Contrary to popular mainstream culture, I’m not a fan of pumpkin everything under the sun. For me, pumpkin has its place. Pumpkin pecan pancakes is one of those places. I woke up one weekend morning to the perfect Fall day: overcast, drizzling rain and while wrapped in an extra big sweatshirt, yoga pants, and fuzzy socks, I thought it’s the ideal day to go for breakfast. I’d had sweet potato pancakes once years ago and as the time passed and I mulled it over, I remembered instead, I had some homemade pumpkin puree in the freezer so I opted to make some pumpkin pancakes with some toasted pecans. A decision well made.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 3 tbsp. butter, melted, plus more cold butter for the griddle
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pecan halves, toasted & roughly chopped

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a small baking sheet, line the pecan halves. Toast for 3-4 minutes on one side, flip, and toast for another 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, and once cooled, roughly chop.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Make a large well in center of mixture and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, buttermilk, brown sugar, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla until well combined. Pour into well in dry mixture and stir until just combined – don’t overmix. Stir in half of the toasted, chopped pecans. Allow batter to rest for 3 minutes.

Preheat a non-stick griddle to 375 degrees. Butter griddle then pour batter in desired sizes, spreading the batter out slightly. Cook until golden brown, flip and cook the other side until also golden brown. Serve with butter, maple syrup, and sprinkle with remaining toasted pecans.

Adapted from: http://www.cookingclassy.com