In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, paprika, and cocoa powder until well combined. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the bacon.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp and the topping is bubbling. Cool completely on the rack. Once cool roughly chop reserving 2 strips for topping. Set aside.

Heat a flat griddle, or other large smooth bottom skillet, to medium-low heat.

In a medium bowl cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and whisk until evenly incorporated. Add the buttermilk and whisk until well combined.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to mix. Stir in the chopped bacon.

Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined and no large lumps of dry flour remain.

Lightly fold in the berries, careful not to burst any or over-mix.

Spray the griddle with non-stick cooking spray and scoop the batter, by the 1/3 cup, on to the heated griddle.

Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on the first side, or until the batter begins to puff, the edges are no longer shiny, and the cooked side is golden brown.

Flip and cook for 1 to 2 minutes on the second side, or until the pancakes spring back when gently pressed in the center and are golden brown.

(of course I decided to photograph the overcooked ones, lol…smh. Trust me, the rest turned out better) To hold pancakes while cooking store in a warm oven on a wire rack. They will hold for up to 45 minutes. Serve warm with a drizzle of the berry syrup and a sprinkle of the candied bacon.

These were so delicious I made them on Saturday AND Sunday. And then I started my diet on Monday. ENJOY!!!

Ingredients

Directions

I was recently in Miami and the prize for going to early morning service (on top of being closer to God o_O ) was a trip to the Grand Luxe Cafe. lol I have to say that instead of making my little joke  about being rewarded by man or my pancakes in heaven (IDK…I hadn’t worked it out completely which way I wanted to go with it lol) I decided NOT to piss my mom off and be happy that I finally had the opportunity to try their famed Red Velvet pancakes. (Meanwhile, my mom is on the cell phone inviting all of my sisters and cousins who DID NOT attend church with us but not  without a small scolding about eternal damnation. (Trust me, you rather just get up and go with her than hear it, lol) 

Of course the non-churchgoers beat us there but we didn’t hold them up because I’d heard too much about the pancakes and was sticking to it. Once they were served, I noticed they had actual chocolate chips in them and while that wasn’t  my idea of a “traditional” red velvet cake, they were goooood. They serve them with fried chicken but I did it with bacon. Maybe later. 

I took a basic buttermilk pancake recipe and made it velvety. That simple!

Buttermilk Pancakes

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons white sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

3 eggs

1/3 cup butter, melted

oil or butter for pan

Milk (just under one cup)

1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice

Buttermilk Red Velvet Pancakes

Buttermilk Pancake recipe (above)

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Bag of Ghiradelli Bittersweet Chocolate chips 70% cocao (10-12 per pancakes)

2-3 tablespoon red food coloring  (see if that is enough to get the color you want, if not red enough, continue to add)

1 ½  teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting
 

8 oz softened cream cheese (1 package)
2 oz softened butter (1/2 stick)
1/2  teaspoon vanilla extract + more to taste
1 1/3 cups of powdered sugar + more to taste

With a mixer on medium speed, mix cream cheese and butter together. Add vanilla. Mix in sugar gradually.

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt).

In a separate bowl, beat together the wet ingredients (buttermilk, milk, eggs, red coloring, vanilla extract and melted butter).

Keep the two mixtures separate until you are ready to cook.

Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. The pan is ready when you can flick water across the surface and it instantly beads up and sizzles.  Lightly grease it.

Once that is hot, pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, using a wooden spoon or fork to blend. Stir until it’s just blended together. Don’t over stir it. (A little lumpy is ok.)

Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/2 cup for each pancake. Immediately add 10-12 chocolate chips. Wait for the pancakes to bubble (2 – 3 minutes) before flipping and continue to cook for a minute or two. Serve hot with a dollop of cream cheese frosting (recipe follows).

Options:

Top with toasted walnuts or pecans

Top with chocolate chips

Make your own buttermilk (recipe above)

Top with maple syrup

On Sunday morning, I decided that we would have PANCAKES! My mom didn’t make pancakes for us as kids. She was more of a “grits n eggs”, southern girl and we had no complaints. I recalled watching one of my favs, “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” in which he challenged the famed Clinton Street Baking Company (CSBC) in New York to a Blueberry Pancake Throwdown. If you’re unfamiliar with the show, he finds people that are perceived to make the “BEST” something (pancakes, mac n cheese, crab cakes, fish tacos, etc.) and tries to improve their recipe and then challenge them to a duel. You should check it out….I digress.

Bobby’s Pancakes beat out CSBC’s and made it to my “To-do” list. I planned to perform the recipe as created but there were 2 reasons why I didn’t:

Leeriness – How could I get Greg to eat Ricotta Cheese on his pancakes?

Cheapness – I needed AT LEAST 3 pints of fresh blueberries for the original recipe and at $4.99 a pint, that is waaaaay too expensive for breakfast in my family. On top of that, I needed Crème de Cassis and it was 8 am on a Sunday and Publix Liquors was closed. It also called for fresh mint sprigs and I couldn’t bring myself to purchase another bunch after having thrown a wilted bundle out during my New Year’s fridge cleaning. So, instead of the blueberry overload Bobby intended with the blueberry compote, homemade blueberry syrup and blueberry pancakes, I went with the pancakes alone. If you’d like the original recipe, here is a link: Lemon-Blueberry Pancakes

 Pancakes:

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/3 cups buttermilk
• zest of one lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch cream of tartar
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 stick butter, (8 tablespoons) cut into pats

Pancake Topping:

• confectioner’s sugar (powdered)
• fresh blueberries
• Warm Maple Butter Syrup*

Pancake Prep:

Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks, oil, buttermilk, lemon zest and vanilla extract.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid mixture. Mix together until flour is just incorporated.

In a small bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter just until incorporated. Let sit for 15 minutes, then gently fold in the blueberries careful not to break them. I would hate for you to have blue pancakes batter.  

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Heat a nonstick pan or cast iron griddle over medium heat. Add a pat of butter and heat until the butter just begins to sizzle. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop the batter into the pan or onto the griddle and cook until bubbles appear on the top surface and the bottom is golden brown, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. (The pancakes were a little small so a 1/3 cup measuring cup would be cool too, I think.) Flip over and cook until the bottom is lightly golden brown, about 45 seconds. Remove to a baking sheet and keep warm in a low oven. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve with syrup, sugar and fresh blueberries.

Note: The lemon zest gives the pancakes a real fresh taste. Not overwhelming at all but enough to know it was there. Don’t omit if you can avoid it. I was happy that I’d grabbed a lemon in the store.

*To make Maple Butter Syrup, heat 1 cup Grade B syrup and a stick of butter. That’s it! Grade B syrup is a better quality syrup that is a little pricier than the regular “Aunt Jemima” type syrup we typically buy. (If you’re like me, you buy the Publix brand, lol.) Anyway, look closer next time you’re in the store and you’ll see it in the aisles. 

Outcome: They were GOOD! Light and fluffy. I would have made them just a little bit sweeter by maybe adding a little more sugar. : )