Oh, friends.  You rightly clamored for the chocolate pancake recipe to accompany that Summer Berry Sauce, but I have a confession: not only did I not make those pancakes, but I was probably still asleep when my mom made them.  (Thanks, Mom!)

But today was the Real Birthday.  I think was a good day on the four-year-old-birthday scale, as evidenced by the fact that the house is covered in glitter.  And that the day started, as requested, with chocolate waffles (and ended with chocolate cake).

I have had my eye on the “waffle brownies” from Tea and Cookies for a while, but in the end I decided that they seemed too decadent.  For breakfast.  For a four-year-old.  Instead I went with the first recipe that came up in my Google search, an Alton Brown recipe that seemed a little more like your standard buttermilk waffles but with some cocoa powder and chocolate chips mixed in.  Ok, a lot of cocoa powder and chocolate chips, and the chocolate chips melted and the waffle edges were crisp and it was a pretty great combination.  And then we served them with whipped cream and strawberries.

Obviously my healthier-waffles logic was not crystal clear here, but the resulting dessert-for-breakfast was just delicious.  I think you’ll forgive me about the pancakes.Chocolate Waffles:  Do you have a scale?  Use it here, by all means.  I love my kitchen scale.  In a medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 c. flour (7 oz.), 3 Tb. sugar (1.75 oz), 1/2 c. sifted cocoa powder (1.5 oz), 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, and 1 tsp. salt.

In a separate bowl, melt 4 Tb. (1/2 stick) butter in a double boiler or microwave, let it cool slightly, then whisk in 3 eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla, then 2 c. buttermilk.

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients, add 3/4 c. (4 oz.) chocolate chips and mix to combine, then let rest 5 mins. before waffle-ifying.