Christmas Morning Is Better With Cookie Dough Pancakes
When I was a child, I didn’t quite understand the beauty of pancakes. They were good, but I always found them disappointingly bland. Then I stayed over at a friend’s house and their pancakes had chocolate chips in them. My world has changed forever. The fact is, pancakes taste better if they have something in them, and there is no breakfast more important than a Christmas breakfast filled with surprises. Try this cookie dough pancake recipe and turn any pancake into a special breakfast worthy of Christmas morning.
This trick is reassuringly simple. You can make pancakes with any cookie flavor, but you don’t actually need raw cookie dough. Simply add crushed cookie crumbs to any pancake recipe you like. It’s actually that simple when you consider the small ratio. I made two versions of cookie pancakes; I wanted a recognizable cookie flavor, so one recipe used Chips Ahoy cookies and another used Oreos.
Use the recipe from scratch
To make the Chips Ahoy pancake batter, I started with a simple pancake recipe made from scratch. I measured out the flour, baking powder and salt. To these dry ingredients I added a cup of crushed Chips Ahoy cookies. I wanted a 2:1 ratio of flour to cookie crumbs, so I shopped around and threw 12 cookies into the food processor. To make the crumbs, simply beat the cookies a few times and then beat them for 15 to 20 seconds. Small pieces of chocolate chips are expected to remain. Add butter, eggs and milk to flour-crumb mixture. Whisk until smooth (a few lumps are allowed) and cook on the stove as usual.
Use packaged pancake mix.
For the Oreo pancakes, I used the same ratio and method, but this time with a full pancake mix. As expected, it worked like a charm. Actually, I would like to adjust my rating – it exceeded all expectations because Oreo cookies have a special taste and color. I pureed six Oreos in a food processor until they were a half cup of fine crumbs. Then I mixed the crumbs into a cup of dry pancake mix. I whisked the water and the dough was thick and dark grey. While it doesn’t sound like something you’d normally want to eat, it works if it’s an Oreo. I let the batter sit for five minutes because Oreos like to absorb liquid, and then proceeded to fry the pancakes as usual.
The Oreo pancakes were a winner for me, but I wouldn’t say no to a plate of Chips Ahoy pancakes. The only thing I would do differently for the Oreo pancakes is hand crush two or three more cookies and add them to the batter. Just like the best part of Oreo ice cream is the cookie piece, I craved it in my pancakes.
This pancake recipe will work with any type of cookie dough, and you can adjust the thickness to create wafer-like cookie dough. Keep in mind that different cookies absorb liquid differently. To correct this, add milk at the last stage. Pour only half at first and then adjust the amount to achieve your desired pancake or waffle consistency. The waffle batter should be thick and come together when you scoop it. The pancake batter should be a little thinner and flow like a ribbon, but should not be watery.
Cookie pancake recipe
Ingredients:
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1 cup cookie crumbs (about 10-12 small cookies)
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2 cups all-purpose flour
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1 scant tablespoon baking powder
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2 tablespoons sugar (optional)
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½ teaspoon salt
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1 tablespoon oil
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2 eggs
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1 ¼–2 cups milk (adjust consistency)
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Butter for frying
1. Add the cookie crumbs to the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar (if using) in a medium bowl. Whisk ingredients to combine.
2. Add butter and eggs to the dry mixture, along with about ¾ cup milk. Beat until smooth; It’s okay if there are still dry spots in the bowl at this stage. Add a little more milk to achieve the consistency needed for pancakes or waffles. You may not need all the milk.
3. Fry the batter or waffles as usual.