XOXO Sour Cream Chocolate Chunk Pancakes

I thank my lucky stars every day that we live out in the boonies, but getting to town on a good day is an effort. Because we had planned, rightly, to be snowed in on Valentine’s Day, my husband and I headed all the way to town to catch a quick bite to eat together while we were out grabbing supplies for “just in case”. We have yet to lose power in a storm since we’ve moved, but have been assured that when it goes out in our area, it stays out.

Fortunately, we dressed appropriately for the excursion because we ended up seeing if our local fancy schmancy hotel’s dining room had an open reservation. It did, so we knocked another item off our relocation bucket list by trying the restaurant’s Friday night prime rib and seafood buffet.

The decor was beautiful, though I watched several people in our section of the dining room, including my husband and a waiter, trip over the corners of the tablecloths that were elegantly pooled on the floor. A cozy fire set the mood, perfectly. My date was adorably silly and cute, sweet, charming, and funny, funny, funny, as usual. The food? Let’s just say that we didn’t appreciate elegant hotel dining room prices at a place that must be the back-of-the-house corner-cutting capital of the world. The search for an amazing meal at a local restaurant continues. And, no, I don’t think I’m asking too much by wanting an amazing meal when it’s a simple thing to find AMAZING food back home in Western North Carolina, which is quickly becoming a hotbed of farm-to-table dining establishments.

Earlier in the day, I had spent way too much time writing my I ♥ Waffles post and fluffy waffle recipe because I was planning to make them for my family on Valentine’s Day. My rambling blog post became more a tribute to the last week I spent in Hawaii with my husband when we lived on Oahu than to the waffle I discovered there on the North Shore. But guess what. I didn’t even make the waffles this morning! While snuggling very late under the covers in what must have been a forty something degree bedroom, thanks to last night’s snow in another blast from the north, I remembered that I have a heart-shaped pancake form that’s older than my children that I use just about every Valentine’s Day morning to make pancakes. So up I hopped and shivered to the kitchen in my red, polka dotted, Valentiney p.j.s to carry on the tradition.

I remembered that my mold makes pretty thick pancakes, so I decided to create a recipe to help them puff well. No one likes a thick, rubbery pancake. I included a pretty large amount of baking powder, which gives a batter lift, and a big, fat dollop of sour cream that I happened to have on hand for tonight’s chicken enchiladas. Poof! They swelled right up like I wanted them to. Chocolate chunks dropped into each pancake as it cooked made my hugs and kisses pancakes just perfect for Valentine’s morning.

 

Ingredients:

2 c. all-purpose flour

3 T. organic raw sugar

1 tsp. pink Himalayan salt

1 T. baking powder

1 egg

1 1/2 c. whole milk

1/2 c. sour cream

3 T. melted butter

1/2 c. dark chocolate chunks

Method:

Heat griddle over medium.

Whisk together the dry ingredients.

Beat together the egg, milk, and sour cream.

Whip in the melted butter.

Fold the wet ingredients in to the dry, just until moistened. The batter will be lumpy and very thick.

Spoon into a pancake mold or right onto the griddle if you don’t have a form.

Drop a few chocolate chunks into each.

Flip when bubbles form on the surface.

These pancakes are meant to be thick and puffy so don’t smash them with a spatula, and don’t even bother making them if you would be tempted to smash them with a spatula.

The fun is in watching them rise and rise. The sour cream keeps them light. Without a form, they will be thinner.

I served them with pancake syrup and chocolate shavings.

Yield: 1 dozen very thick cakes

 

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