There was a time once while I was young, when very briefly I thought my sister was nuts for asking my dad to put chocolate chips in her pancakes.  ”Chocolate chips and maple syrup? Yuck!” Well, let me emphasize the briefness of that thought – maybe for half a second or so, until I realized my sister was a genius.  She converted my whole family to chocolate chip pancake lovers, and maple and chocolate perform a harmonious symphony that allows the taste buds to dance and rejoice as if heaven had literally shown itself right then in that single glorious moment.

This may seem like an obviously awesome combination to you, but how many dishes do you see blending maple and chocolate together?  I for one do not see many – in fact I cannot even remember a time when I tasted these two flavors at once that wasn’t at breakfast.  It’s a shame really, because I think chocolate and maple tastes a lot better than current foodie fads such as chocolate and bacon.  In my mind bacon needs a sweet fruit like strawberries to counter the salt and fat, not chocolate.  But that may just be me.  But chocolate and maple? Perfect.  Especially a dark chocolate which lends just a hint of bitterness.

These aren’t dark chocolate chips, but they are still good.  Along with peanut butter, my sister-in-law gave us a ginormous (yes, that’s my new word) bag of chocolate chips.  It’s so funny to me that I cannot find them in a store here because well, the major company that makes them is only a skip and a jump away….  And then the crushed hazelnuts and pistachios added for a nice dimension, a little bit of texture and the nuttiness offset the very sweet quite well.  And after all, who doesn’t love candy for breakfast?

Continue reading Maple Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Gluten Free