Luke's Breakup Chocolate Pancakes 1.17 The Breakup, Part 2

“Oh, um, do you think you could make those really crazy chocolate chip pancakes and go extra heavy on the chocolate?” “Yeah sure, any special occasion?” “Dean broke up with Rory.”

Ingredients:

For the pancakes

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup cocoa powder

• 3 tbsp granulated sugar

• ½ tbsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• 2 eggs

• 1 ¼ cups whole milk

• ½ tsp vanilla

• 2 tbsp melted butter

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the topping

• 2 tbsp whole milk

• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

• Whipped Cream

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry pancake ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2. Add in the wet ingredients: eggs, milk, vanilla, melted butter. Stir to combine.

3. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat or a griddle to 300 degrees. Melt a teaspoon of butter or canola oil so the pancakes don’t stick.

5. Pour about ¼ cup of the pancake batter. You can work in batches or one at a time, depending on the size of your skillet or gridle.

6. Allow the pancake to cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. When small bubbles have formed on the uncooked side, it’s time to flip the pancake.

7. While you’re cooking the rest of the pancakes, keep the finished ones warmed under foil or in the oven set to the warming setting.

8. Prepare the ganache topping by heating the milk and chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a microwave-safe bowl for about 30 seconds.

9. Pour the ganache over the pancakes and top with whipped cream to serve.

Start your pancakes by mixing the dry ingredients.

Oh, Luke, you big softy, making Rory breakup pancakes. Lorelai requested the really crazy chocolate chip ones, and of course, being the sweetheart he is, Luke even offers to add whipped cream! We all know that Lorelai has a superhuman chocolate tolerance, so if she’s asking for really crazy chocolate pancakes, you know they’re going to be extra chocolatey! That’s where the chocolate ganache comes in! I used only a little bit of milk so that the ganache is nice and thick. Now I don’t have a superhuman chocolate tolerance, so I couldn’t eat much of the pancakes with the ganache. I love chocolate, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not Lorelai. If you do have a superhuman chocolate tolerance, then you will LOVE these!

Once your batter is smooth, add in the chocolate chips!

I love this episode so much. For one, Dean and Rory are not together- always a plus- but mostly because of how the town comes together to support Rory. Even Kirk with his apologies for not voicing his concerns about that floppy-haired jerk! The best is when Luke marches out of the dinner to prevent Dean from coming inside and further upsetting Rory. It was sweet, albeit a little awkward, when he started wrestling Dean. Total protective father moment.

Speaking of fathers...I have to talk about David Sutcliffe. If you haven’t heard, over the weekend he tweeted his support of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January, 6th by addressing the rumor that he had been there. He claimed he hadn’t been at the Capitol that day, but that he would have enjoyed smoking weed with one of the terrorists there. Obviously, he didn’t use that word. I won’t link the tweet because I don’t want to give him any traction, but you can look it up if you are so inclined. I’m not on Twitter, so I was oblivious to his pro-Trump tweets before this one. However, this is a whole new level of low. I have to speak out against David, especially when past posts I’ve written have been in his favor. Any support of the insurrection is racist, dangerous, and a disgusting act. I hope that other members of the Gilmore Girls community and those who worked on the show continue to renounce him.

When your pancake starts forming little bubbles, it's time to flip!

Anyway, back to the episode. So while I’m not the biggest fan of Max and Lorelai, I do love her babbling when she goes to his house to let him know that she’s not over him. That scene is Lorelai Gilmore to the core- not so great at romantic relationships and her babbling capabilities are infinite. And Max responds so simply, “do you want to come in?” I’ll give Max this- it’s my second favorite episode with him. The first being Love, War, and Snow. I think he and Lorelai actually have good chemistry here, but alas, it doesn’t last.

The pair that has even better chemistry in this episode is Rory and Tristan. Tristan is awful for most of his run on this show, but in this one standalone episode, he’s a good guy, actually likable. Their scene at the piano is so sweet, and Tristan becomes a whole different person. I also think it’s believable that they would kiss at Madeline’s party, though it’s heartbreaking when Rory cries. I wish that Tristan didn’t fall back into his old behavior following his episode and that this was a turning point for his character. I think he and Rory could have been an interesting couple if he continued to have a character arc, but again, alas, it doesn’t last.

Cook your pancakes for a couple minutes on both sides.

And then we have Lane and Henry. Oh, they are so cute, especially in this episode. Lane is upset at first that Henry has his “Korean girl” radar turned on but then ends up giving him her number by the end of the night. Even though Henry eventually becomes annoying for not understanding how Lane has to deal with her mom (no one can hold a candle to Dave Rygalski), I do like his storyline with Lane albeit short-lived.

Overall, I love how Rory works through the day following her breakup with Dean. She is so determined not to wallow and doesn’t want to be defined as just Dean’s ex-girlfriend. And even though it later encourages Rory to get back together with Dean later on, I do like that Lorelai insists on keeping her Dean box because Rory will want to reflect on the memories she had with him years from now. And the episode ends with Rory ready to wallow.

Stack your pancakes as high as you want!

There is a lot to celebrate today, friends! While there is still so much work to be done in our country, I feel like we can breathe a little easier. And these chocolate pancakes are the perfect way to celebrate! I watched the inauguration while working today, muting it during meetings. How did you watch it and celebrate?

Happy Cooking!

The chocolate ganache makes these pancakes super crazy chocolatey!

If you missed what I made last episode, catch up here!