A Pumpkin Breakfast, Two Ways

As I mentioned last time, pumpkin is a fall friend of mine. Up until this fall, however, it had never occurred to me to add a bit of pumpkin to those great American breakfast staples, pancakes and waffles. Am I ever glad I took the plunge this year, and not once but twice: first in preparation for a day of apple picking at home in NY and then a few weeks later, when the piles of fallen leaves in the Fields were in their prime and I was finally ready to break open the precious bottle of real NY maple syrup I brought back from home (which makes all the difference, as far as pancake/waffle-eating goes – and that means alot coming from a former Aunt Jemima-holic). I’m going to go out on a limb and say the pancakes were my favourite of the two variations, but it was a close call. There’s something much more subtle about the waffles, and I think the cinnamon sugar I poured on top of the pancakes gave them an unfair advantage. Subtle, at least in the sweetness department, they certainly were not. Rest assured that whether you’re a fan of waffles, like most of my family and friends, or the lone person in your household to beg for pancakes on a Sunday morning (that is, until you somehow find a fellow pancake lover out there in the vast, waffle-loving world who will share one or two or twenty with you over the course of the day) one of these recipes will suit you. And both will certainly suit the season.

Pumpkin Waffles
(from Smitten Kitchen)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil for brushing waffle iron or cooking spray

Preheat oven to 250°F and preheat waffle iron. Sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices. Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl with buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined.

In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks (as in, far softer than the over-beaten whites you’ll see in my picture above). Folk them gently into the waffle batter, until just combined.

Brush waffle iron lightly with oil and spoon batter (about 2 cups for four 4-inch Belgian waffles) into waffle iron, spreading quickly. Cook according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Transfer waffles to rack in oven to keep warm and crisp. Make more waffles in same manner.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
(from Joy the Baker)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
pinch of ground ginger
pinch of ground cloves
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter

Whisk together flours, salt, spices, sugar and baking powder in a medium sized bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg, pumpkin and vegetable oil or melted butter.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Don’t worry if you have a few lumps. You don’t want to over beat the batter, it’ll produce tough pancakes.

Let the batter sit for 10 minutes while you heat the skillet. Over low-medium heat melt a tablespoon of butter or vegetable oil . Once skillet is hot, spoon a heaping 2 tablespoons of batter per pancake into the skillet. When pancake starts to bubble slightly, carefully flip over.

Once browned and cooked through place pancakes on a oven proof plate and place in the oven set at 200 degrees F to keep warm while the rest of the pancakes are cooked.

Serve with whipped cream and cinnamon sugar.. or maple syrup.

Yield: 14-18 small pancakes.

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