Tasty Bites: Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Syrup

By Beth

I don’t know about you, but when fall comes, I cannot get enough of pumpkin! Last year, I posted about how to roast a pumpkin and create pumpkin puree. I shared a recipe for Pumpkin, Apple and Bacon Soup and these deliciously moist Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins. Today, I am going to share with you one of my most favorite pumpkin recipes over the last several years - Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Syrup.

These warm, autumn-spiced pancakes are so fluffy and moist. They are made with a combination of all-purpose flour and white, whole- wheat flour. These do not taste remotely “wheaty,” but rest assured, there is a little hit of extra fiber from the whole wheat flour plus all of the wonderful added nutrition from the pumpkin puree.  You can find white, whole-wheat flour, sometimes called whole-wheat pastry flour, at most grocery stores. 

This flour is made from soft, white wheat, which contains the same nutritional benefits as regular whole-wheat flour, but can be used in most recipes that call for all-purpose flour. It yields more delicate texture and more mild flavor than traditional whole wheat flour, which is milled from hard, red wheat.  I often add some white whole-wheat flour into my pizza dough, pancakes, muffins and quick breads, and, of course, it makes a very mild and soft loaf of whole-wheat bread. 

First, we are going to combine all of the liquid ingredients in a large bowl - pumpkin puree, milk, egg, vegetable oil and vinegar. Vinegar, you ask? Vinegar or lemon juice combines with the milk and basically “sours” the milk and turns it into buttermilk. This ingredient helps yield a lighter, fluffier pancake and you will not taste it at all in the finished product…just a necessary ingredient in the chemistry of fluffy pancakes.

Next, mix together all of the dry ingredients – all-purpose flour, white wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. I usually do not have allspice on hand when I decide to make these, so I often substitute ½ teaspoon cinnamon (in addition to the cinnamon listed in the recipe), ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, a pinch of ground cloves and a pinch of mace for the 1 teaspoon of allspice. Feel free to wing it a little with the spice combination. Stir together the dry ingredients. I usually use clean hands to gently massage the ingredients and make sure all of the brown sugar is blended in to the flour mixture.

Pour the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened and incorporated.

Let the mixture sit a few minutes while you warm up a skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Since there is no butter in this recipe, I like to use butter on the skillet to add a little bit of buttery flavor, but feel free to use oil or cooking spray. I use a ¼ cup to measure my pancake batter, filling it just a little shy of full for each pancake.  Cook until you start to see bubbles and the pancakes are slightly dry on the edges, then flip and continue cooking until lightly browned.  For a little more detailed instruction on actually cooking the pancakes, see my Healthy Oat Pancake Mix post.

If you want to add a little extra texture or a festive flair, feel free to add a sprinkling of granola, toasted nuts, butterscotch chips or even candy corn over each pancake after you pour the batter.  This step is totally not necessary because they are so delicious on their own, but it is fun to add a little surprise sometimes.

If you have time, whip up some cinnamon syrup, which is made from all-natural and very inexpensive ingredients, no high-fructose corn syrup. If you do not have time, warm up 1 cup of your favorite pancake syrup or maple syrup and add in 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Cinnamon syrup is the perfect complement to these delicious spiced pumpkin pancakes.

When my younger sister had an October baby three years ago, I took her a batch of pumpkin pancakes and a little jar of cinnamon syrup to freeze and warm up for a quick breakfast. These refrigerate and reheat very well! If you want to save them for longer than overnight, just store them in a freezer bag and pull out the number you need for breakfast. I usually reheat them in the microwave at 30-second intervals until they are warmed through.

Mmmmm. These really are delicious and make a perfect autumn breakfast or breakfast-for-dinner!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pancakes
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white, whole-wheat flour

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon Syrup
From Allrecipes.com

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup water

Stir together the white sugar, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Stir in vanilla extract and water. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often. Continue to boil and stir until mixture thickens to syrup consistency. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes before serving. Refrigerate leftover syrup and reheat to serve.

Beth is a stay-at-home mom of three wonderfully active children ages seven, four and one. She is married to Jason V (who also writes for us here at MAD21) and spends her days teaching, changing diapers, sweeping up Cheerios, stepping over Legos, keeping peace among the kids, and enjoying the creative outlet of cooking.