MINI MAPLE PANCAKE MUFFINS

                                                      (WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS!)

     My newest favorite blog is http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/ and they have some incredible stuff!  That's where I got this recipe and just had to try this new spin on pancakes!  Plus, my daughter asked last night if I'd make her pancakes in the morning and I said, "No, but I'll make some mini pancake muffins!"  She was good with that.  After breakfast, she was GREAT with it!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2/3 cup buttermilk (I used 3/4 cup regular milk + 1 tsp. lemon juice.  You can use 1 tsp. of vinegar too.  My grandmother taught me that trick! However, I'm sure real buttermilk makes it taste better, but I never have real buttermilk on hand and I'm sure not going to buy some just for 3/4 cups in a recipe.)
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (I used Log cabin maple - it's what I had on hand).
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Generously grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan with non-stick spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Sift together with a wire whisk.
3. In another bowl, stir buttermilk, egg, maple syrup and melted butter until just combined.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until combined.
5. Stir in chocolate chips. Reserve a few chips to sprinkle on the tops.
6. Bake for 8-9 minutes (May take a bit longer.  These muffin cups were VERY full!)
   
   Makes 24 mini pancake muffins. Serve with butter or syrup (we used butter AND syrup - just like pancakes).
   
   I used mini muffin liners and the muffins were hard to get out.  But Paula Deen says you can spray them lightly with cooking spray, so I'll try that next time! Also, I didn't have a mini muffin pan but I still just sat the muffin liners in regular muffin pans and that worked just fine. However, before I discovered the tiny liners in my cabinet, I was going to use regular muffins and just bake them longer.  Don't let pesky details hold you back!