Jacked Pumpkin Pancakes

These easy to make an delicious pumpkin pancakes are sure to be a hit with the kids and big kids alike and are a great way of sneaking in an extra portion or fruit and vegetables into your kids diets.

Equipment

• 2 large bowls
• Sieve for combining dry ingredients
• Spoons for mixing
• Measuring spoons
• Electric griddle
• Kids medicine syringe or icing bag

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons of brown (light or dark can be used) sugar
• 1 tablespoon of white (granulated) sugar
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

Liquid ingredients

• 14 oz can of pumpkin puree (or fresh if you have it)
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups of butter milk (or 1 1/2 cups of regular milk mixed with a teaspoon of lemon juice mixed and left to stand for 5 minutes)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla essence

Chocolate chips for decoration

Combine flour, brown sugar, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie spice in a sieve over a large mixing bowl. Sieve the ingredients in to a large bowl using a spoon to help sieve the ingredients.

In a separate large bowl combine the whole can of pumpkin puree (or 14OZ of fresh pumpkin puree if you are using it), egg, buttermilk, olive oil (or vegetable oil works just as well) and vanilla essence. Stir well till all the liquid ingredients are combined.

Pour the mixed liquid ingredients in to the dry and mix together with a spoon or spatula. Stir until just combined and do not over mix. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Preheat the electric griddle to 350 °F (175 °C). Alternatively you could use a heavy frying pan but I love the large cooking area allowing you to cook multiple pancakes at one time and the thermostat controlled temperature dial. My griddle has a non-stick coating but you may need to season your griddle or pan with some extra oil if it is not a non-stick surface.

When the griddle is heating carefully spoon some of the pumpkin pancake mix into the clean kids medicine syringe or piping bag. Using the removable plunger on the syringe to pushdown the pancake batter down into the syringe and repeat the process till the syringe is full.

When the griddle is up to temperature slowly squeeze the pumpkin batter out of the syringe drawing the segments of the pumpkin with the batter making sure to draw the stem as well.

When the outline is drawn quickly spoon some batter into the outline of the pumpkin shape. Use a small spoon to help fill the segments of the pumpkin.

When you have filled pancakes outline with batter allow to cook for about 3 minutes or until golden brown and flip the pancakes over.

Cook for another 3-4 minutes and flip again. Keep cooking the pancake until nice and golden brown and cooked through.

Remove from griddle on to a serving plate.

Now the fun bit. Have your kids make jack-o-lantern pumpkin pancakes faces using chocolate chips for the features or any other type of candy you might want to use.

Serve, eat, and enjoy!