Pumpkin Pancakes (Happy Halloween!)

 

Have a happy Halloween

Since we always have pancakes on Sunday mornings, I knew I had to make something a little different since it was Halloween. My little girl has been talking about today for weeks now and I knew these would be right up her alley. The batter is on the thin side so that you can make the faces. After making the batter a portion is mixed with cocoa powder to draw the faces. I put mine in a plastic squeeze bottle but you can use a pastry bag or a Ziploc bag with the tip of a corner cut off.

PUMPKIN PANCAKES

1 C all-purpose flour
1 1/4 C whole wheat flour
2 Tbls ground flax-seed
3 Tbls dark brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 3/4 C milk
2 eggs
1/2 C pumpkin puree (do NOT use pumpkin pie filling)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp cocoa powder

Sift together the dry ingredients (except the cocoa powder) in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Pour over the dry ingredients and blend together. Take out 1/2 C of the batter and mix with the 3 tsp cocoa powder. Place the chocolate batter in squeeze bottle or disposable pastry bag.
Heat your pan over medium heat. Lightly grease it with either butter or PAM. With the pan off the heat, squeeze a jack-o-lantern face into the middle of the pan. Then take a ladle full of the pumpkin batter and gently pour it over the face. Place back on the heat and let that side cook until bubbles form on the surface. Flip the pancake over and cook 1 more minute on the other side. You can keep them warm on a low oven (200F) until all of them are made, or do like us and eat them as they are made.

PUMPKIN MAPLE SAUCE

1 C pure maple syrup
1 C pumpkin puree
2 tsp cinnamon

Whisk everything together and heat  in a saucepan over medium low heat until thoroughly heated.

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Toasted Coconut Pancakes

Sunday means one thing in out house: pancakes. Every week my little one wakes up asking “Can I help mix the ingredients?” I must admit that at this point I don’t even measure anything when I make our usual pancakes, just add some flour, baking powder, eggs, milk… you get the idea. Every once in a while though, I like to shake things up and “go fancy”. This is a perfect recipe for this. There are a few simple rules for making great pancakes: only flip once, don’t flip too early, and separate your eggs, beating the whites before adding them to the batter. I completely admit that I hardly ever follow this last rule (I am usually quite lazy Sunday mornings), BUT, it does produce light ethereal pancakes. I did say I was making fancy pancakes so I went the extra step and whipped my whites.
So when you want something a little special, try this one out.

TOASTED COCONUT PANCAKES

use unsweetened coconut milk

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs, separated
1 1/2 C coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp dark rum (optional ,but tasty)
1/2 C unsweetened coconut, toasted until light golden brown

Place all of the ingredients except the eggs whites into a bowl and mix to combine. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form and then fold into the batter. Lightly grease a frying pan with butter over medium low heat. Cook about 1/4 cup of batter at a time, about 3 minutes per side. You want to see air bubbles al over the top of the pancake before flipping it. Keep them warm  in a 200 F oven while you finish  making the rest.

I went one step further with this and  made a tropical sauce for these babies but I am sure they would taste great with maple syrup as well.

don't flip until you see the air bubbles on top

TROPICAL SAUCE

1 Very ripe banana (I had one in the freezer)
1/4 C passionfruit concentrate (or you could use orange juice concentrate)
1/2 C coconut milk
1/2 C heavy cream (or half and half)
1/4 C toasted coconut
1/4 C brown sugar
1 Tbsp dark rum (optional, but again, tasty)

Puree the banana and mix it with the other ingredients. Heat over a low heat for about 15 minutes before serving.

they should be nice and golden after the flip

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