Chocolate Cherry Pancake Truffles

on December 9, 2010

I think I peaked recipe-wise when I created Pancake Truffles. Luckily, the variations are endless.

I couldnâ€™t sleep last night so I was brainstorming what to cook for breakfast (does anyone else do this or is it just me?). I thought of the wonderful bag of cherries that Iâ€™d just bought from the store and realized Chocolate Cherry Pancake Truffles would probably be mind-blowing.

I was right!

The thing I really liked about these truffles is the use of cocoa powder and not actual chocolate. This imparts a chocolate flavor without creating sugar overload.

Ingredients (for 3 truffles or 1 serving):

1/2 cup raw oatmeal
1/3 cup whole wheat pancake mix
1 egg white
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 cup almond milk
3 cherries, halved and pitted
1/4 cup whole pecans, crushed
Maple syrup to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine first five ingredients in small bowl.
On a plate, spread out crushed pecan.
Grease cookie sheet.
Separate mix into three piles.
Half and pit the cherries.

Take two of the cherry halves and hold t ogether with one hand. With the other, grab a 1/3 of the pancake mix and wrap around the cherry. It will be kind of sticky and wet, but thatâ€™s fine.
Form ball around the cherry segment, and then roll in the crushed pecans.
Place on greased cookie sheet.
Repeat with other banana segments.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
Remove, plate, and drizzle in maple syrup.
Enjoy!

Happy belly!

In other news, I found a (dead) mouse on the floor of our bedroom this morning. I die. Is this a normal thing for North Carolina? What am I suppose to do? I donâ€™t want to trap and kill mice!

{ 89 comments }

Jackie (ananda prana) December 9, 2010, 9:23 am
Wow 🙂 This is torturing me while I’m at work!

I’ve never had a mouse in my house while living in CLT… more like those little lizard/gecko things!
Stacy @ Every Little Thing December 9, 2010, 9:24 am
We get THE best cherries up in Michigan! Cooking with them is amazing.

Unfortunately, I don’t have time to cook crazy breakfasts during the week, but I definitely dream about lunch and dinner!

And the only time we had a mouse was in a very old house in Virginia. Maybe it’s that general area of the country? Who knows!
Holly @ couchpotatoathlete December 9, 2010, 9:25 am
Did one of your dogs get the mouse?

You can get live traps that catch the mice and then release them outside. Go to Home Depot or some place like that – there are plenty of traps that don’t hurt the mice.
- Caitlin December 9, 2010, 9:40 am
  Nope! I think it just died.
- Samantha Angela @ Bikini Birthday December 9, 2010, 9:44 am
  Definitely stay away from glue traps, if anything. They’re torturous for animals.
  
  The animal is stuck in the trap until it starves or panics to death. It’s awful.
Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat December 9, 2010, 9:26 am
Ewww mice totally gross me out. Your brekkie on the other hand looks delicious. Good call with the cocoa powder!
Bronwyn Coyne December 9, 2010, 9:27 am
Oh those look good. I’ll have to give them a try in the next couple of days. hmm pancake truffles.

I don’t know about North Carolina, but I guess I always thought mice once in a while is normal. Poor guy. We never had them in our house, but we had a compost out back they loved to live in… and our dogs would get one once in a while.
Shannon @ Freshman Yr of Life December 9, 2010, 9:27 am
Dear lord that looks delicious. Like Stacey at comment #2 I don’t have the time during the week 🙁 but that’s why there’s weekends!
Sarah @ See Sarah Graduate December 9, 2010, 9:35 am
Those look amazing. Now that I’m *almost* on Winter break, I will definitely be trying those out!
Marina December 9, 2010, 9:38 am
Truffles look so amazing. I think I’ll make this for weekend breakfast, for me and my bf 🙂
Btw, I do that all the time, brainstorm about breakfast before I fall asleep
Michele @ Healthy Cultivations December 9, 2010, 9:39 am
Your pancake truffles — of any variety — are always so cute, enticing, and surprisingly simple to make.
Kjirsten- Balanced Healthy Life December 9, 2010, 9:40 am
I totally think of food I can make for breakfast/lunch/dinner when I can’t sleep at night1 I think it it totally normal! You might need to set out a trap incase their are more mice! Good luck!
bakingnbooks December 9, 2010, 9:40 am
Creative! What kind of cocoa powder do you use?
- Caitlin December 9, 2010, 9:40 am
  Hershey’s!
Katy @ A Healthy Shot December 9, 2010, 9:40 am
Ick! I don’t have any mouse advice, but your truffles look awesome 🙂
Kim December 9, 2010, 9:44 am
Set up a live trap just to be sure it was the only mouse, you don’t want mice gnawing on your wiring. The brand called Tin Cat that you can find at various big hardware stores works well. Just bait it with peanut butter along the entry path the mice are supposed to take and then set the trap up against a wall (mice like to run along walls and baseboards as opposed to running across an open area). If you do get one in the trap leave the mouse in there for about 15 minutes or so (so it can pee in there – that smell will actually attract any other mice). Then release the mouse at least a half mile from your house so it won’t just come back in.
- Natasha December 9, 2010, 11:04 am
  That is key! We set the safe traps in our garage last winter and my hubby took them faaaaar from our house so they don’t just come right back. You may also want to see if you can see anywhere in the exterior of you place that they can come in at. They only need a small crevas !
Johanna B December 9, 2010, 9:45 am
If you didn’t have two dogs already I would suggest you get a cat. Mine does all the mouse removal that I need (I live in an old house). But the live catch traps are a good solution. You set them up and when someone is caught you just carry the trap outside and let it run free. Of course, you run the risk of it getting back inside.
Syl December 9, 2010, 9:46 am
I am PETRIFIED of mice!
We had them in our garage. I went to Home Depot and took a look at options. In the end we got plug ins. They are little things you stick into the outlet and they make a sound that mice don’t like, so they stay away. We have been mouse free since *knock on wood*. I was hesitant at first, thinking how could this possibly work? but it does!
Not sure how “humane” they are but it sure beats setting up traps and finding dead ones.
Oh and I did speak to someone at the home depot, they are perfectly safe with dogs, I have two and the sound doesn’t effect them at all.
Good luck!
- Natasha December 9, 2010, 11:05 am
  Syl, I’m jelous your plug in worked. Our’s did nothing at all….
Shannon December 9, 2010, 9:46 am
I have a live trap, but so far no mice when I can sometimes hear them scurrying in the walls or wherever they magically are. Maybe the live traps don’t work as well as the ones that kill them? Or maybe I have smart mice…
Liz @ Blog is the New Black December 9, 2010, 9:51 am
Pancake truffles!!!???
mindy @ just a one girl revolution. December 9, 2010, 9:51 am
I had a big mouse problem in my apartment last fall. If you do the live trap route, be sure to let them out far away from your house, otherwise they’ll just come right back in. I tried the live traps once and had no luck. As much as I hate killing living creatures, the old school snap traps really are the most effective in my experience.
Gracie (complicated day) December 9, 2010, 9:53 am
He’s dead already, I wouldn’t fret. He probably froze, which means he doesn’t have any friends to cuddle up with. That’s a good thing!
Sarena (The Non Dairy Queen) December 9, 2010, 9:53 am
Yikes! We had a mouse run upstairs and we had to catch it cause the cats were chasing it this summer. I am guessing it came in through the garage (cat door). It freaked me out for a while. Tony caught it and set it free in the woods out back. I love creatures but they don’t belong in my house! The truffles look and sound so good!
Amy December 9, 2010, 10:00 am
It probably came in from the cold and was already on the verge of dying.

If you find yourself with a mouse problem and you want to get rid of them, they are fairly easy to control. But you just have to suck it up and buy snap traps. No fancy contraptions, no electric boxes or easy disposal traps, just the old-fashioned snap traps that have a little copper bait piece. Every other kind of trap is inferior. Trust me, I know!!!
Rachel December 9, 2010, 10:01 am
This is such a creative and versatile recipe! I totally lie awake at night brainstorming recipes. I feel kind of crazy but I come up with good idea then!
sarah k. @ the pajama chef December 9, 2010, 10:01 am
oh yuck! we had mice at my house in Ohio. my husband (then-boyfriend) became the designated mouse disposer. we were a house of 4 girls so none of us wanted to take care of the traps. we thought about going the humane route but in the end decided the snap traps are most effective. at least the mouse died in the open, not behind a piece of furniture or something… the smell would have been horrible!
Jo December 9, 2010, 10:03 am
You should get the HaveaHart Traps. They trap the mice alive and then you can let them out. Most hardware stores will have some. Or you can order them online here: http://www.havahart.com/. Or get a cat, our cat is great at catching mice and bringing them to us alive haha.

I actually think mice are so cute!
Kathy Howe December 9, 2010, 10:03 am
Chocolate Cherry Pancake Truffles sound delicious. What a creative recipe!
Dee December 9, 2010, 10:05 am
*shudders* I dislike mice. Especially when I can hear them scurrying around! When my then boyfriend and I lived with his mom, a mouse got into our stash of food! I am scarred for life I think! 🙁

but hey! those choco cherry pancake truffles look delish! 😉
Helen December 9, 2010, 10:07 am
That is NOT normal!! How did you remove that sucker?! I would have FLIPPED out
- Caitlin December 10, 2010, 9:48 am
  I made the Husband carry it out.
Tracey @ I'm Not Superhuman December 9, 2010, 10:10 am
Ahhh!! I hate mice. When I lived in Philly my apartment was infested. Ick, ick, ick. They’re so dirty. It’s probably because it’s cold out so they go into warm places for the winter. Definitely get traps. I personally didn’t want to keep the mice alive in a trap just to let them out so they’d come right back. But do whatever to make sure they’re not getting into all your stuff. I won’t go into any more details…
Amber K December 9, 2010, 10:29 am
Ew, ew, ew, ew! When I was in high school we had mice in our house. I couldn’t sleep for weeks. Any time the blanket brushed my foot I’d wake up and think they were crawling on me.

But, the pancake truffles look amazing!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table December 9, 2010, 10:33 am
We have them in Georgia. You can call a rodent guy – they come out and sprinkle some stuff to keep them away. It’s totally worth the $$ – unless you like mouse truffles. 😉
Kate (What Kate is Cooking) December 9, 2010, 10:34 am
I love cherries! I need to go to Costco and get some, they are so cheap there 🙂
Kelly December 9, 2010, 10:39 am
Ugh, at least it wasn’t alive and crawling on you. Mice in the apartment is brutal, but if there is one there is probably more.
Loc (Blogger Boy Run) December 9, 2010, 10:43 am
Nom nom nom cherries. They’re my favorite, too bad they cost $8 a bag
Alina @ Duty Free Foodie December 9, 2010, 10:43 am
Get a cat!
What? It worked for Pioneer Woman 🙂
Camille December 9, 2010, 10:48 am
Oh my gosh, that looks amazing!
These breakfast truffles are driving me crazy 🙂
Ashley December 9, 2010, 10:49 am
omg – I would freak out about the dead mouse! Gross!
On the other hand, that breakfast looks amazing!
How long do they take to prepare (aside from the bake time)?
grocery goddess jen December 9, 2010, 10:52 am
I live in Western NC, and we definitely have mice, but the only reason I know that is because my cats sometimes kill them and leave them half-eaten for me. I’m not sure about regular old dead mice just on the floor, though. We’ve also had a bat in our house! (Which the cats also took care of…)
Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg December 9, 2010, 10:59 am
Aww, we had a mouse living in our house (ha) last winter, and one morning we found him dead– I think one of the neighborhood cats got him 🙁 Even though I didn’t want mice, I hated that that happened.

Lovely breakfast!
Katy (The Singing Runner) December 9, 2010, 11:04 am
Ahhhh that looks amazing! I’ll have to try it soon once I can eat solid food again (stupid teeth extraction!)

Yuck! I’ve seen my fair share of dead mice (we had them all the time in my dorm hall when I was at school in SC!)
Emily December 9, 2010, 11:06 am
Oh my heavens. I grew up in Charlotte and I will say, we never had a dead mouse anywhere in our house. Maybe outside…but not inside. I would freak!
Kelly December 9, 2010, 11:10 am
I don’t think mice are “normal” for any indoor place, north, south, east or west. Palmetto bugs (aka cockroaches), maybe, but not mice. I’d talk to your landlord about sealing around the house and possibly having them pay for an exterminator to come lay some eco-friendly traps. Mice are NOT sanitary (neither are roaches), and as a renter, you should not have to put up with it. *Shudder*
Sara @ OurDogBuffy December 9, 2010, 11:13 am
Ew! Mice! If one ever enters my home I will scream and jump on something and completely flip out. Ew, ew, ew! How creepy to find one dead in your floor! Ah!
Kylie @ A Hungry Spoon December 9, 2010, 11:16 am
Incredible! I remember earlier this year when you created pancake truffles, yet I still haven’t tried them. I’m a pancake fanatic (it’s a Saturday morning breakfast tradition at our house), so this looks like a really fun twist on the traditional.
Sarah for Real December 9, 2010, 11:17 am
That’s really odd that the mouse just up and died on the floor and your dogs didn’t notice it…

We have mouse troubles at our house every few months because our crazy neighbor lady likes to dump cheap bird food around like it’s going out of style. Unfortunately the only critters that like cheap bird food are non-native, invasive species (house sparrows, bad squirrels, and the house mouses). I feel no shame in quickly taking out the ones that get into the house. I figure I’m helping the local native population retake it’s rightful place.

Plus, it’s my home and I don’t want my dog (or us) getting some mouse disease.
- Sarah for Real December 9, 2010, 11:20 am
  Well, that comment wasn’t very helpful for you though… Haha.
  
  Most important thing is to figure out how they are getting IN. They can fit through any hole the size of a dime.
Brittney December 9, 2010, 11:17 am
Wow, I need to make those! Love idea of chocolate cherry truffles! Keep the great breakfast ideas coming 🙂
Heather December 9, 2010, 11:20 am
Eeek, mice! Mice and other rodents freak me out like nothing else in the world. I’m sorry you have to deal with that, I’d lose my marbles for sure.
April @ Crazy Fabulous Life December 9, 2010, 11:25 am
I found a dead mouse in my living room earlier this year. Totally gross! 🙁
Lauren December 9, 2010, 11:34 am
*totally unrelated comment*
you got me hooked on listening to brendan james, based on a post a while back, and i wanted to tell you that his song “the lucky ones” was in trailer for the new owen wilson movie!
Brianna O. December 9, 2010, 11:59 am
Looks yummy! Minus the cherries…
Jessica @ The Process of Healing December 9, 2010, 11:59 am
Ohh my GOD that sounds amazing!
Carmen @ Goodbye Gorda December 9, 2010, 12:00 pm
I grew up here in Charlotte and never had mice. Maybe it crawled inside looking for warmth? We haven’t had 17 degree weather the first week of December in a long time.
Michelle (The Runner's Plate) December 9, 2010, 12:05 pm
Is that supposed to be 1/4 cup pecans?!? (And not 1.4 cup)
Kelly December 9, 2010, 12:07 pm
I wonder if your landlord put rat poisoning under your house. That would explain the dead mouse. I grew up in the country and winter time meant field mice would try to get in our house. They act really strange after they consume the poisoning…like they’re tripping out.
Natalia - a side of simple December 9, 2010, 12:13 pm
These truffles look beautiful. I bet they would look even better if they were on a dish in front of me for real right this minute 😉
Jaclyn December 9, 2010, 12:24 pm
I don’t know Caitlin – I think you may have outdone yourself with this one! I mean, I don’t know how you can go wrong – or what beats – chocolate and cherries?!!?! 🙂
Rachel December 9, 2010, 12:24 pm
Fair warning, my friend set out traps once and came back to find 8 mice and a rat on it. Be careful what you wish for!!
Chelsey (Cookteen) December 9, 2010, 12:27 pm
these loook amazing!!!!!!!
Alexa @ The Girl In Chucks December 9, 2010, 12:34 pm
OMG. Me no likee the dead mouse thing. I hope that isn’t normal and it doesn’t happen again! 🙁
Little Bookworm December 9, 2010, 12:35 pm
Love the sound of those Pancake Truffles!
chelsey @ clean eating chelsey December 9, 2010, 12:38 pm
I think I’m going to have to just suck it up and pay a lot of money for some great summertime fruit. I just HAVE to!!!
Jen December 9, 2010, 12:50 pm
Time to get a cat!
Anne Marie December 9, 2010, 12:58 pm
Sounds like you need a cat 🙂
Ashley December 9, 2010, 1:20 pm
We are having a MAJOR mouse problem right now. We’ve caught SEVEN in the past 24hrs. We’re using live catch traps and my husband keeps releasing them [more than 1 mile away in an open field]. We are extremely grossed out…also renting a house. Our landlord is our age, and doesn’t seem too concerned. Even when I told her they are chewing threw the WALL! Gaaaaaaaah
JavaChick December 9, 2010, 1:49 pm
My cats bring mice into the house during the warmer weather (we have a cat door that leads to an outdoor enclosure for them). I always feel bad when I find a dead mouse (or sometimes bird). The live ones we catch and release outside. As in, we see cat come in with mouse that is still moving; we lock cats in bathroom; I put on leather gardening gloves and catch mouse. I honestly prefer that to finding dead ones. I know. I’m crazy. But they’re actually cute little critters (not shrews or voles or those type of things, but mice are).

If you’re concerned, you could get a live trap, just in case.
- Amanda December 9, 2010, 1:53 pm
  Mice ARE cute! I don’t like the traps, it seems so cruel.
  - JavaChick December 10, 2010, 12:08 pm
    I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks so!
Amanda December 9, 2010, 1:51 pm
Ah, mice. I have a rogue mouse somewhere, I found a nest. Ewww. The best part is this: my cat isn’t a mouser! I think she’s friends with the mouse! It scared the crap out of me a few months ago and she just sat there as it scurried away. They probably clean each other while I’m away…..
Lindsay December 9, 2010, 2:24 pm
Get a cat! I lived on a farm most of my life and no mice ever even tried to come near our house…except when the cat brought them in as a present(alive! lol).
Ashley December 9, 2010, 2:55 pm
Could Maggie or James brought the mouse inside? If there is one there is usually a couple. =(
Lauren December 9, 2010, 3:29 pm
I just moved out of my apartment 3 weeks ago after paying tons of money to live with mice for a good FOUR months. My roommate and i caught about 12 of them and saw countless others. We had our super come MANY times and he patched up about 6-10 holes, private exterminators came and set off “bombs” etc. We bought a fancy electronic trap (didnt catch a thing!) but in the end (before getting OUT of there) had to result to glue traps (snap traps were no good with a dog around)… not only were they not humane but sometimes they took forever to die (i’m talking longer than overnight…)which is both sad and disgusting… Phew, that was long! I truly hope that you guys just have that one and no more!!
Susan December 9, 2010, 4:31 pm
One night I was sitting in my living room. I saw something moving around near my TV. I looked – a little mouse. My cats saw it too, and chased it until it hid. It came out again a little later, cats & I chased, etc. This happened multiple times. Then the mouse came out, cats chased it – right up against my shoe. The mouse proceeds to run UP THE INSIDE OF MY PANT LEG!!!

I manage to stay semi-sane and fold over the bottom of my jeans to keep the mouse in. Holding this closed, I limp over to my front door, all the time screeching (to no one!) “THERE’S A MOUSE UP MY PANTS! THERE’S A MOUSE UP MY PANTS!”.

I get to the front door, open it up, and let go of the bottom of my pants. The mouse (which had been at knee level!) drops out,pauses…and runs into the night.
- Charise December 10, 2010, 9:35 am
  Oh my god, I am DYING over here. Both with laughter and the dread of having a MOUSE IN MY PANTS.
- Caitlin December 10, 2010, 9:45 am
  I cannot believe you had a mouse in your pants!
Ashley December 9, 2010, 5:11 pm
They are definitely an NC thing. I mean I’m sure it happens elsewhere, but every year in winter time we’ve gotten mice. All of my life, and I’ve lived in six different houses in three different locations. Get used to it. (this probably didn’t help, sorry)
See December 9, 2010, 6:20 pm
The pancake truffle looks yummy! But the dead mouse gross me out.
Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin December 9, 2010, 7:07 pm
I always brainstorm meal ideas when I’m trying to fall asleep too. 😀
Annie@stronghealthyfit December 9, 2010, 8:25 pm
Pancake truffles = genius.
Faith @ lovelyascharged December 9, 2010, 8:40 pm
Wow do those ever look gorgeous! I LOVE cherries but I hate crappy fake cherry flavored things like cough syrup and candy…I totally plot my next food adventure when I’m trying to fall asleep too, haha
Laura December 9, 2010, 9:18 pm
Wow! I’ve still not gotten around to trying your famous pancake truffles and DANG you are not making it easy to resist. I think these just made a spot on my breakfast rotation for this weekend
Wei-Wei December 10, 2010, 12:40 am
O_O mice! They used to run around in our ceiling a while ago but we did some investigating and they’re gone now. Ugh. I actually saw a small brown one running around…. -.-

OH! And… I tried adding cocoa powder to my oatmeal once. Too bitter 🙁 I guess I forgot sweetener… 😛
Charise December 10, 2010, 9:33 am
I think about dinner when I can’t sleep since I almost always eat the same breakfast.

Love the chocolate + cherry combo – not healthy at all, but I made chocolate-covered cherry jell-o shots for my xmas party last weekend and they were AWESOME!
Ffion December 11, 2010, 8:21 pm
I have no mouse advice, but I’m definitely craving cherries right now. I only just discovered that I like them this summer! I still don’t like cherry flavoured things though ick.

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