sprinklefingers

i sound like a broken record, but you really should make some pumpkin butter. i do realize i’ve only been talking about pumpkins & apples lately, but i can’t really help it. i’m up to my eyeballs in fall flavors and i kind of love it.

that said, i came up with yet another delicious use for pumpkin butter. this time - pancakes. yes i’ve said in the past that you can simply mix pumpkin butter into your pancake batter to make magical pumpkin pancakes, but this time i worked out a recipe that is pumpkin butter specific. perfect.

before we get all into the food i want to tell you that i used this recipe as a chance to teach my 3 year old kid how to separate egg whites from yolks. a few weeks ago he finally mastered cracking eggs (two-handed only. we’re working on the one-handed crack currently,) but the whole separating thing was very tough for him - as a result i laughed until i cried and made the mother of all omelets with the cracked (but not separated) eggs.

it was only after we used around a dozen eggs (and ate the omelet) that i thought to have him crack the eggs into a bowl and then reach in with his hands to (gentle!) ease out the yolks. now he’s an egg separating fool. or he just likes to get messy. it’s a toss up.

so, yes. you need to separate eggs in this recipe and then whip the whites until stiff. as the final step of preparing the batter you fold in the egg whites. the result? a light, fluffy almost lacey pumpkin pancake. seriously good.

light-as-air pumpkin butter pancakes
serves 4

you need:

• 1 1/4 cup AP flour
• 3 T vanilla sugar
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 cup 2% milk (or whole, but NOT skim)
• 1/3 cup heavy cream (or 1/2 & 1/2)
• 3/4 cup homemade pumpkin butter (or a flavorful store-bought version)
• 4 large eggs - whites separated from yolks
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 t vanilla extract

to make the pancakes:

1. in a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. in another bowl, whisk together the milk, heavy cream, pumpkin butter, egg yolks, melted butter and vanilla.
3. in another bowl (or using an electric mixer (hand held OR stand)) whip the egg whites until they are very white and somewhat stiff.
4. pour the milk mixture into the dry mixture and stir until almost combined.
5. fold in the egg whites and mix just until everything comes together.
6. set the batter aside while you heat your griddle to 375 or medium-high heat.
7. coat your griddle with a generous slather of butter and then ladle out the batter - about 1/3 cup or more per pancake - making sure you pour it directly into the center of the puddle you’ve started so you’ll end up with round ‘cakes.
8. let pancakes cook until bubbly - then lift up an edge and make sure they are golden brown. if not, don’t flip - let go a bit longer. these pancakes are much more delicious if they are completely cooked and not at all gooey on the inside.
9. set the cooked pancakes on a cooling rack in a warm oven until serving time.

we like these, like most things, with sausage.