Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Worth cooking

You’ll love these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes because:

• They are ready in 30 minutes! Talk about a quick and easy recipe!
• They are so fluffy. And so soft too!
• They can be customized to your liking. See more on how to customize your pancakes below!
• They are loaded with chocolate chips. We mean, what’s not to love about melty chocolate chips in pancakes?
• Making them is a great way to celebrate fall and use up your stash of pumpkin puree.

If you are on a pumpkin kick, also check out this Pumpkin Roll and this Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

The Ingredients

For Pumpkin Pancakes with chocolate chips, you need basic pancake ingredients with some pumpkin puree and chocolate chips added in.

Here are notes on some key ingredients:

• Pumpkin Puree. Feel free to use store-bought or homemade pumpkin puree. See instructions on how to make pumpkin puree below!
• Milk. This recipe calls for whole milk but you could substitute with 2 percent milk or buttermilk. Buttermilk is a great choice because the acid in buttermilk works with baking soda to create extra height for pancakes.
• Cinnamon. Cinnamon is great in Pumpkin Pancakes for a flavor that speaks of fall. You could replace the cinnamon powder with pumpkin pie spice for an even more intense fall-forward flavor.

Other ways

Try these variations with this recipe:

• Pumpkin Pancakes without Chocolate Chips: Simply leave out the chocolate chips for fluffy satisfying simple Pumpkin Pancakes.
• Banana Pancakes: Replace the pumpkin puree with the same quantity of mashed bananas (1 cup) then leave out the sugar to make tasty banana pancakes.
• Apple Pancakes: Replace the pumpkin puree with a cup of shredded apples to make Apple Pancakes.
• Whole Wheat Pancakes: Replace regular flour with whole wheat flour to make whole wheat pancakes.

How it comes together

Oven Method: Cut pumpkin into about 4 pieces (do not peel). Scoop out the seeds Roast in a 450° F oven for about 30 minutes. Take out and scoop out the pulp. Put into a blender and puree. You might need to add a little water in order for it to blend properly.

Stovetop Method: Cut pumpkin into about 8 pieces, scoop out pumpkin seeds and peel the pumpkin. Place in pot, add water to about midway the pumpkin pieces. Boil until the pumpkin pieces are fork-tender. Remove and place in a blender. Blend into a paste. Add a little water while blending if needed.

Store homemade pumpkin puree in the fridge for up to one week. You could also freeze it and use it within a few months.

How it comes together

You can make pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes in 5 easy steps!

1. Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl.

2. Whisk together pumpkin puree, eggs, milk, vanilla extract, milk, and melted butter in another bowl.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix to form a batter.

4. Fold in the chocolate chips.

5. Cook quarter cup-fulls of the batter on a buttered griddle or skillet placed on medium heat for 3-4 minutes per side.

Hint: Never overmix pancake batter. Stop mixing as soon as you can’t see any more dried flour. Lumps in the batter are okay! Over-mixed pancake batter will result in tough pancakes.

Cook notes

• Pancakes are ready to flip when they are set around the edges and bubbles form on top.
• Always regulate the heat when making pancakes. Medium heat is a good place to start. If your heat is too high, the pancakes with brown too quickly and remain raw in the middle. So make sure the heat isn’t too high. They should cook for about 3-4 minutes per side.
• Use a non-stick griddle or skillet and only add the butter to the pan for the first batch. After the first batch, you can cook the remaining pancakes without needing to add oil or butter to the pan every time.
• When you put the pancakes into the pan, leave enough room in between them for turning.

For another awesome recipe with chocolate chips, try our Chocolate Cupcakes With Chocolate Frosting.

• Yield: 16 pancakes
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 20 minutes
• Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup pumpkin puree, we used canned
• 1 ¼ cups whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

For Cooking The Pancakes

• 2 Tablespoons butter, room temperature

Method

1. Mix dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon powder.
2. Mix wet ingredients. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, milk eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract.
3. Combine wet ingredients and dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk to form a batter. Stop whisking once all ingredients are incorporated and there's no visible dry flour.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips. Add the chocolate chip and gently fold into the batter.
5. Cook the pancakes. Place a griddle or large skillet on medium heat. Add a tablespoon of butter to the pan. When the butter foam subsides, add a quarter cup of the batter to the pan to make 1 pancake. Add as many quarter cups as your pan can take. (Our griddle makes 6 pancakes at once while our large skillet makes 3 at once.)
6. Cook the pancakes on one side for 3-4 minutes until bubbles form on top, then flip them to the other side and cook for another 3-4 minutes until completely cooked through.