One banana, two banana...

Now, I'm not a superfan of bananas. They are yummy, but I prefer them in a smoothie. My 3 year old Gwen loves them. She in fact, ate 3 of them (at least) in one day. But, I do love chocolate and bananas together. Now, that is yummy!
I decided to make some pancakes one day from scratch because I was craving something with chocolate, we had a lot of flour, and some bananas left on the counter.

Here is the recipe for my chocolate-banana pancakes:

2 cups of flour
4 tbsp of brown sugar
4 tsp of baking powder
2 tsp of salt
3 tbsp of cocoa powder
2 eggs
3 cups of milk + 1 tbsp
4 tbsp of vegetable oil
3 tsp of vanilla extract
2 whole bananas

Makes about 20 or so mid-size pancakes.

First, I sift the flour. Now, you don't have to..but, I like my pancakes nice and fluffy.

Next, I add the brown sugar. You can add more sugar if you'd like, but I like to serve mine with powdered sugar on top. So, I don't like them to be too sweet.

I think the brown sugar clumps look like eyes in this photo.

Add the baking powder and salt, and dump in the chocolate. Smells yummy already!

Stir with a wooden spoon. Wooden spoons are probably my most favorite cooking utensil. Really. I'm serious. After you mix it about, it looks like this.
Yummy and chocolate-y smelling. Mmm..
If you'd like to, you can pour this all back into the sifter and go at it again. I don't have that much time, cartoons are only about 23 minutes long.




Next, add in the milk. I would recommend using whole. Personally, I do not like whole milk on it's own. I think it's gross. I can taste the cream and everything in it. But, it really is the best to use in baking. I first only stir in 2 cups at first, and at the end stir in the last full cup. That way if I need to, I can add the full cup or a little less, to even out the batter.




Add in the oil and the vanilla. Ahh..vanilla smells so yummy. Then, add the eggs.
I love that Brandon bought these brown eggs from the store. Sometimes he is just so great!




I abandon the wooden spoon for the moment, time for the wisk!

Pick two bananas that are a bit brown. They are sweeter and more flavorful. Plus, your kids aren't going to eat the browns ones anyway(because they aren't yellow). Slice them up and put them in a blender/food processor/magic bullet.
What's a magic bullet you say? Why, it's the greatest thing since sliced bread! They really have the best infomercials.

Add the banana puree to the batter, and stir. After stirring for a bit, I pour the batter back into the measuring cup, because it's easier to pour it out that way.
If your bowl has a spout, lucky you!




Pour a good size amount onto the griddle. I heat my griddle up to 325 degrees. If you don't have a griddle, you must get one! If you have kids, you know how quickly you have to serve meals. Wait until the bubbles pop on the top before you flip over. You all knew this right? Otherwise the pancake will be soggy and may stick to your spatula.
(Yes, I know my pancakes are uneven. I never said I was a perfectionist.)




Now, because I'm weird I prefer my pancakes a bit crispy.
I flip mine over another time, so that the top is just how I like it.
All done!




I sprinkle mine with powdered sugar. One of my girls puts maple syrup on her's, but I think that's a fusion of too many flavors. And, if you're feeling artsy, or if that episode of Pingu went longer than you thought, you can serve them with slices of banana on top.




Here's a photo of my youngest daughter, Arun, enjoying her chocolate-banana pancakes, in her jammies, bed-hair and all.
Enjoy!