Pumpkin Pancakes
Who else fantasizes about light, fluffy pancakes covered in soft butter and sweet maple syrup?? I do just about every day. If somebody would come make me pancakes every morning I would be a happy gal. If you make pancakes often enough you’ve learned that the trick to fuffy pancakes is using buttermilk or a vinegar/milk mixture. The reaction that happens in the batter makes them airy and light. You may never make pancakes any other way.
I found this ingredient combination on Kitchen Treaty (http://www.kitchentreaty.com/) and it is just fantastic. I tweaked it a bit, but all in all it’s great. The pumpkin makes them soft without being too overly pumpkin-y. I’m a fan of just using canned pumpkin, but if you are ambitious you can make your own. The recipe makes a lot of pancakes so you may want to cut it in half or just make the full batch and save the leftovers. Drench them in warm maple syrup and dive in!
Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe
Makes 15-18 pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Butter or maple syrup for serving
Directions
- In a large bowl combine 2 cups buttermilk, 1 cup pumpkin, 2 eggs, 3 Tbsp melted (and cooled) butter and 2 tsp vanilla. Whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl combine 2 and 1/2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cloves and 1/2 tsp salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Use a large spoon to combine the mix gently. Stir by scraping the mix from the edge of the bowl and folding into the center. Do not over stir the mix – you want it to be just combined.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Add cooking spray or a small dollop of butter to the pan. Scoop about 1/3 cup of the batter into the pan, allowing space between each pancake.
- When the pancakes start to form small bubbles and change color on the edge, about 1-2 minutes, flip and cook on the other side. They should be golden. Cook the remaining batter in batches.
- Serve the pancakes with maple syrup and/or butter.
If you have pumpkin pie spice you can substitute 2 tsp of that in place of the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. If you don’t have buttermilk you can make your own using whole or skim milk and vinegar. Mix 2 cups of milk with 2 Tbsp of white vinegar and let it set for 10 minutes. The vinegar will “sour” the milk so it acts the same as buttermilk when you cook it. Don’t worry, you will not taste the vinegar in the pancakes.
This recipe makes a lot of pancakes. Store the extra cooked pancakes in the refrigerator or freezer, and they reheat really well. I’ve always reheated mine in the microwave until I recently saw my mom putting hers in the toaster. She was raving about it because then they don’t get mushy. So I decided to give it a try. It requires a little extra baby sitting so your pancake doesn’t fall into the cracks of the toaster and burn to a crisp, but it does work quite well.
Use the Extra Ingredients
Save the extra pumpkin in the refrigerator or freezer to use in cookies, stir into oatmeal or make a filling for stuffed pasta. If you are a dog parent make homemade dog treats.
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