SMC 47 - Peanut Butter Payload Pancakes

OMG, Week 47?! Really?! Five more weeks, and it's been a year?!

 

Well, I got this idea on Friday to make chocolate pancakes with peanut butter in the middle. I was watching a Reese's commercial when it clicked (kind of a "duh" moment, really). I made a test batch Saturday, which worked out well, so I just repeated the recipe (scaled down for 1 serving instead of 4) today.

 

Batter:

(dry)

A little shy of 1/3 C all-purpose flour

Around 2 T cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

Around 2 T sugar

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

 

(wet)

1 large egg

1/3 C buttermilk, room temperature

 

Other things you'll need:

Peanut butter

Syrup

Maybe some fresh fruit to slice and put on top

Maybe some whipped cream or butter to add for a little added flavor

 

Put heat to the frying pan, griddle, skillet, or whatever else you'll be using to cook these babies. A large, flat surface is needed, the larger and flatter the better (you'll need room to insert the flipping agent after all, it goes in better flat than at an angle). Go ahead and put remove the lid from the peanut butter and place the jar near the cooking surface. Close enough that it will get the radiant heat, but far enough away that the jar won't melt. Our goal is to have the peanut butter warm up in the jar so it'll be easier to work with later. This is also a good time to set out the syrup for the same reason (warm syrup is better).

 

Combine the dry ingredients. You can sift them together, or you can just use a fork to mix them like I did. They should end up reasonably consistent, but perfection is not required with pancakes.

 

Add the wet ingredients right on top of the dry. Since there's only two, and you can have measured out the buttermilk before this step (so it could get to room temperature while the rest of the quart stays cool in the fridge) to make it go quicker. Remember, your leaveners start working as soon as they get wet. So, while rushing isn't necessary, don't dawdle, either.

 

Mix for about 10-12 seconds. A spatula works well. It should be roughly consistent. Just count to 10 slowly in your head. Once you're at 10, just walk away. It's okay if there's lumps, or bits of the "dry team" on the sides of the bowl, or etc. It'll all work out fine. Now, let it sit for a couple minutes.

 

Remember that 1/3 cup measure you used to measure the flour and the buttermilk (trust me, it's easier if you use that one instrument for both)? Grab it and use it to "ladel" your batter onto the cooking surface. Fill it at least half full, but not quite 2/3rds full. Pour the scoop's contents onto a part of the cook surface. Ideally, this will make three pancakes, so plan your space accordingly. Once you're done laying out your set, spoon out some peanut butter into the middle of each of your pancakes, right on top of the batter. At this point, you can cover the peanut butter with a little more batter, or you can just let it go (your pan may end up a little dirtier this way, and make sure you serve the appropriate side up -- if you want the surprise, the original bottom needs to be on top; otherwise, your eaters will see what's coming). If your peanut butter is warm and liquidy enough, you can work it around more than just a big dollop in the middle, but make sure you leave some edge space, as this is where you'll look for the set bubbles to know it's time to flip (that is, bubble forms, bubble pops, hole from bubble remains). Once this happens, go ahead and flip the pancake, trying to deliver it back to the cook surface as flat as possible. Again, perfection is not required. The other side will cook in about half the time, give or take.

 

Serve on a plate, top with syrup and/or your own topping selection. I prefer to eat my way around the edge, leaving the middle for last, so you get that big peanut butter payload.

Done