Happy December everyone! While I love the fall and pumpkin everything — pumpkin crepes! pumpkin pancakes! pumpkin muffins! — I’m ready to say hello to the flavors of the holiday season.
For me, the holidays mean eggnog and gingerbread and peppermint galore. Since I wait all year long for the holiday trifecta, I want those yummy flavors to carry over into every area of my life for the upcoming month. I really cannot get enough. And because of that, this recipe for the most delicious whole wheat gingerbread pancakes was born!
All four members of my family love pancakes. I usually make a huge batch of my favorite whole wheat pancakes and freeze a bunch so that we can have pancakes whenever we want them. In fact, that’s one of my favorite things about breakfast items and the idea of “from scratch.” Pretty much everything that’s breakfast-y freezes really well. So, go ahead and make those muffins, waffles, and pancakes in big batch ahead of time and then pull them out of the freezer when you need them.
You’ll probably want to do that with this recipe, too, because these pancakes are just that good. I love that they are made solely with whole wheat flour, yet they’re not little lead sinkers which sometimes happens when I try to make my favorite recipes with whole wheat flour alone. Nope…these beauties are light, fluffy, and they have just the right amount of ginger and molasses in them to make them sweet and tasty — without being overpowering or overly sugary. These pancakes taste like a big, fluffy, warm gingerbread cookie.
Give them a go before the holidays and if you like them as much as I think you will, keep the recipe handy for your upcoming holiday celebrations! They’re perfect for brunch with friends or for a treat on Christmas morning. If you’re going to make them for a crowd, be sure to preheat the oven to 200 degrees before you start flipping pancakes. Then, when you’ve made a stack, line them up on a cookie sheet and pop them into the oven to keep warm so everyone can eat warm pancakes at the same time. Top them with some pure maple syrup (and perhaps some homemade whipped cream) and you have a delicious holiday breakfast.
- 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour (Editor note: I'm loving this Sprouted Heirloom Turkey Hard Winter Red Wheat Flour, but any organic whole wheat flour will do)
- 1 tablespoon Baking powder (aluminum and corn-free baking powder)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt (we love Real Salt)
- 1 teaspoon Ginger (organic ginger root powder)
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon (organic, fair-trade, real cinnamon: ceylon cinnamon or Cinnamomum Verum)
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg (organic, fair-trade nutmeg powder)
- 1 Egg (preferably from a happy, pastured chicken; learn how to debunk egg labels)
- 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar (organic, fair-trade brown sugar)
- 1 cup Milk (any kind will work)
- 2 tablespoons Molasses -not blackstrap (natural, no additives, unsulphured molasses)
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla (organic vanilla extract)
- In a medium bowl combine all dry ingredients.
- In a small bowl whisk together the egg, milk, molasses, and vanilla.
- Gently pour the egg mixture into the dry mixture, using the whisk to combine. Mix only until all ingredients are incorporated. (Over-mixing makes tough pancakes so don't go crazy. A few lumps are fine!)
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- For each pancake spoon approximately 3 tablespoons of batter onto hot skillet. Cook until the surface has a few bubbles. When you see bubbles, flip them and continue to cook 2-3 minutes more.