If you want to make Valentine’s Day a little extra special this year, I’ve got the perfect themed breakfast for you! Complete with Strawberry White Hot Chocolate and perfectly fluffy pancakes with strawberry sauce, this is one delicious morning your family is going to love!
I’ve been traveling a lot in the last couple of weeks, and because of that, I wanted to make a special breakfast for the kids. From time to time, I make our favorite strawberry pancake syrup as a nice addition to our already beloved perfect pancakes. This strawberry sauce is also a reader favorite, so I wanted to find other creative ways to use it that both my kids and my readers would love.
A friend of mine mentioned she had tried a strawberry white hot chocolate recipe off Pinterest and she was sure it would work with our famous sauce. Why not? After all, my kids love hot chocolate and a little indulgence from time to time on special occasions is 100% allowed in our household.
As you can see from the video below, this breakfast is easy to put together, and the strawberry sauce can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to a week.
As far as pancake recipes go, boy-oh-boy you are in the right place! My pancake recipe yields the best, most perfectly fluffy and delicious pancakes ever. The best part is that it can easily be made gluten-free by using a 1:1 gluten-free flour.
I will say, that these pancakes tend to go fast, so I recommend doubling the recipe and saving leftovers for later. They freeze great, and you can just pop the out of the freezer into the toaster for an ultra delicious breakfast or to be used as fun sandwich bread in a school lunch.
What? You’ve never tried using pancakes as the “bread” for your sandwiches? Oh boy, you are missing out! Wholesome ingredients you can recognize with zero fillers is what you get in these pancakes so why not use them as “bread”? Right, now I know you follow.
Ok, back to this special breakfast idea for the kids. I made this while they were sleeping and sipping on some very strong coffee and by the time they woke up, we all enjoyed this very special feast.
Do you make special occasion themed breakfasts too? If so, what are some of your favorite recipes?
Strawberry White Hot Chocolate & Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 12oz strawberries, fresh or defrosted from frozen, chopped
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 cups milk
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 drops natural, red food coloring, (optional)
- Whipped cream, for topping
Instructions
Cooked berries method:
- In a small saucepan, combine chopped strawberries and honey. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the strawberries begin to break down, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. To remove the strawberry seeds, pour through a sieve or cheesecloth to remove them.
Cold method:
- Place the strawberries and honey in a bowl for about ten minutes, allow berries to release its juices, blend, and pour mixture through a sieve or cheesecloth to remove all seeds. You should have about 3/4 cup puree.
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, bring the milk to a simmer, whisking constantly. Before the milk reaches a boiling point, when it begins to bubble around the edges, remove the pan from heat and add in the white chocolate and mix until smooth.
- Add in ½ – ¾ cup of berry puree, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and stir until combined. If the strawberry white hot chocolate isn’t “pink enough”, add 1-2 drops of natural food coloring. Serve into 4 mugs and top with whipped cream.
Perfect Pancake Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Breakfast
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1 egg
- 3 Tablespoons butter, melted (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
- Make a well in the middle and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix with a fork or whisk until smooth.
- Heat a griddle or large pan over medium-high heat (I set my electric griddle at 300-350 F). Pour or scoop 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Wait until bubbles form to flip. Brown on the other side and serve with butter and syrup.
Notes
Whole-wheat flour substitutions:
100% whole wheat – add an additional teaspoon of baking powder + 1 Tablespoon milk.
50% whole wheat – add 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.
1/4 cup ground flax – remove 1/4 cup flour + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.
Add 1 mashed banana – no changes.
Add up to 1 cup blueberries or nuts – no changes.
Gluten Free Egg Free Pancakes
- Yield: Yields 10-12 4" Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup of gluten free all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed (flax meal)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or sugar, honey)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup of milk (or non dairy)
Instructions
- In a medium size mixing bowl, sift together flour, flax meal, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, vanilla, applesauce, and milk. Slowly mix in half of the liquid into dry bowl, stirring continuously, and the rest 1/4 cup at a time to avoid a runny batter (not all gluten free mixes are the same see note below). Mix until you get the lumps out of the batter. You don’t want it to be too thick or too runny. There’s a happy medium and 1 cup + 2-ish tablespoons should be just about right.
- On a greased, heated griddle over medium heat (or pan on your stovetop), begin to cook pancakes about a 1/4 cup of the batter for each one.
- Cook 1-2 minutes until they start to bubble around the edges, and flip. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from pan and serve.
Notes
Gluten Free Flour Mixes that work for this recipe: Bob’s red mill, cup4cup, better batter, pamela’s baking mix.
Do not use arrowhead gf mix. The pancakes stick and don’t hold together well. My kids say they are “grainy”.
Home mixes use at your own discretion. You can always read the comments in the original post here.
