Whole Wheat Pancakes with Coco Nibs, Chocolate Chips Toffee Bits, and Walnuts

I ran a half marathon yesterday.  It was just the fourth half marathon I have ever run.  It has been two years since my last race, and I'm in worse shape then I was at that time.

Regardless, I finished and with a respectable time.  It wasn't the fastest I have run a half marathon, but not bad.  It was actually only 11 minutes slower than my fastest time.  I am a slow runner even when I am better prepared.

I have started toying with the idea of running a full marathon.  I never though I would run a full marathon, but I need to do it sooner than later if I ever intend to do it.  I'm not getting any younger.

Yesterday on the metro on the way to the race, I spoke to a more serious runner.  She has run a few full marathons.  She told me about a training program created by Hal Higdon.  I am feeling incredibly optimistic about doing a full marathon next year at this time.

It was a little chilly yesterday.  I prefer running when it is a little cool, but it was rough waiting for the race to start for about 40 minutes without my coat.  I checked my coat in the bag check, and then preceded to shiver until the race actually began.

I found this whole wheat pancake recipe on Genius Kitchen.  This is the first whole wheat pancake recipe I have ever posted on my blog.  I doubled the recipe, and added coco nibs, chocolate chips, toffee bits, and walnuts.  I also swapped out regular milk for the buttermilk.

The ingredients are 2 cups whole wheat flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons honey, 6 tablespoons oil, 2 cups milk, 4 large eggs, 1/4 cup coco nibs, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup toffee bits, and 1/4 cup walnuts.

I added the whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.  I whisked the dry ingredients together.

I made a whole in the dry ingredients, and I added the eggs, oil, honey, and milk into the whole.  I broke the eggs and mixed the wet ingredients together before stirring the batter together completely.

I added the coco nibs, toffee, chocolate chips, and chopped walnuts.  I stirred the batter together.

I cooked these pancakes in a greased and hot skillet over medium heat.  I used about a third of a cup of batter for each pancake.  I flipped the pancakes and cooked the other side once bubbles started forming in the center of the pancake.  I cooked the reverse side for a few minutes.  Both sides should be a light, golden brown color.

I served these with greek yogurt on top, as is my custom.  

This is a delicious pancake recipe.  The texture if thick, and hearty.  It isn't dense though.  It is still very fluffy.

It has a welcome nutty flavor from the whole wheat flour.  The batter itself is not super sweet.  It just had a touch of sweetness from the honey.

The chocolate chips and toffee bits make these a decadent breakfast.  The chocolate was creamy and gooey.  The toffee was buttery and crisp.  The toffee added a caramelized flavor.

The coco nibs added additional cocoa flavor.  It is a dark and bitter flavor.  It added richness and depth.  They were a little crunchy too.  They were a welcome addition.

The walnuts were nutty and crunchy.  

 Overall, these were scrumptious pancakes.  They were filling and tasty.  I will make whole wheat pancakes again in the near future.