Pumpkin Spice Pancakes w/ Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Good morning & happy haLlOwEeN!
You probably have pumpkin coming out of your ears by now, but if you're like me, and never get tired of it, here's another recipe (actually two) to try!

These Pumpkin Spice Pancakes are so good and would be perfect for breakfast on Halloween, Thanksgiving or even Christmas morning. They obviously call for pumpkin puree. So yes, I made my own! I'll first share my pumpkin puree recipe with you and then the pancake recipe.

I couldn't believe how easy it was to make puree. After cutting and emptying the pumpkin of it's seeds I simply baked it at 400F for 30 minutes on a baking sheet. Before baking I put a little water in the bottom of the baking sheet and rubbed a little canola oil on the outside of the pumpkin pieces. Once baked, it was so easy to scoop the pumpkin out into a bowl. I used my magic bullet (gotta love it!) to process the pumpkin a bit for a smoother texture. I then sieved out some of the extra liquid so the puree wasn't runny. And that's it! I have a whole bowl in the fridge that I'm slowly using for different recipes.

I found the Pumpkin Spice Pancakes recipe through Pinterest (my pins). I honestly wouldn't change anything about this recipe by Annie's Eats. The pancakes were so fluffy and the flavor was a perfect blend of pumpkin and spices. Not over the top but just right. Kurt's a picky eater and he really loved these. :-P

You'll need:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Dash of ground ginger
Dash of ground cloves
1 cup milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 TBSP vegetable oil or melted butter

Mix the dry ingredients together in one bowl and the wet in another. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk them together. The batter may still have a few lumps - that's fine.

Heat greased skillet or griddle over medium heat. Once hot, add 1/3 cup scoop of batter to the pan. Cook until bubbles begin to form on the top surface. Carefully flip with a spatula and cook the second side until golden brown.

Enjoy with a little cinnamon sugar, maple syrup, whipped cream or all on their own!

I'm just loving this fall season! I hope you guys are too. On Saturday Kurt and I road bikes through central London with two of our new friends. It was such a blast and a really cool way to see the city (not to mention get exercise, ouch). Experiencing the change of seasons is so awesome.

Green Park in central London

Michaela Rae