Good morning my love…

Valentine’s day weekend is upon us, which to me means chocolate chocolate chocolate!!! 🙂 For the last couple years I celebrate this holiday that celebrates love by devoting the entire day to chocolate. I have chocolate for breakfast, chocolate for lunch, and chocolate for dinner. The rule of the day is, if you eat something it must have chocolate on it. I can’t think of a better way to spend the day.

This year I made red velvet pancakes sprinkled with chocolate chips and topped with a dollop of maple infused cream cheese and just because it’s Valentine’s day weekend I decided to add some quick chocolate covered strawberries too! YUM!

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Maple Infused Cream Cheese

Yields: Approximately 6 large pancakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/4 Cup Buttermilk
• 1/4 Cup Organic Milk
• 2 Tb. Dutch Cocoa Powder
• 1 Cup Unbleached Flour
• 1 Brown Cage Free Egg
• 2 tsp Organic Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 1/4 tsp Baking soda
• 2 Tbsp Melted Unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tsp Red Food Coloring (if you use organic food coloring, you might need to use double the amount)
• 1/4 tsp Good Quality Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 Cup Low Fat Cream Cheese
• 1 Tb. Maple Syrup

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

• 6 Organic Strawberries
• 1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees
2. Place a greased baking pan in oven (or use SilPats)
3. Rinse strawberries and pat dry
4. Melt 1/2 Cup chocolate chips in a microwave proof bowl only warming 20 seconds at a time and stirring in between each heating session
5. Once chocolate is melted dip each strawberry in chocolate, place each finished strawberry on a wax paper lined plate. Set in refridgerator until ready to serve.
6. Oil a griddle or pan and turn burner on medium heat
7. Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder together in a bowl
8. Mix buttermilk, milk, and vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup
9. Melt butter in a small bowl
10. Mix yolk of an egg in bowl with melted butter and mix the egg white in the milk mixture
11. Pour butter and yolk mix into liquid measuring cup filled with milks and egg white, mix well
12. Pour liquids into dry ingredients bowl and mix thoroughly, add red food coloring
13. Scoop 3 Tb. of batter into oiled pan or griddle and sprinkle chocolate chips. Let cook on each side until lightly browned. After each pancake is cooked place in oven to keep warm until ready to serve.
14. While waiting for pancakes to finish heat cream cheese in the microwave for 30 seconds (or until softened). Add 1 Tb maple syrup to the cream cheese and mix well.
15. Top each pancake with maple cream cheese and serve with chocolate covered strawberries.