I always used to make “pumpkin pancakes” by making my regular pancake recipe and adding pureed pumpkin. And I was always surprised and disappointed when they turned out gloppy and gooey. When I realized how much chemistry was involved in baking, I knew I was going about it wrong. Someday, I'll learn how to develop my own baking recipes. For now, I'll just borrow them from friends.
My friend Jenny shared her recipe for pumpkin pancakes a few months ago, and I finally got around to trying them. They're delicious! The whole family loved them. I realized too late that they would be fantastic with cinnamon whipped cream on top. You can bet we'll have that with the leftovers tomorrow morning.
Pumpkin Pancakes
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup brown sugar
2 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ginger, ½ tsp allspice, ½ tsp nutmeg)
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, and spices. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, milk, oil, vinegar, vanilla, and pumpkin. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
Cook pancakes as usual. I used ⅓ cup of batter per pancake. Cook over medium-low heat and don’t leave them unattended while cooking—the sugar makes them brown quickly. Turn pancakes when bubbles on surface pop and the edges start to dry.
Serve with maple syrup or cinnamon whipped cream.
