Pumpkin Pancakes

5 from 1 vote

A delicious stack of pancakes made with pumpkin and warming spices. Drizzle in maple syrup for a perfect weekend breakfast!

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Servings: pancakes

Calories: 151kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar (or light)
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted, cooled
1 1/2 cups milk room temperature
2 large eggs room temperature
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

In a large bowl (preferably one with a pour spout) whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Set aside.
In another bowl, whisk to combine melted butter, milk, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin until smooth.
In the dry ingredients bowl, make a well in the center. Pour in the wet ingredients. With a wooden spoon or spatula stir to combine. Some lumps will remain. Do NOT overmix.
Heat a skillet with 1-2 teaspoons of oil over medium heat. Take a paper towel and wipe out the excess oil. Using a 1/4-cup, ladle out pancake batter. Cook 3-4 pancakes at once. Cook until bubbles rise and pop. Flip over and cook for another 2 minutes on the other side. Keep warm in preheated oven, or serve immediately with lots of butter and syrup.

Notes

Freezing: You can freeze leftover pumpkin pancakes for up to 3 months. You can reheat frozen pancakes in the microwave. You can also reheat in a 350oF on a baking sheet for 5-7 minutes until warmed through.
Make ahead: You cannot make the batter the night before because the baking powder in the recipe will begin to activate once moistened. However, you can prepare the dry pancake mix ingredients, and mix up the wet ingredients separately. Then combine the next morning and cook.
Whole wheat flour: If you want to use whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour instead of the regular white flour I recommend only replacing half of the white flour. Your pancakes will come out very heavy and dense if you use all wheat flour.
Brown sugar - I used dark brown sugar but you can also swap and use light brown sugar. Or you can also swap and use granulated sugar or coconut sugar.
Milk - I liked to use whole milk for best texture and richness. Or trying buttermilk as a second wonderful alternative. But feel free to swap and use any milk you like. You can use low-fat milk, almond milk, soy or oat milk.
Butter - I like to use melted unsalted butter for flavor but feel free to swap and use salted butter, vegan butter, melted coconut oil, or another oil (like vegetable or canola).
Fresh Pumpkin puree - Be sure to 100% canned pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. You will need one cup of pumpkin puree.
Ground spices - I used a combination of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, allspice, and ground ginger. But you can swap out the spices and use pumpkin pie spice.
Let the batter rest for the best fluffy texture. Always let your pancake batter rest for about 10 minutes. This allows time for the baking soda and baking powder to start reacting and causing bubbles to form. This will prevent flat pancakes.
Flip when you see bubbles popping and edges look dry. Not sure when to flip? See those little air bubbles popping up, wait for them to start popping and then you know.
Keep pancakes warm as you make each batch. After each batch, keep the pancakes warm in a 200oF oven on a heat proof plate or baking sheet.
Do not over stir the pancake batter. Stirring the batter completely smooth will result in tough chewy pancakes. The more you stir the more gluten in the flour is formed which can create a tough texture. So a few lumps in the batter is good!

Nutrition