Celebrating Fall: Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Don’t you just want to dive into that?  Without even hearing about it.  The fluffy white cream on the top.  The drizzle of maple syrup dripping down.  That little piece in the front, flipped up and primed for a quick nibble.  The fork at the ready.  Mmmm….  It just says bite me.

When it comes to Fall, you can’t think of the season without thinking about pumpkins. Whether it’s carving them, picking them, or baking with them, pumpkins just scream Fall.  Right up there with apples, changing leaves, a chill in the air and a call for soup.

When it comes to breakfast for dinner, I know the kids are ready and willing.  We’ve been doing it every other week or so, and it’s been a hit since the start.  With extra time at a deficit in the morning, having breakfast for dinner gives us an opportunity to have the more full, elaborate breakfast meal that we normally miss in the early morning weekday rush of getting out the door.   And pancakes?  No arm twisting needed with Nick and Maddie.

Once I spied this recipe, I knew it would be perfect for dinner tonight. I nixed the cloves, nutmeg and ginger portions of the recipe; those spices tend to be a little stronger than I’d like for kid-friendly food, and truth be told, it wasn’t missed at all.  Of course, I might not be able to call these Pumpkin Spice Pancakes then, but I won’t tell if you won’t.  Nick was happy to find out we were having pancakes for dinner, but with him being very partial to Banana Pancakes, I held my breath as he took the first bite.  I needn’t have worried.  “These are good,” he said as he went back for bite after bite after bite.  And Madeline?  Well, she’s very partial to things that have a sauce to dip in, so I cut up her pancakes and put a small dollop of whipped cream on her plate and she went to town dipping the pancakes in the whipped cream.  Can you blame her?

With only a scant amount of sugar in the recipe, and the addition of pumpkin and whole wheat flour, this is a dish you can eat without guilt.  Well, assuming your pile of whipped cream or maple syrup doesn’t outweigh the pancake.  A plate with crisp bacon and a big stack of these babies and dinner was done faster than you can say “breakfast.” Dig in!

Three years ago today … wish we were on this countdown now!  (Neighbor Wife – can you believe it?!)  Amazing what can happen in three short years.

Four years ago today … we’ve come a long way … between the babies and the picture-taking!

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
Recipe from Joy the Baker, who adapted it from Martha Stewart

makes 14-18 small pancakes

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg (I skipped)
pinch of ground ginger (I skipped)
pinch of ground cloves (I skipped)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter

Whisk together flours, salt, spices, sugar and baking powder in a medium sized bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg, pumpkin and vegetable oil or melted butter.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.  Don’t worry if you have a few lumps.  You don’t want to over beat the batter, it’ll produce tough pancakes.

Let the batter sit for 10 minutes while you heat the skillet.  Over low-medium heat melt a tablespoon of butter or vegetable oil .  Once skillet is hot, spoon a heaping 2 tablespoons of batter (I used roughly a 1/4 cup measure for each one for bigger pancakes) per pancake into the skillet.  When pancake starts to bubble slightly, carefully flip over.

Once browned and cooked through place pancakes on a oven proof plate and place in the oven set at 200 degrees F to keep warm while the rest of the pancakes are cooked.

Serve with whipped cream and cinnamon sugar… or maple syrup.  Delicious!