Dark Chocolate & Pistachio Pancakes with Fresh Berry Syrup

Helloooo, gorgeous breakfast of my dreams. How YOU doin’?

I don’t know about you, but I am not usually a pancake gal at breakfast time. As the name of this blog may lead you to believe, I almost always pick savory breakfast items, most of them involving a runny-yolked egg. During the week, this usually means sunny-side-up eggs on avocado toast or even some cheesy scrambles to share with my son. On the weekends, things get a little more decadent, usually in breakfast sandwich form. Eggs, I just can’t quit you!

Pancakes, on the other hand, do not even enter into the realm of possibility on most lazy weekend mornings. And I don’t know why! I love them. My son loves them. I remember eating them with some regularity as a kid, so why does it not occur to me these days to make them? I don’t know. Maybe subconsciously, I think eggs are easier? Really, though, pancakes are fairly uncomplicated as well. You can also make a large batch all at once and reheat them all week long. It doesn’t get any easier than that. Alas, my pancake aversion is a true conundrum, my friends.

As I continue my (very deep, very important) self analyzation, let’s get to these particular pancakes in the meantime. These pancakes are just as delish as they are pretty. And I think they may have to make another appearance in our weekend breakfast rotation soon. They are quick and simple to whip up, and that purple lava flow of berry syrup just makes my heart go pitter patter. Oh, and there’s chocolate in there. And pistachios.

Yup. Eat your heart out.

I have been wanting to make pistachio pancakes for the longest time. It was one of those food brain babies that kept haunting me. I knew it had to happen eventually. But! Eggs kept winning, time and time again, and the pancake recipes were put back on hold. I was waiting for the right moment to test these out on my family, as we are all total savory breakfast fans. Pancakes, oddly, would work better in my house as a breakfast for dinner themed meal.

And then I got sick of waiting. Pistachio pancakes just HAD to happen. And they had to happen IMMEDIATELY.

This moment happened on a Thursday, mid morning, well after breakfast had been consumed. My husband was at work. Kieran was at my feet, pulling all the silverware out of the drawer, noisily clanging it around on our newish hardwood floors (insert six eye-rolling emojis plus three sobbing emojis plus ten sleepy emojis followed by a billion heart emojis = sums up my feelings on motherhood pretty well, actually). Through his happy noise, I managed to get my pancake dreams in order. I quickly put together some flavors in my head that I thought would work well together. Pistachios. Chocolate. Berries. I had all three on hand, and all the other ingredients to make fluffy, dreamy pancakes, too! It was fate.

So, later that day, during Kieran’s afternoon nap, I whipped up some pancakes. With chocolate and pistachios. With gorgeous berry-studded syrup cascading down the sides. Piled high with whipped cream, more berries, chopped pistachios, and chunks of bittersweet chocolate. Oh, and a dusting of powdered sugar. Because why not when we’ve already committed caloric suicide?

I hastily took these beauty shots and then dug in with fervor. And goodness. Ohhhhh goodness, were they heavenly. Melty bits of dark chocolate and crunchy pistachios all wrapped up in the fluffiest of pancake batters. Each bite seemed more magical than the last, and I was suddenly so thankful that I had let my pistachio pancake idea persevere. That I had put the eggs back on the shelf for the day. That I had let my one sweet tooth beat out my thirty-one savory ones.

It was so, so, so worth it. Even if it was all happening at 2 pm on a Thursday and totally ruining my appetite (and dinner!) for the next several hours.

When Kieran awoke from his nap an hour or so later, I put him in his high chair and plopped a pancake on his tray. He looked up at me, back at the pancake, up at me, back at the pancake with a pensive, hesitant expression on his darling little face. And then, he dug in with fervor too. He thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon treat and was covered in crumbs and melty chocolate by the time he was finished. His dinner was also ruined that night, by the way (insert all the emojis again).

I’ll say it one more time: SO worth it.

We were both very happy campers the rest of the afternoon/evening. The happiness carried over to the next morning when I surprised Kieran with a leftover pancake at breakfast. This time, topped with a drizzle of the berry syrup. As he ate his special breakfast, I moseyed over to the stove and whipped up some eggs for myself. I proceeded to eat said eggs on a piece of avocado toast.

Hey, at least I’m consistent?

Dark Chocolate & Pistachio Pancakes with Fresh Berry Syrup

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• Yield: 4 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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For the Pancakes

• 1½ cups flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1¼ cups buttermilk (or whole milk)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter, plus more for cooking
• ½ cup chopped dark chocolate
• ½ cup chopped shelled pistachios

For the Berry Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups mixed berries of choice, chopped
• Zest and juice of 1 orange
• Pinch of fine salt

For Serving:

• Additional chopped chocolate
• Additional chopped pistachios
• Whipped cream
• Powdered sugar

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Instructions

For the Pancakes

1. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In a large measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter.
3. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring slowly to gradually incorporate. Mix well until everything is combined (a few lumps are OK).
4. Gently fold in the chocolate and pistachios.
5. Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium heat and add a little butter. Once the pan is hot, add the batter in ⅓-cup measurements, forming individual pancakes.
6. Cook for about 1 minute, or until the underside is golden brown and the batter on top begins to form bubbles. Carefully and quickly flip the pancakes and cook for another minute or so. Keep cooked pancakes warm in a 200°F oven until you are ready to serve. Serve warm with the powdered sugar, whipped cream, additional chocolate/pistachios, and the berry syrup.

For the Berry Syrup:

1. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer for a few minutes or until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the chopped berries, orange zest/juice, and salt and return the mixture to a simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the berries are very soft and the mixture is thickened. Cool slightly before serving. Store leftover syrup in a sealed container in the fridge.