Merry Christmas Pancakes

Just want to say Merry Christmas to all the readers of Tasty Tales! We finally have a lovely white christmas this winter in Chicago :) 

We are also very excited this year because it's our baby boy's first christmas, also our first christmas as a FAMILY. Man, I really can't believe he's already so big now! 

That being said, our holiday plans became more limited. With the cold weather, we decided to stay home to spend a quiet and lazy Christmas. To add more festivity to the calmness, I made what I called "Christmas pancakes" for adults. This recipe uses a special pancake mix I bought from a local brunch place - M. Henry But any pancake mix will do. This recipe is definitely good for any lazy morning too!

Ingredients:

Egg 1

Pancake mix 1 cup

Canola oil/melted butter 2 tbsp

Vanilla extract 1/2 tsp 

Raisins 1/2 cup

Semi-sweet chocolate chips handful 

Contreau/rum 2 tbsp

Milk/soy milk 1/2 cup

Optional: spices (1/2 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg)

Steps:

1. Beat eggs, pancake mix, oil/butter, vanilla extract, milk, liquor in a mixing bowl until slightly combined. Don't overmix
2. Add raisins, spices and chocolate chips into batter. Gently mix until it becomes a thick mixture
3. Preheat pan in medium heat, brush butter/oil. Pour 1/3 cup of batter into pan and make a nice circle shape. Wait for 1-2 minutes or until small holes formed on the surface, then flip the pancake. It should rise slightly as the side is browning. Repeat step 3 until all batter is used up
4. Dust pancakes with powdered sugar or serve with butter and maple syrup. Enjoy!

Tips:
*To make fluffy and thick pancakes,  the batter needs to have a thich texture. Not too thick that it doesn't spread nicely on the pan, but not too runny that it slides out quickly. Add more liquid if the batter is too thick.
*Do not tap your pancakes when they are rising, it will make it flat.