Fluffy pancakes speckled with Oreos, layered with cookies n’ creme cheesecake filling, and enrobed in rich chocolate ganache!
By now, it’s probably no secret that I’m obsessed with Oreos and anything cookies n’ creme. Because of my love for white chocolate, my all-time favorite Hershey bar has always been the Cookies n’ Creme chocolate bar. While I’m fully aware that white chocolate isn’t TECHNICALLY chocolate, I just can’t get enough of that rich white chocolate flecked with bits of chocolate cookie bits.
So because we just celebrated Easter, which seems like the true kick-off for brunch season, I decided to make a lovely stack of pancakes LOADED with all things cookies n’ creme!
Um, can you say HEAVENLY?
Now THIS is what I would love to wake up to every single morning of the rest of my life.
Sure, this isn’t your typical stack of pancakes covered in butter and maple syrup, but that’s because it’s 1,000 times better!
In my honest and HUMBLE opinion, of course…
If you’ve seen previous pancake posts of mine, you know I’m not one to post a simple pancake recipe. I like to go BIG by dressing my pancakes up to the nines with deliciousness. I’ve done Strawberry Cheesecake Pancakes, Pear Crisp Pancakes, and Sweet Potato Pie Pancakes, just to name a few. So these Cookies n’ Creme Pancakes have been a long time coming…
To start things off, I like to make the filling and ganache first so that they’re ready when your pancakes are hot and fresh. With just three ingredients, the filling could not be any easier to make. Just heat some Hershey Cookies n’ Creme chocolate bars in the microwave until fully melted. Pour this into a large mixing bowl, add some cream cheese and beat until combined. Finally, heavy cream is whipped in until everything is lusciously light and fluffy!
The ganache is even EASIER. Since I’m all about reducing dirty pans (who isn’t??), I prefer to make my ganache in the microwave. To do this, I heat the heavy cream in a glass measuring cup in the microwave until it just begins to bubble up. The hot cream is poured over the chocolate (I just use regular semi-sweet chocolate chips) in a bowl, which then gets covered in plastic wrap. After about 5 minutes, the plastic wrap is removed, and the cream and chocolate are stirred together until smooth and silky.
The pancake batter itself is pretty much your typical batter but with the addition of delicious Oreos! To make the batter, you’ll first combine all of the dry ingredients–flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. I like to use a whisk since it basically sifts everything together. Then you’ll combine the wet ingredients–eggs, vanilla, milk, melted butter, and greek yogurt/sour cream. I’ve been adding greek yogurt to my pancakes for a while now, and I love the softness and almost creaminess it adds to pancakes–it definitely kicks those pancakes up a few notches!
The dry ingredients are then combined with the wet ingredients. Try to avoid over-mixing–you WANT lumps in your batter. This is the key to getting those fluffy flapjacks. In fact, once I combine the wet and dry ingredients, I like to let my batter sit for a few minutes before frying. The batter looks less lumpy/chunky once it’s had time to sit and the reaction between the wet and dry ingredients has taken place.
Also, to avoid over-mixing, I didn’t stir my Oreos into the batter. Instead, immediately after pouring the batter into the skillet, I broke the Oreos up into pieces and dropped them evenly over the batter. Not only does this allow for a more even distribution of Oreos in your pancakes, but it prevents them from getting soggy as they sit in the batter.
Whether you make a behemoth of a pancake stack like this, or you decide to simply serve these pancakes with just a dollop of filling and drizzle of ganache is totally up to you!
Either way, you’ll feel like you’ve died and gone to Cookies n’ Creme Heaven…
Cookies n' Creme Pancakes
Ingredients
Filling:
- 7 ounces Hershey Cookies 'n' Creme chocolate bars chopped
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup heavy cream
Ganache:
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped or chips
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
Pancakes:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- Vegetable oil for cooking
- 15 Oreos broken into pieces
Instructions
Make the Cream Filling:
- In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate bars in the microwave until smooth and melted. Pour the melted chocolate into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the cream cheese and beat on high until smooth and combined.
- Switch out the paddle attachment for the whisk attachment. With the mixer on low speed, slowly stream in the heavy cream. Once all the cream has been added, turn the mixer up to high and continue beating until fluffy. Refrigerate filling until ready to serve.
Make the Ganache:
- Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour heavy cream into a glass measuring cup and heat in the microwave until it begins to boil. Immediately pour hot cream over chocolate, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and stir until smooth.
Make the Pancakes:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk the egg, milk, yogurt/sour cream, and vanilla. Stir in the melted butter. Fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined, avoiding over-mixing.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat with some vegetable oil. Once hot, pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the skillet. Immediately place Oreo pieces evenly over the batter. Cook pancake until little bubbles begin to form on the surface. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining pancakes.
- Serve pancakes warm, with cream filling and ganache.