Wake Up and Be Happy

These are like a beautiful dream that you never want to wake up from. Light fluffy layers of chocolate pancakes like gentle clouds glistening with the gentle dew of vanilla syrup cascading through the rivers of melted butter.........Hey! Wake Up! Sure it's a nice dream but why dream about them when you can actually be making them and eating them.

Chocolate Pancakes

2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
4 teaspoon butter, melted
2 eggs
4-6 teaspoons cocoa
Chocolate chips, optional

Combine dry ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and stir only until mixed.

Preheat a non-stick skillet until very hot, brush lightly with butter. Pour pancake batter onto hot skillet; flip when bubbles begin to form along edges. When lightly browned on both sides, remove pancakes and stack with pats of butter between each one.
Keep warm in oven until ready to serve.
Try serving these with this delicious vanilla syrup or any of your own favorite pancake toppings.

Vanilla Syrup:

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together until smooth

Me getting all "Sappy"!

I just love the taste of maple syrup. We have so many maple producing counties here in New York each tapping into some unique usage for that sweet sticky sap. I tend to enjoy the dark amber grade when I can get it but I’m not fussy, I’ll take any grade as long as it’s pure maple syrup. There are so many uses for maple syrup beyond being a great pancake and waffle topper. Maple syrup is showing up in many recipes featuring meats, cakes, candies, pies and even vegetables.
I just found a place in Vermont that actually makes vodka from distilled maple sap. I have also come across, in my internet travels versions of Mead (honey wine) made with maple syrup rather than honey. I have found some recipes for making your own Maple Mead online but it looks like it can be quite costly. There are several places that make their own versions of maple mead that are far more affordable without all the work.

Maple Syrup Pie

4 eggs
1 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 cups whipping or heavy cream
1 1/2 pounds brown sugar
2 tablespoons. butter, softened
3 unbaked pie shells

Beat eggs. Whisk in next 4 ingredients, one at a time. Pour into pie shells and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until knife inserted into middle comes out clean. This is an extremely easy pie to make and you will get three pies from this one recipe.
I know for obvious reasons that this pie sounds incredibly sweet. It is a very rich pie but it is also very light in taste and texture, so it is quite enjoyable and satisfying only having a small slice.