Pumpkin Pancakes

If you are a big pumpkin pie fan, try one of the recipes listed below on for size and see what becomes of your leftover jack-o-lanterns from Halloween.

Various recipe databases online offer their own unique spin to the flavorful pancakes. Some recipes add or omit specific ingredients. Others allow you to adjust the serving size according to your family's needs. Depending on how many people you plan to serve, a few cups of pumpkin should do the trick.

The other ingredients listed in the recipe can be found in most refrigerators and pantries across the nation.

Dry ingredients like flour, baking soda, and sugar give the pancakes body. The pumpkin, however, keeps the mix moist and provides outstanding flavor in every bite of fluffy treats. Topped with hot maple syrup, breakfast wouldn't be complete without a little TLC from mom or dad being thrown into an already amazing recipe.

The recipes below are designed to be easy and user friendly. Even a novice can understand the instructions given below. Pre-cooking preparations include locating bowls, whisks, and ingredients before rolling up your shirt sleeves and getting involved with making pumpkin pancakes.

Prep time ranges from 20-30 minutes. Cooking the actual pancakes can take every bit as long or longer if feeding a large crowd. Choosing the right kind of skillet makes all the difference and assures that the pumpkin flavored treats are cooked evenly through the middle. There is nothing worse than an almost perfect pancake recipe. The object is to get it to turn a slight golden color on both sides. Ready to try your hand at a new recipe? Here is an easy one that will enable you to create pumpkin pancakes:

Traditional Pumpkin Pancakes

Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time From Skillet to Plate: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Number of Hungry Mouths Fed: 15

Dry Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons of sugar or 2 tablespoons of Splenda (for diabetics or calorie counters)
6 teaspoons of baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg or pumpkin spice

Wet Ingredients:

6 eggs, yolks and whites separated
3 cups of skim milk
1 1/2 cup cooked or canned pumpkin
6 tablespoons melted margarine

*Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. In another large bowl, whisk the
egg yolks, milk, pumpkin and margarine.
*Take the bowl containing the dry ingredients and carefully mix it in with the whisked ingredients.
*In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites. Fold them into the batter.
*Laddle batter onto a hot greased griddle or cast iron skillet.
*Wait until the batter becomes bubbly and then flip the pancake to the other side.
*Cook until golden brown.
*Serve with a smile!

Homemade or bottled syrup will do. Fresh fruit can be added. Sliced strawberries, blueberries, and bananas taste great with pumpkin. Slice up bowls full of toppings and place them in the middle of the table so that everyone can create their own special breakfast dish.

Gone are the days of wasted and withered garden fare. A large pumpkin can be used in a variety of ways. After serving its purpose as a decoration for your porch or living room, why not cut a hole in the top of the pumpkins, scoop out and save its seeds, and then use a pairing knife to remove flesh from the shell. Nothing beats the taste of fresh, homegrown food. Tempt your pallet with the alluring smell of sweet, pumpkin pancake.