You know the whole “six degrees of separation” thing with actor Kevin Bacon (i.e., think of any actor or actress and you can link back to a Kevin Bacon movie within six jumps)? Well, the yummy pumpkin pancakes I made yesterday morning were two degrees removed from one of my most-favorite food bloggers/cookbook authors, Heidi Swanson. The “middle degree” was a site previously unknown to me, Honey & Jam. As with Heidi’s 101 Cookbooks, Honey & Jam is one of those sites where the food photography is so gorgeous that you have to stop yourself from licking your computer screen and drooling on your keyboard.
I’ve been in a pumpkin state of mind lately (gee, maybe ‘cuz it’s fall?), and this recipe happily turned out to be one I will make again and again. I modified it slightly from the original Honey & Jam recipe, which was based on a buttermilk pancake recipe from 101 Cookbooks. Here’s how I made it:

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes
Makes 12 good-sized pancakes

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons natural granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

1 1/4 cups organic buttermilk
1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT canned pumpkin pie filling)
2 large organic eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
butter or coconut oil for pan

  1. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, spice and salt in a large bowl. 
  2. Combine buttermilk, pumpkin, eggs, and slightly cooled melted butter. 
  3. Add wet ingredients to dry, and stir until they are just combined. If the batter’s a bit lumpy, that’s OK.
  4. Heat your skillet, pan, or griddle to medium-hot and brush it with a bit of butter or coconut oil. Test for the right temperature. If a drop of water dropped onto the pan starts to dance, you are in the ballpark. 
  5. Pour about 1/3 of a cup of batter into the skillet. Wait until the pancake bottom is deep golden in color, then flip with a spatula and cook the other side until golden and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter. 
  6. Serve with toppings of choice (We used Trader Joe’s pumpkin butter and some almond butter).

The pancakes were really fluffy, and tall. And they tasted great! This recipe essentially substitutes pumpkin puree for part of the buttermilk in the original-original recipe, so if you are living gluten free and have a favorite pancake recipe, you may be able to pumpkin-ize it by making a similar substitution.

P.S. I also made a super yummy pork recipe this weekend (in the midst of studying for midterms). I will share it sometime this week.