I have stated my daughter is on a pancake kick, so we have been making endless creations to help quench her cravings.
These salted caramel hot chocolate pancakes were created because she wanted chocolate pancakes, and I wanted to use up the leftover caramel sauce I had hanging around. I was also still thinking about my salted caramel hot cocoas and the salted caramel cheesecake I had made. The pancakes were quick to make and while I usually use cocoa powder for chocolate pancakes, I wanted to use the hot chocolate mix you buy at the grocery store for people who have these on hand more so than cocoa powder. Homemade hot cocoa is the way to go in this house, but sometimes even I do not feel like standing over the stove after a long day. Plus, I know people always look for easy and quick recipes, and these salted caramel hot chocolate pancakes are one of those.
Since you are using store-bought hot chocolate mix, I say adjust your sugar content accordingly. I also put homemade caramel sauce into the pancakes so I knew I only needed a small amount of sugar (I know pancakes can be sweet, but I did not want to feel like I was eating sugar on a spoon for breakfast!!) If you find your pancakes are too sweet, some extra cocoa powder will help balance that out.
📖 Recipe
Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate Pancakes
Dessert for breakfast is the way to go with these salted caramel hot chocolate pancakes! Made using hot chocolate mix, these pancakes are done in no time.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 tbsp. vinegar (or use ¾ cup buttermilk and omit vinegar.)
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup hot chocolate mix (the powdered stuff bought at the store.)
- 1 tsp. granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp. caramel sauce
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil, melted
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- ¼ - ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- Extra caramel sauce for topping.
- Sea salt or coarse salt for topping.
Instructions
- Mix the vinegar and milk together. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl add the flour, hot chocolate powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir gently.
- Add the vanilla, egg, and coconut oil to the milk mixture. Mix well. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir in the caramel sauce.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Add some coconut oil or butter to the pan and wait until hot. Measure out ¼ cup of batter per pancake and add to the pan. When bottom of golden brown, flip pancake and cook until other side is golden brown. When all pancakes are complete, top with caramel sauce and sprinkle with salt.
I cannot believe how many pancake recipes we have been going through! I even started working on those banana and oat pancakes again that are gluten-free to change things up (plus, I find those a lot faster to make.) At least she enjoys breakfast. I never had breakfast before going to school and I really do believe breakfast is so important. She will definitely be spoiled with breakfasts such as these salted caramel hot chocolate pancakes!
Rachel Farnsworth
We eat a ton of pancakes in our house. It's one of my go-to easy dinners. Breakfast for dinner is something everyone will eat and no one will complain about it. We love trying all sorts of fun pancakes so these will definitely be on the list!
Kacey
Yay! I have to agree, breakfast for dinner is common in our household, especially on nights where I know my husband does not need a lunch the next day.
Stephanie @ Back for Seconds
What?! These look crazy good. I need!
Meg @ The Housewife in Training Files
Holy cow girl! These are the only way to start a day!
Kelley
Absolutely beautiful pancakes! They look amazing!
Toni | BoulderLocavore
This recipe is visionary! What a fantastic way to use up some salted caramel and turn breakfast into an exciting event!
Kacey
Let's admit it, I do not need an excuse to eat caramel sauce 🙂
amanda @ fake ginger
Stop it. These are the best pancakes ever!
Kacey
I cannot lie, they were REALLY good! They have also been requested every day.
Jaren (Diary of a Recipe Collector)
Pinning to my breakfast board! These look fabulous!
Joanie @ ZagLeft
What a great idea to use store bought hot chocolate mix! These sound delicious, we love making pancakes and I'll add this recipe to our list of recipes to make.
Kacey
I didn't want the mix to go bad so there was no harm in trying it in this pancake recipe 🙂
Amy @ A Healthy Life For Me
These look amazing!! Who wouldn't want the whole stack!
Kacey
We had to pry them away from our daughter!
Andi @ The Weary Chef
You are making me so hungry with all these caramel recipes lately. Caramel on top of pancakes!? I need these in my life for sure!
Kacey
I am sorry, Andi! Not 🙂 Now you need to keep a jar of caramel sauce on hand!