Pumpkin Pancakes

When I was a kid, my mom used to make this amazing pumpkin cake. It was moist, pumpkiny and nicely accented with fall spices. I’ve been craving pancakes lately, hence the recent savory zucchini pancakes, followed by the zucchini bread pancakes. Are we seeing a pattern here? Uh oh. I’ve also been reminiscing about that pumpkin cake and thought I should definitely try out a pancake version. [Of course, the obvious question is why not veganize the pumpkin cake? I’ll definitely get to that.] But back to pancakes for now. Here you are. Pumpkin pancakes. Just in time for Halloween.  Happy Halloween!

The Recipe

Makes about 8 4-inch pancakes

1 CUP all-purpose flour (or a mix of whole wheat and white flour or GF flours)

2 TSP baking powder

1 TBLS brown sugar

3/4 TSP cinnamon

3/4 TSP ground ginger

1/4 TSP ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

1 CUP cooked, pureed pumpkin (canned is fine)

1 CUP nondairy milk

1 TSP vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients and stir gently until just combined (some small lumps are fine). If the mixture is too dry, you can always add an extra splash of nondairy milk. Heat a frying pan or griddle to a low-medium heat. If you’re using a nonstick pan, you can probably get away with not using oil to cook the pancakes. For a regular pan, add a splash of oil (coconut oil is nice, or vegetable). When the pan is heated, use a measuring cup to scoop the batter onto the pan. You can make any size pancakes you want. The trick to cooking pancakes is getting the heat right. Too high a heat and the pancakes cook too fast on the outside, leaving the inside gooey. Too low a heat and the pancakes don’t get a nice crisp and can still be raw in the middle. On a low-medium heat, cook the pancakes on the first side until they bubble and you see little holes appear. Flip the pancakes carefully and cook on the other side until nicely golden brown. Serve with maple syrup, crystallized ginger, or any other toppings you like. Enjoy!

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