Perfectly Pumpkin Pancakes

I love pancakes.  They represent all that is good in the world - sweet, carb, homemade, Saturday goodness.  While they beckon to the best of the weekend for most of us, I can't resist a little weeknight brinner every once in a while.  Breakfast for dinner is sure to put a positive spin on any evening.  My mom found a great recipe for pancakes a while back, and a few weeks ago, I decided to eat everything in our pantry.  Last fall, I heard there was going to be a shortage of pumpkin puree out there, so I stocked up.  One year later, I still hadn't touched any of the cans.  So I took my mom's recipe, tweaked it, and wound up with this delicious fall breakfast/brinner/snack:

Wet ingredients:

1 cup milk

3 T. white vinegar

2 eggs

1/4 cup melted butter (1/2 stick)

1 t. vanilla

1 cup pumpkin puree (1/2 a 16 oz. can)

Dry ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. allspice

1/2 t. ginger

1. Combine milk and white vinegar and set aside for five minutes to "sour". (This is a genius way to make buttermilk - whenever I buy it at the store, I never use the whole container.  And does anyone else store their vinegar under the sink even though they only  use it for cooking?  Or is that just me?)

2.  Combine all dry ingredients and stir well.  Set aside.

3. Once milk is "soured", whisk the egg and butter into the milk, then add vanilla and pumpkin puree.  

4. Whisk dry mixture into wet mixture, making sure to get rid of lumps but not over stirring.  Don't worry, this is a thick batter. I let it sit for a few minutes before putting the batter on the griddle (which works out pretty well, because I generally forget to heat the griddle before I start).

5. Use a full 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop batter onto griddle.  When I do that, I end up with at least 12 pancakes.  You'll know when to flip them as the uncooked side will have tiny bubbles all over the top of them.  Don't flip too early - being that this is a thick batter, you don't want them to be too doughy by flipping early.  

6. Add butter, and pour on the maple syrup and then savor every bit of pumpkin goodness.  At this point I need to tell you something.  Aunt Jemina was not invited to this pancake party, so go ahead and spring for real maple syrup.  You'll thank me later.

Have a great day and enjoy your pumpkin pancakes!