on (or you forgot)? You can reheat them in the microwave in 15 second increments.

Pancake Tips And Tricks

Not happy with how your chocolate chip pancakes turned out? Here are some troubleshooting tips to keep in mind:

• If your pancakes are thin and didn’t rise: Make sure your skillet is hot before adding the batter; you need heat to react to the baking powder. If the pan is too cold, there is no heat. If there is no heat, the baking powder won’t rise properly.
• If your pancakes are too doughy and/or raw in the middle: They are too thick. Make sure they aren’t more than 1/4 inch thick in the skillet.
• If your pancakes aren’t fluffy: You overmixed your batter. The more you stir your flour, the more the gluten develops. And overdeveloped gluten will result in chewy pancakes rather than fluffy. It’s ok if your batter is a little lumpy, as long as there are no dry spots of flour left.

More Pancakes For Two Recipes

Enjoyed this recipe? Here are more recipes for pancakes:

• Coconut Milk Pancakes – This recipe is dairy free thanks to the coconut milk.
• Apple Pancakes With Sausage – A more savory way to eat pancakes for breakfast.
• Can’t eat flour? Check out this Gluten Free Pancake eecipe from Fearless Dining then add gluten-free chocolate chips to the batter.

Originally published December 24, 2012