Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes With Gooey "Fried" Banana

No, the bananas aren't actually fried. Well, not in the deep fried horrible for you sense. They're just cooked in a little bit of coconut oil, until they reach browned, gooey perfection. Yum. And the pancakes? A hint of peanut butter with melting chocolate chips in every bite. Who wouldn't want to shove their face into a stack of 'em? I mean, when you were little, didn't you eyeball the chocolate chip pancakes whenever you went out for breakfast? Or was that just me . . . But these are not restaurant chocolate chip pancakes, because these have peanut butter, which make them about 235708935035082 times better. Not to forget the banana slices  layered throughout. Poor old blueberry pancakes . . . I was never really interested in them as a kid. I have come to appreciate the blueberry side of things much more, and they will make it into equally delicious pancakes, but this post is not about blueberries. It's about peanut butter. And chocolate chips. And melt-in-your-mouth slices of banana. And the fact that homemade pancakes can be decadent and perfectly healthy at exactly the same time. No joke.

On the topic of pancakes, I was very happy with my flipping skillz. I shoved my spatula under the pancake with a swish *thrusts arm out in spearing motion*, then I easily flipped it over onto it's other side, no silly flopping around and broken pancake dreams. I did a dance too. And it comes with a song. Which goes something like this:
*miraculously flips pancake.* I FLIPPED A PAAANNNCAKE, A PERFECT PAAAANCAKE. *waves spatula around crazily* A PANCAKE PAAANNNCAAAKE A PERRRRFECT PAAAANCAKE! *does the moon walk to the best of abilities* *fails, but does it again anyways* I FLIPPED MY FIRST PAAANCAKE, MY FIRST PERFECT PAAANCAKE. AND IT'S RROOUUUNND. IT'S ALMOST PER-FECT-LY ROOUUNNNDD. *throws hands in the air* *does a small jig* *realizes that pancakes will start to burn if I sing anymore so I get down to business*

And that was that. You may be wondering why I was so pleased about being able to FINALLY FLIP A PANCAKE WITHOUT SUFFERING FROM MINOR HEART ATTACKS WHEN IT DOESN'T GO ONTO THE SPATULA PROPERLY AND STARTS TO BEND. Yes, well, all my life, or at least my pancake life, my pancake flipping abilities = nonexistent. Even as recently as the last time I made pancakes (which was about a week ago), I had trouble getting the spatula fully under it. But now I have mastered the skill, so I SHALL BECOME THE GREATEST PANCAKE FLIPPER IN THE WORLD!!!! MWAHAHAHAHA! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA-*sputters* Okay then. Onto the recipe!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes layered with gooey "fried" bananas slices and regular banana slices, and topped with walnuts, blueberries, more peanut butter, more "fried" banana and cacao nibs.

 Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes layered with gooey "fried" bananas slices and regular banana slices, and topped with walnuts, blueberries, more peanut butter, "fried" banana slices, and cacao nibs. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes With "Fried" Banana Slices
-1/3 c old fashioned rolled oats
-2 tbsp coconut flour
-1 tbsp coconut sugar
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-pinch baking soda
-1/4 tsp cinnamon
-1 tbsp chocolate chips of choice
-1-2 heaping tbsp all natural peanut butter
-1 egg
-1/2 c milk of choice
-1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-oil of choice for frying (I used coconut oil)

Directions:
Blend your oats into a flour using a blender/food processor. Once processed, add it to a bowl along with the coconut flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and chocolate chips. Mix until combined. Get a separate bowl, and add your milk and apple cider vinegar. Let mixture sit for a couple of minutes, then whisk in your egg, peanut butter, and vanilla. Now would be a good time to start heating up a pan. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and slowly add the wet ingredients while whisking in the dry with your other hand. Mix until combined, but do not over mix!

Once your pan is heated, add some of your oil (I used coconut) and spread it around with napkin. Alternatively you could spray it with non-stick spray. Test the hotness of the pan by flicking a drop of water onto it. If the drop sizzles upon impact, it is hot enough. Using about 2 tablespoons at a time, drop batter onto the pan, and make a circle-ish shape with the back of a spoon. Cook until you start to see tiny bubbles forming, then flip. It should be able to flip quite easily. If you do not see bubbles after a few of minutes, use your spatula and gently check the bottom of the pancake. If it easily lifts and looks firm and browned, you may have just missed the bubbles (they are really small), so go ahead and flip it. If not, then let it cook more. Once flipped, cook a couple more minutes until the top is firm, then set aside. Repeat with the rest of the batter until it is all gone. Layer with "fried" bananas (recipe below), top with whatever else you would like and enjoy.

Gooey "Fried" Bananas
-1 banana (preferably not super mushy)
-coconut oil for frying

Directions:
Heat up a small pan (or use the one you cooked pancakes in). While you wait, slice the bananas (try not to make them too thin), about 1/2 an inch should be good. Once you think it is hot enough, flick a droplet of water onto it's surface. The water should sizzle and hiss, if not, let the pan heat up some more. Add a small amount of oil (about 1 tsp) to the pan, and spread it around. Add your banana slices to the pan, and let them cook until they are browned, then flip and let them cook for a little while on the other side too. Once they are done, carefully remove them (they will be fragile) and place them on a plate. You can then layer them with your pancakes or just add them as a topping.

Peanut Butter Chip Pancakes layered with gooey "fried" banana slices and regular banana slices, and topped with peanut butter, more "fried" banana, cacao nibs, blueberries, and walnuts.