Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe

These whole wheat pumpkin pancakes take a standard buttermilk pancake batter and rework it with whole wheat pastry flour, a full cup of pumpkin puree and a teaspoon of pumpkin spice. Both baking powder and baking soda go into the batter, and the pancakes cook up tender and airy rather than dense, despite the whole grain flour.

The mixing method is straightforward: dry ingredients in one bowl, the buttermilk, fat, vanilla and pumpkin whisked smooth in another, then the two are combined and the beaten eggs go in last. Stir only until no pockets of flour are left, since overworking the batter makes tough pancakes. Each pancake uses about 1/3 cup of batter, and the batch makes about 14.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

Buttermilk pancakes made with sifted whole wheat pastry flour, pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice, cooked on a medium-heat griddle and served with maple syrup. Makes about 14.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Servings: 14 pancakes

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour sifted
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice seasoning
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons melted butter or oil if preferred
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray for the griddle
• Maple syrup for serving

Method

 

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl: the sifted flour, sugar, both leaveners, salt and pumpkin spice.
2. In a second bowl, stir the buttermilk, melted butter (or oil), vanilla and pumpkin puree together until smooth.
3. Tip the wet mixture into the dry bowl and add the beaten eggs. Stir until the flour lumps are gone and the batter looks smooth, then stop; do not overbeat.
4. Preheat a griddle over medium heat (about 350°F on an electric griddle) and grease it with a little of the vegetable oil or cooking spray.
5. Pour on about 1/3 cup of batter per pancake. Give the first side about 2 minutes: it is ready when the surface is dotted with bubbles, the batter has firmed up and the bottom has turned golden brown.
6. Turn the pancake over and let the second side turn golden as well, 1 to 2 minutes more, until the center is cooked through.
7. Use up the rest of the batter the same way, re-oiling the griddle when it looks dry. Keep finished pancakes warm in a single layer on a baking sheet in a 200°F oven, and bring the maple syrup to the table.

Notes

The batter makes about 14 pancakes of 1/3 cup each.

Oil can be used in place of the melted butter in the batter.

Sugar substitute: replace the 2 tablespoons sugar in the batter with 2 tablespoons of a granulated erythritol or allulose blend that measures cup-for-cup like sugar, or leave it out, and serve the pancakes with butter or a syrup sweetened with allulose, erythritol or monk fruit instead of maple syrup. The buttermilk and pumpkin keep their own natural sugars, so the pancakes are lower in sugar, not sugar-free.

Storage: cool leftover pancakes on a rack, then refrigerate them for up to 3 days or freeze them, separated by parchment, for up to 2 months. Reheat in a toaster or a 350°F oven.