Jack O’ Lantern Pancakes

These pumpkin pancakes are a favorite tradition at our house.  We have them every Halloween morning!  The kids cut up fruit leather and we either bake it into the pancake or they decorate their pancake with a face after they’re cooked.  Either way it makes our Halloween breakfast fun and festive!  And so tasty too!  The pumpkin in the recipe replaces any oil needed, so it is also a healthy breakfast…so long as you go easy on the syrup! …I know that’s hard… I could drink pure maple syrup with a straw! 🙂

Jack O’ Lantern Pancakes

Ingredients:

Serves 5-6

• 2 cups flour
• 3 t. baking powder
• 1 t. sea salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 t. pumpkin pie spice (or 1 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. nutmeg, 1/4 t. ground ginger, 1/4 t. ground cloves)
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 cup milk (maybe more, depending on preferred thickness of pancakes- I add a little more milk for thinner cakes)
• fruit leather for faces (we buy Stretch Island Fruit Co. from Costco)
• Butter
• Pure Maple Syrup

Directions:

• Whisk dry ingredients. Set aside
• Cut out eyes, nose and mouth from fruit leather and set aside
• In a glass measuring cup, beat two eggs.  Add pumpkin and vanilla.  Mix well
• Make a well in the middle of dry ingredients.  Add pumpkin mixture.  Mix well and add milk.  If batter is too thick, add more milk.
• Pour about 1/4 batter onto hot buttered griddle.  Place fruit leather eyes, nose and mouth into the batter to make your jack o’ lantern face.  Or wait till pancakes are cooked and let your kids build their own faces!!
• When edges of pancake appear dry and bubbles start to form, flip pancake over.  (the sugar in the fruit leather will burn on to your griddle a little but this gives it a yummy flavor!)
• Serve with butter and pure maple syrup!  Enjoy!!

Happy Halloween!!

Whisk dry ingredients

Add pumpkin mixture

Add milk and mix well