Ready for Fall

It has been pleasantly crisp and chilly and I have been in the mood for these.  Festive, right?

Spooky Pancakes

 Pumpkin Pancake recipe 

Pumpkin Pancakes 

• 2 eggs
• 1-1/4 cups buttermilk
• 4 TBSP melted butter
• 5 TBSP canned pumpkin
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• few drops of orange gel food coloring

Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with no stick spray. Combine eggs, buttermilk, butter, pumpkin, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to blend ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and blend with mixer until smooth. Add just a few drops of gel food coloring until you get a nice orange (it doesn't take much). Pour or scoop the batter onto hot skillet, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. When the batter stops bubbling and edges begin to harden, flip the pancakes. They should be golden brown. This will take from 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook the other side for the same amount of time, until golden brown. Serve warm with syrup. Makes approximately 16 pancakes. 

*TIPS: 1. I used the powdered buttermilk, this way I always have some on hand – if you use the powdered – replace buttermilk with 1-1/4 cup water in the wet ingredients, and add 5 TBSP of buttermilk mix to the dry ingredients 2. My skillet makes 4 pancakes at a time, I heat my oven to about 180° and place cooked pancakes on a plate and place in oven while I cook the next batch, remove plate to add another batch to plate and place back in warm oven until all pancakes are cooked. 3. These freeze well too!     

 

To turn your pumpkin pancakes into SPOOKY pancakes......you'll want to make Black Cinnamon Syrup. The cinnamon is a nice compliment to pumpkin pancakes........*BUT, I have a suggestion.......if you make the pumpkin pancakes and serve with thissyrup, you could cut down or even leave out the cinnamon in the pancakes.

Black Cinnamon Syrup (recipe from Not Martha)

• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup water
• black food coloring gel

In a saucepan combine sugars, flour and cinnamon. Add vanilla and water. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously. As it heats squirt in a little of the black food coloring and mix in, add more until it's as dark as can be (it doesn't take much). Allow to boil for a few moments until the mixture has noticeably thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool enough to put into a squirt bottle (of the ketchup style). You can make it the night before and warm it by dipping the squeeze bottle in a bowl of warm water. Let each person decorate their own pancake!

There's nothing SCARY about making these pancakes!

(can be found at tidymom.net)