Darcie Bakes //

Baking from scratch… because good things take time.

Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes.

Apparently yesterday was National Pancake Day.

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[Not having natural daylight really sucks. I don’t think my lack of camera skillz truly did these pancakes justice…]

For a self-proclaimed foodie, I’m quite terrible at remembering food-related holidays. To be fair, though, there is actually a food-related holiday in the United States pretty every single day of the year. Coincidence? I think not. #MERICA

That being said, I think that National Pancake Day is pretty darn important.

So I busted out my Pancakes cookbook, and decided that spiced pumpkin pancakes had to be made to celebrate this fine day.

I know it’s in the middle of winter here in St. Louis, but I’m a rebel and I enjoy making pumpkin things year round. Pumpkin is just delicious, ya know?

cutintostacks

I was seriously in awe at how good these pancakes turned out. I mean, they’re really good. They’ve got the perfect balance of pumpkin flavor plus the typical “fall” spices [cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves]. Sometimes I think that pumpkin baked goods don’t taste quite “pumpkiny” enough, but these pancakes hit the spot. The pancakes are also incredibly light and fluffy. Paired with real maple syrup, they were a delicious Tuesday evening post-being-stuck-in-the-office-all-damn-day treat. I was pleased, needless to say.

[Special thanks to my half-Canadian maple syrup snob of a dude for gifting this tasty, Grade A syrup to me. I like you. And real maple syrup.]

Before I share the recipe with you, I wanted to share a few notes on the Pancakes cookbook from which this pumpkin pancake recipe comes. This cookbook is all about pancakes, obviously. I purchased it from Amazon a while back, and I have made the vegan pancakes from the cookbook many times. I’m not vegan; I’m just lazy, but they’re still good pancakes, even for my especially lazy moments. I also love to add cinnamon and even cardamom to the vegan pancake recipe from time to time. The book’s author – Adrianna – is basically a pancake genius. Making these pumpkin pancakes just proves that; they were damn good pumpkin pancakes, if I do say so myself.

Anyway, since yesterday was National Pancake Day, it finally occurred to me that it had been far too long since I had used this cookbook. You see, I have this sad habit of purchasing tons of cookbooks, and then leaving them all on my shelf to collect dust. In a world where it’s all too easy to just do a quick Google search or peruse Pinterest for a recipe, my physical cookbooks often get forgotten.

pancakes

All that rambling aside: I’m glad I decided to open up the good, old-fashioned cookbook, and make myself some from-scratch pancakes. It was worth it; it was delicious, and best of all, it reminded me to slow down, and enjoy some freakin’ pumpkin in the middle of winter in Saint Louis! Winning.

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[I think this photo is by far my favorite.]
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[To quote Bruce the shark from Finding Nemo, “JUST A BOITE!”]

Yes, I have a power symbol tattoo. It was my gateway drug to the tattoo world. If you think that’s crazy, you should see my baking half sleeve! 😉

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Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes.
Yield: About eight pancakes. I only got seven, but that’s because I like my pancakes big and fluffy [no, that’s not a euphemism]. 

Ingredients:
– 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
– 1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour [Note: the original recipe calls for whole-wheat flour, but I {surprisingly} could only find my pastry flour. The end result meant that my pancakes were super duper light and fluffy, but you can use regular whole-wheat flour. Or, you can simply use only all-purpose flour [1 cup total], but I like the nuttiness that the whole-wheat flour adds to the pancakes; it really mixes well with pumpkin.]
– 2 TBS. light brown sugar
– 1 tsp. baking powder
– 1 tsp. baking soda
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
– 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
– 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
– 1/8 tsp. ground ginger
– 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
– 1 large egg
– 1/4 cup unsweetened, canned pumpkin puree [NOT pumpkin pie mix!]
– 1/2 TBS. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
– 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Instructions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients: flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
2. Measure the buttermilk in a glass measuring cup. Add the egg, pumpkin puree, cooled butter, and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously to ensure that all of the wet ingredients are combined.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir until the batter is just combined. Allow it to rest for a few minutes while you prepare the stovetop for cooking. Note: Do not over beat the batter. Pancake batter is supposed to be lumpy.
4. Preheat a pan on the stove to medium heat, and add butter or oil to the pan to cook the pancakes. Scoop about 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot, greased skillet, and cook pancake for about 2-3 minutes, or until you notice the top starts to bubble up. Flip the pancake over, and allow it to continue cooking for about 1-2 more minutes.
5. Continue this process until all pancakes are cooked through. Place cooked pancakes on a cookie sheet in a warm oven [at about 200 degrees F] to keep them warm while you’re making the rest. Serve immediately.

+ Recipe barely adapted from Pancakes: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack, by Adrianna Adarme of A Cozy Kitchen.

datstack
[Look at that glorious stack of pancakes. And my amazing cat mug in the background. Yes.]

 

 

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