Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Pancakes (Low Carb and Gluten Free plus the regular kind)

I suppose the phrase “new tradition” is something of a contradiction in terms, what with tradition being all about the past and what’s come before. Nevertheless, my husband and I started a new holiday tradition last year and it’s one we hope to continue for many years to come. It’s certainly a big hit with our children. Now that the older two are capable of helping to decorate the tree, we have a little tree trimming party. And to get us all in the holiday spirit, we have pancakes for dinner. I’ve never been a huge pancake person, but my kids adore them and they think it’s a special treat to have them for dinner.

This year, I made two separate batches of pancakes so that I could fully participate in our newfound tradition. My pancakes were made with coconut flour, while the rest of the family had the regular kind (albeit somewhat healthified with whole wheat and flax seed meal). I also thought I would up the ante and go with a holiday flavour like Gingerbread and toss in some chocolate chips for fun. I figured I could pull this off even with the low carb ones, if I used my homemade chocolate chunks.

The Results: I figured wrong! Hoooo boy. My lovely sugar-free chocolate chunks were not made for a hot skillet and they quickly melted and ran all over the place. This is not to say that the low carb pancakes were a total disaster, as they tasted quite good. But they didn’t look all that great and I was a little worried that the chocolate in the pan would burn. So I scooped out all the chocolate chunks out of the remaining batter and finished up with plain gingerbread pancakes. They were delicious, especially topped with some of my sugar free cranberry sauce.

The pancakes for my husband and kids, however, worked out perfectly. They smelled temptingly of all the spices, and the chocolate chips made them an extra special holiday treat. I resisted tasting them myself, but they got rave reviews from all family members, including my very picky 14 month old. You really can’t ask for more than that!

So whether you’re low carb, gluten free, or have no dietary restrictions whatsoever, I have a holiday pancake recipe for you! Enjoy!

Coconut Flour Gingerbread Pancakes – adapted from Tiana Coconut

2 tablespoon coconut flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
2 tablespoon coconut oil or melted butter (plus more for pan)
2 tablespoon almond milk, coconut milk or whole milk
1 teaspoon granulated erythritol (or sugar or equivalent sweetener)
¼ teaspoon salt
Optional: ⅓ cup sugarfree chocolate chips (of the storebought variety!)

In a small bowl, whisk together coconut flour, spices and baking powder. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, blend together eggs, oil or butter, milk, sweetener and salt. Mix in coconut flour mixture and stir vigorously until well combined. Batter will be thick.

Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Spoon batter into skillet and spread with back of spoon to form 4-inch (or larger) rounds. Cook until edges are set and slightly browned, and spatula can be inserted underneath to flip over. Cook other side until golden brown.

Serves 2. Each serving has a total of 12g of carbs, and 5g of fiber, but only 5g of carbs per serving if you subtract erythritol and fiber.

Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Pancakes – adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book.

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
½ cup flax seed meal
2 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk or whole milk
3 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
½ cup chocolate chips
oil or butter for pan

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, flax seed meal, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, combine milk, butter and egg and whisk to combine.

Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir gently until just incorporated and a few lumps remain. Do not overmix.

Heat oil or butter in a large skillet over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Swirl to coat bottom of skillet. Spoon ¼ cup of batter per pancake into skillet (3 or so pancakes will fit at a time). Sprinkle each pancake with 1-2 teaspoon of chocolate chips. Cook until edges are set and bubbles appear in top of pancake.

Flip and continue to cook until golden brown on both sides. Keep warm in 200F oven until ready to serve.