Peppermint Chip Cacao Pancakes

It’s the holiday season and peppermint mocha is the new flavor on everyone’s mind.

Whether it’s a hot Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks, a Peppermint Hold the Cone from Trader Joe’s or a Peppermint Chip Milkshake from Chick-Fil-A. Peppermint is making its way into everyone’s home.

Peppermint flavored desserts are popular, but peppermint breakfast options certainly do not get the hype they deserve.

And as someone who loves breakfast foods, I committed to changing that with a healthy Peppermint Chip Cacao Pancake Recipe to get you in the spirit for all your holiday activities for the day.

You’ll need:

- 1/2c Oats

- 2.5 tbsp Cacao Powder

- 1 Banana

- 1 Whole Egg

- ½ scoop of Chocolate Protein Powder

- 1 serving of Lily’s Dark Chocolate Baking Chips

- 2 tbsp Baking Powder

- ½ tsp Peppermint Extract

- Water as needed

To begin, take ½ cup of oats and grind it to a flour-like consistency. I always use a coffee grinder for optimum results, but you can use a blender to grind them as well or purchase pre-made oat flour in the grocery stores. Just note that the measurements on the oats might be slightly off if you are using pre-grinded oat flour compared to measuring it before you grind the oat flour. There are oat flour converters all over the internet that you can use as well. It certainly shouldn’t make too big of a difference in a pancake recipe whereas if it was a baked good item you would want to be more accurate.

Next grab your banana and mash it in a separate bowl. I suggest using a medium to large banana for a better bind in the pancakes. You can add the banana directly into the oat flour mixture when done.

Afterwards, you’ll want to grab the other dry ingredients and incorporate them into the mix. I add in 2.5 tbsp of the Navitas Organic Cacao Powder and ½ scoop of Iconic Chocolate Protein Powder. You can use different brands if preferred. These are my favorites for nutrient quality and taste.

You can substitute the cacao powder for baking unsweetened cocoa powder if necessary. I really like the taste of cacao powder and the additional health benefits that come with it. Cacao powder is rich in antioxidants and minerals. One serving of cacao powder, 2.5 tbsp, (which this recipe calls for) has 5g of fiber, 300mg of potassium and 106mg of magnesium!

I always struggle getting enough potassium in my diet and this recipe with the banana and cacao powder definitely does my nutrition a whole lot of good on that end.

Once you add in your chocolate powders, place the egg and peppermint extract in the bowl. Be careful when adding the peppermint extract into the mix. You certainly don’t want to overdo it as the peppermint extract is strong and can be overpowering.

Place 2 tbsp of baking powder in the mix and whisk together. Add additional water into the mix as needed. Once you get that pancake consistency, stir in your dark chocolate chips. I'm obsessed with the Lily's Dark Chocolate Baking Chips for taste quality, no sugar added, and baking ease. I'm also one of the weird ones who much prefers dark chocolate to milk chocolate.

Let the batter sit and rise for a few moments. You'll want to set your stove or pancake griddle on medium heat to cook and flip when the pancakes become firm.

I highly highly highly suggest topping this recipe with the Peppermint Whip Cream from Whole Foods. There is seriously nothing better than this seasonal product with chocolate peppermint pancake goodness.