Pumpkin Pancakes

February 21 -27 is National Pancake Week.

Growing up my Mom made breakfast for dinner a couple times each month. It was my second favorite dinner after lasagna. I've continued the tradition with my family except we usually have breakfast for dinner once a week. We never have time to have a big breakfast for actual breakfast (who does?). In order to fill our tummies with pancakes, scrambled eggs, & hash browns, I fix it as soon as I hear the garage door open signaling Patrick's arrival home from work in the evening.

Tonight for National Pancake Week I chose to combine my 2 loves pumpkin & pancakes to make this breakfast for dinner. I found this recipe on the Martha Stewart website & it is a "good thing" that I did. These pancakes were delicious! I made another pumpkin pancake recipe before & while it was good, they took a long time to cook through in the middle & by the time they were they got too dark on the outside. This recipe worked much better. I cooked them at 350 degrees on my large griddle. They did take just a little bit longer to cook than a regular pancake, but not too much longer. My test tasters loved these pancakes & didn't mind the unseasonal pumpkin in February!

For a spiced breakfast treat, whisk 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons sugar; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt; 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg; and a pinch of ground cloves. In a separate bowl, stir together 1 cup milk, 6 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and 1 egg; fold mixture into dry ingredients. Melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat; pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side; serve with butter and syrup. Makes 8 to 10.