chocolate birthday pancakes with peanut butter maple syrup

In the past, birthday breakfasts consisted of waffles. But I'm not sure how waffles without egg whites would work out. So a new breakfast treat was in order. Because food + gifts = birthdays, right?

Here's what I came up with:

Yummy!

Here's the recipe, adapted from the oatmeal pancake recipe I got from my mom.

Chocolate Pancakes
1 c. milk substitute (soy, almond, oat)
3/4 c. quick oats
3/4 c. oat flour
2-3 T pure maple syrup
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (fair trade if possible)
1 T applesauce
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)

Heat milk until hot, add oatmeal, remove from heat and let it stand for 5 minutes (I forgot this step in making these and kind of liked how the oat flakes were visible). Combine the rest of the ingredients. For fluffier pancakes add the apple cider vinegar. Using a 1/4 c. measure, scoop onto a hot not-stick griddle, or lightly grease a pan with coconut oil. Cook about 2-3 minutes each side, or until lightly browned. Makes 8-10 pancakes.

Peanut Butter Maple Syrup

Mix together equal parts unsweetened, unsalted natural peanut butter and pure maple syrup. (I used 1/4 c. of each, but would bump it up to 1/3 c. of each next time for a single batch of the pancakes.)