Maybe Matilda: Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Monday, March 31, 2014

Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Pancakes

In our family, the love for breakfast foods is borderline ridiculous. (Scratch that: it is ridiculous.) We have breakfast for dinner at least once a week, and I am not above making emergency pancakes as a tantrum recuperation method. And since Forrest has a vegetable phobia but a pancake obsession, I was particularly excited to try out these sweet potato chocolate chip pancakes as a way to sneak a veggie into his system. And they.so.delivered.

Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Pancakes

The first time I made them, I tweeted into the void that this was probably my new favorite pancake recipe. And now that I’ve made them a few more times, they’re definitely my new favorite pancake recipe. They’re a bit of a denser pancake (which I loooove—light and fluffy pancakes are good, too, but I prefer it when they have some substance!), and the sweet potato adds a delicious unexpected twist. And of course: chocolate chips. Enough said.

Forrest has the unfortunate trait of always, always waking up from naps in a horrendous mood. He wakes up crying every time, mopes around, whining, for 10 or 20 minutes, then is (generally) pleasant the rest of the day. But those first 15ish minutes after he wakes up are misery. He’s needy and grouchy and awful. I present for your consideration exhibit A:

pleasant little angel

Not a pretty cryer.

This is what I meant earlier when I said I sometimes use pancakes as a tantrum recuperation method . . . he was unusually grumpy and miserable after waking up from this particular nap, so I made sweet potato pancakes while he sat at the table and cried.

Exhibit B: they cured him.

nomnom

sweet potato chocolate chip pancakes

I’m convinced these pancakes have magical properties.

I got this recipe from my friend Preethi at Lace, Etc and made a few little changes. I can’t wait to try her Thin Mint Chocolate Tart and Smoky Sweet Corn Chowder, too.

Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Pancakes
adapted slightly from Lace, Etc.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
dash ground cloves
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 medium cooked, peeled, and mashed sweet potato (roughly 1.5 cups) (any method of cooking your sweet potato will do, but my favorite [quickest!] way is to wash and dry it, stab a few times with a fork, and microwave for 5 minutes; flip it over and microwave 3-5 minutes more until soft. Let cool enough to peel; peel and mash.)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

In a medium bowl, combine butter, milk, eggs, sweet potato, and vanilla; mix thoroughly.

Add sweet potato mixture to dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. Add chocolate chips.

Cook on a greased skillet over medium heat.

Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Pancakes

9 comments :

  1. My 2 year old sounds so much like Forrest! I have been listening to him whine in the background for the last 30 minutes for no other reason than that he just woke up. We too are going through the, "I will only lick new foods stage." Oh well, at least licking is progress over not even touching it.

    Anyway, this pancake recipe looks great. Thanks for sharing it! I have never thought to put sweet potato in them, although I make a recipe almost exactly similar except I use butternut squash.

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  2. Since I never make yummy breakfasts at breakfast time, this is going on our dinner menu for sure!

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  3. Wow! These sounds delicious! Anything that cures a grumpy kid gets extra bonus points>

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  4. Oh the joys! Seriously, it seems ridiculous to be excited about LICKING new foods, but I guess it's better than nothing. We managed to coax him into a single bite of hamburger the other night (by threatening to take away his current favorite toy if he didn't)--he admitted that he liked it, but refused to eat any more. Weirdo. And butternut squash sounds like a cool substitution! I'll have to try that sometime.

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  5. We love them! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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  6. I am cracking up at exhibit a and b. Henry is horrendous after naps, too. I have to try the magic pancakes. Stat.

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  7. It's almost enough to make me not want him to take a nap . . . aaaalmost.

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