Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

No eggs or pumpkins were harmed in making of this recipe. Don’t get me wrong here, I love both pumpkins and eggs (maybe that’s why they were not harmed), but the point is that you don’t have to specially go out and buy pumpkin or eggs to make these pancakes. Though it rarely happens that we run out of eggs in our house, but imagine the horror when you promise the kids when they wake up in the morning that you will make them pancakes for breakfast and then quickly realize that you have no eggs. Mommy is doomed!

This recipe uses pumpkin spice and buttermilk or yogurt+milk to act as a leavening agent that makes the pancakes light and fluffy. Pumpkin spice is a combination of spices that I have listed in the ingredients below. Feel free to buy and use pumpkin spice blend that you get at grocery stores. It will work just fine too. This pumpkin spice pancake also comes in handy during our festival days, when we are sticking to a vegetarian diet. That leads us to the debatable topic of whether eggs are to be considered veg or non- veg. What do you think? I am sticking to the non-veg side….:P.

My usual, go-to pancake recipe is where I use eggs and then whisk the egg whites separate from yolks to attain that fluffy airy texture that we all love in our pancakes. The day I am able to click pictures of these pancakes before they disappear, I will share the recipe! This pumpkin spice pancake recipe, however, was brought to our home by Ms. Little A, who loved it when my cousin in California made it for her on one of her trips. i have swapped 1 cup of all purpose flour with whole wheat flour, which makes the pancakes healthier. I like them when made with just whole wheat flour too, but the texture is a tad bit different. Your call!

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

Whole wheat flour – 1 cup

All-purpose flour – 1 cup

Salt – ¼ teaspoon

Brown sugar – 1 tablespoon

Baking powder – 2 teaspoon

Baking soda – 1 teaspoon

*Cinnamon powder – ⅛ teaspoon

*Nutmeg – ⅛ teaspoon

*Allspice – ⅛ teaspoon

*Mace – ⅛ teaspoon

Wet ingredients:

**Buttermilk – 1 cup

**Plain yogurt – ½ cup

**Milk – ½ cup

Olive oil – 2 tablespoons

Unsalted butter – 2 tablespoon (melted) + more for making pancakes

Vanilla extract – ½ teaspoon

Method:

In a big glass measuring cup (or something similar), whisk olive oil, buttermilk, yogurt, milk and vanilla extract together to mix. Slowly whisk in melted butter.

In a big mixing bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together. Once mixed, add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix to combine, making sure to not over-mix. Let the pancake batter sit for 10 minutes before preparing into pancakes. This batter will be thicker than your usual pancake batter but do not worry, the pancakes will turn out just fine.

Heat a medium skillet (or if you have the electric pancake making gadget, you can use that too) over medium heat. Add about half a tablespoon of unsalted butter on the skillet. In my opinion, butter is the ideal fat to use while making pancakes and please do not skimp on butter. Butter is what gives the pancakes those crisp edges that make soft and fluffy pancakes all the more desirable. Use a ¼ cup measure to pour pancake batter to the skillet, lower the heat to medium low. Using a ¼ cup measure helps to make all the pancakes the same size. Cook the pancake till tiny bubbles appear on the surface, at which point flip the pancake, add butter around the edges and cook for another minute. This batter will make about 8 -10 pancakes (¼ cup measure size). Enjoy with maple syrup and fresh seasonal fruits!

Love – Vaishali

Notes

If not eating pancakes right away, keep them warm in 200 degree F oven in a foil lined cookie sheet till ready to serve.

Store leftovers wrapped in foil in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Reheat in the toaster oven before eating.

The pancakes can be frozen – stacked, separated by sheets of parchment, wrapped in foil, and stored in freezer bags.

* You can use ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice mix instead of these spices

** If using only buttermilk, use two cups

** If using only yogurt+milk and no buttermilk, use 1 cup each of yogurt and milk

Tools used:

Measuring cups and spoons

Whisk

Big glass measuring cup

Mixing bowl

Skillet

Spatula