Sneaky Chef cocoa chocolate chip pancakes

Ingredients
3/4 cups Flour Blend (equal parts white flour, whole-wheat flour, and wheat germ)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1/4 cup Purple Puree (see Make-Ahead Recipe No. 1)
2 tablespoons honey or pure maple syrup
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Butter or cooking spray, for greasing skillet


Preparation
Mix together Flour Blend, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside. (To store for instant cocoa pancake mix in the future, triple the dry ingredients and keep in a sealed, labeled plastic bag.) In another bowl, whisk together the vanilla, milk, egg, Purple Puree, honey (or maple syrup) and optional blueberries, if using. (If using frozen berries, don’t thaw them before adding; this will prevent bleeding.) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones until just blended. (Don’t overmix.) Add a little milk if batter is too thick. Add the chocolate chips and mix lightly.

Butter or spray a large skillet over medium heat. Test the pan to see if it’s hot enough by tossing a few drops of water in — it should sizzle. The skillet will grow hotter over time, so turn it down if it starts to smoke. Drop tablespoons or small ladles of batter onto the skillet in batches. Try to get chocolate chips with each pancake. When bubbles begin to set around the edges of the pancake and the skillet-side of the pancake is golden (peek under), gently flip them over. Continue to cook 2 to 3 minutes or until pancakes are set.

Serve stacked high, dusted with powdered sugar, drizzled with warm maple syrup, or, for an extra boost of fruit, homemade berry syrup.