Pumpkin Pancakes With Maple Cinnamon Pecan Syrup

For the past 8 weeks, I have been getting up faithfully at LEAST 4 days of the week and going to the gym.  But inevitably, I end up missing a day sometimes.  So, Mr. Wonderful and I have been meeting our friends Dale and Joy at the gym on Saturdays…and then we reward ourselves with breakfast afterwards.

Now hold up! Before you judge me…listen to this..

We head to this local breakfast joint called Jimmy’s Egg.  Jimmy’s Egg has sinful things like Dale gets called The Biscuit Debris breakfast.  Unfortunately, Mr. W can’t eat those breakfasts anymore on account of his doctor reaming him over his cholesterol count after his latest doctor’s visit.

So we order off their Healthy and Fit menu, which is surprisingly good.   He orders the low-fat, no cholestoral sweet potato pancakes and mannnn, are they good!

So I figured, I KNOW I can make these at home.

Except I am not baking sweet potatoes in the morning JUST to make pancakes.

So instead, I experimented around and figured this one out…Pumpkin Pancakes.  No oil.  NO butter. And they’re good.  Downright yummy in fact.

Follow along to see how I make them.

First you want to make the syrup.  Because you don’t want wonderful, hot, fresh pancakes cooling without there being hot syrup ready and waiting.

The syrup is simple..just measure out a cup of pure maple syrup, one teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and mix it all together really well. Whisk this all together.

Put that pot over medium heat and let it simmer  for just a minute.

Then in a separate pan, toss in a cup of pecans.

DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THESE!

My friend Nancy was over and I did and had to start over. Please learn from my mistakes.  If you can smell them toasting, it’s probably time to take them off the stove.  This should only take a minute to toast the nuts. Then pour them right into the syrup mixture.

Simmer gently for about 2 more minutes, then remove from the heat or turn down to low.  Let’s make some pancakes shall we?!

Start by adding some dry ingredients to a bowl. Add in 2 cups of flour, 1/3 cup of packed brown sugar, one tablespoon of baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt into the bowl.

Blend them for just a minute to mix them all together.

Then in a separate bowl, add your wet ingredients and your spices.   Add in a cup of both milk and pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling), one teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ginger, and one pinch of cloves.

How do YOU measure a “pinch”? I measure it with these little tiny spoons my Mom got me.

They measure a “pinch”, a “dash” and a “smidgen” quite nicely.  Or, I just use my fingers and do it the old fashioned way!

Anyway, I mix all of this together with a whisk.

 

And then I slowly add it to the dry ingredients.

Mix it with your mixer for at least 30 seconds, or until the lumps are pretty smoothed out in your batter.  Then heat up a griddle or a large fry pan and spray it well with cooking spray.  I use a ladle and about 1/4 cup of the batter for my pancakes.

Leave them on the griddle for about 2 minutes…or until you start to see some bubbles forming in the pancakes.

Then flip them over to the other side.

Ladle the hot syrup with the cinnamon, vanilla and toasted pecans right over top of them.

I can now serve Mr. Wonderful these low-fat, low-cholesterol pumpkin pancakes with pride.  I had 2 taste-testers who said they were delicious and had no idea they were made that way! (Use sugar-free syrup for even more health options!)

However, we’re not giving up the gym…but we DON’T have to give up on flavor!

This week’s Food Network Fallfest recipes are featuring all things pumpkin! Check out what other fabulous bloggers are making using pumpkin below!

Napa Farmhouse 1885: Thai Pumpkin and Coconut Soup
Red or Green: Pizza with Red Chile Pumpkin Sauce, Black Beans and Fresh Corn
Devour: Easy Pumpkin Cream Sauce
Feed Me Phoebe: Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Soup
Virtually Homemade: Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino 
Weelicious: Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
The Lemon Bowl: Healthy Baked Mac and Cheese with Pumpkin
The Heritage Cook: Chile-Pumpkin Hummus
Dishing: Pumpkin Browns/ Pumpkin Hash Browns
In Jennie’s Kitchen: Pumpkin Scones
Cooking With Elise: Hearty Pumpkin Pasta
And Love It Too: Paleo Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
Blue Apron Blog: Baked Pumpkin Stuffed with Millet and Caponata
Dishin & Dishes: Pumpkin Pancakes with Maple Cinnamon Pecan Syrup
Domesticate Me: Harvest Pumpkin Soup with Candied Bacon
The Sensitive Epicure: Pumpkin Panna Cotta with Pumpkin Seed Brittle
FN Dish: Cook Pumpkin from the Patch
Taste With The Eyes: Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Apple Soup with Dried Fruit, Pine Nuts and Ancho Chile
Creative Culinary: Pumpkin Beer Bread with Pumpkin Butter Spread