Fall Into Flavor
Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes with Glazed Pepitas & Pecans
Words by Alison Bryce Recipe & Photos by Heather Barnes
There is something about the cooler weather and autumn scents that brings a moment of calmness before the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. The perfect combination of spices and pumpkin seeds make up these spiced pancakes for the best healthy breakfast this season.
This version of spiced pumpkin pancakes was created to bring a feeling of hygge to anyone who eats them. The comfort of coziness and wellness parallels the crisp autumn weather and brings a sense of contentment to everyday life.
The ingredients used in this breakfast are all vegan. The oat milk provides a much fluffier pancake than cow’s milk and the lack of eggs goes unnoticed as the flavors from the spices blend flawlessly.
However, it’s the Texas pecans that make this breakfast so special for Heather Barnes. “They remind me of the pecans I used to pick up in my grandma’s yard every fall in Texas.”
Heather recalls how, at the end of a day, she’d sit under the giant pecan trees with her sister and grandmother snacking as they cracked and shelled their pickings. Her grandmother would then use the pecans in every recipe possible—including breakfast the next morning.
Not only does the taste of pumpkin bring nostalgia of autumn to any meal, it also has many health benefits too, such as vitamin C, potassium, and manganese. Pumpkin seeds are full of rich and valuable nutrients like zinc, iron, and selenium which make them perfect for topping on spiced pumpkin pancakes or a tasty snack. The warmer spices in the pancake mix (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, and cardamom) bring more than just good flavors. Heather notes, “When it starts to get colder, it is better to use warmer herbs and spices because they warm your body.”
Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes
Makes: 8 small pancakes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Pancake Ingredients:
3/4 c. oat milk (Oatly brand)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 can pumpkin puree
3 T. earth balance butter
1 t. pure vanilla extract
4 T. dark brown sugar
2 T. maple syrup grade b
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. powdered ginger
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of cardamom
1 c. flour
Topping Ingredients:
1/2 c. pepitas
1/2 c. pecans
3 T. maple syrup
pinch of salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Then mix oat milk and lemon juice, and let them sit for five minutes. This becomes a substitute for buttermilk.
Meanwhile, toss pepitas and pecans in maple syrup and salt. Bake in oven for 5-7 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool while making pancakes.
Add melted butter, vanilla, pumpkin, maple syrup, and dark brown sugar to the lemon and oat milk, then whisk together.
Add all dry ingredients. If mixture is too wet, add one tablespoon of flour at a time, and if too thick, add one tablespoon of oat milk at a time to achieve the desired consistency.
Set stove to medium heat, butter your griddle, and pour batter onto the griddle in rounds. Flip when pancakes are bubbling. Cook other side for about 1 minute. Remove from griddle thentop with glazed pumpkin seeds, maple salted pecans, and pure maple syrup.
Contact:
heatherbarnes.com
@AForagersFeast
