It's November. November! How did that even happen? Summer is gone, and autumn is well under way. It's been a lovely autumn so far. September and October are such beautiful months in Maine. But sometimes we get snow in October, and November can be a winter month. So far it has been very mild, and there has been no snow yet. Nice. Very nice. Winter will come soon enough. And it will be long, because this is Maine, and that's just how it is.
When autumn comes, the pumpkins come. Andrew grows them every year, selling a few at the end of the driveway. He has little baby white pumpkins and big orange pumpkins and different ones in between. What he doesn't sel, the beef critter and pigs are more than happy to take care of. One variety of pumpkins he saves for mom alone. They're called Winter Luxury, and though they are funky to look at with their webby outer shell, they are the very best pie pumpkins. I cube them up and can them, and we pull out jars of them all year long for pies, muffins, coffeecakes, and most often--pumpkin pancakes.
As far as pancakes go, pumpkin pancakes are a relatively new variety to us. I stumbled across them a few years ago. But they have quickly become a family favorite. As Tony flatteringly says...they may not look like much, but they taste very good. We take compliments in any form, so there you go.
Pumpkin Pancakes
serves about 6
1-1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 cups flour
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
Stir together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil/melted butter, and apple cider vinegar in a large bowl. In another bowl stir together all of the dry ingredients. Add them to the wet mixture and mix just until blended. Do not overstir or your pancakes will be tough.
Melt butter in skillet or on griddle. Once hot, use about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. One of those ice cream scoops with the little handle on the side works perfect. Cook until the edges are set and there are tiny bubbles on the surface of the pancake. If the outside of the pancakes are browning too fast, turn your heat down. Flip the pancakes and cook until the other side is browned and the center is done.
Serve with butter and maple syrup--the real stuff!
Tips:
It’s better to have your heat a little low than a little too hot.
To keep the pancakes warm after cooking, put them in a warm oven. Not too hot--you don’t want them to cook more, just to stay warm.
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com
Here's a link to a print friendly PDF of the recipe...
Happy Autumn to all of you from all of us at Schanz Family Maple!