I have been sitting here with my hands poised in a weird action-pose over the keyboard for about 5 minutes now, trying to think of how I can convey to you the fabulousness of these pancakes. I am in a panicked, twitchy, flustered mess, with my eyes darting around the room, thinking to myself, ‘How? How can I explain the urgency with which everyone needs to drop what they’re doing and immediately rush to their pancake stations? They must go now! NOW!’.
Because YOU GUYS…these pancakes are alchemy. They will bring boys to your yard waaaay more effectively than any milkshake. They will send your power levels to super-sayan heights. They will grow hair on your chest/wax the hair off your legs, whichever you prefer. They are like eating a blanket; a comforting blanket of pumpkin and Christmas-scented delight. MAGICAL. And I’m telling you this, because I have all the zeal of convert. Honestly? I was not so sure on the pumpkin. I just wasn’t raised with pumpkin in my desserts. Here in Australia, it’s still really uncommon to see pumpkin or sweet potato desserts. But, as you know, I love me some USA baking, so I bit the bullet and dove into the pumpkin puree.
And I did not regret it! Even though I had to wash my hair like 50 times to get the smell of pumpkin out….hahaha just kidding. It was a metaphorical pool of pumpkin puree. Not a real one. I roasted up half a butternut squash to make my pumpkin puree. I would totally use canned, if I could get it, but it’s pretty elusive here (see above re: unpopularity of pumpkin desserts). So from there, I whipped up a simple buttermilk pancake batter, added the spices of Christmas, stirred through my shockingly orange puree, and dipped my finger in fo’ a taste. *shocked face* It’s goood.
One of my favourite sides – what am I saying? One of everyone‘s favourite sides is maple-roasted squash. And who would complain if you tossed a little rosemary in there? No-one, that’s who. You see where I’m going with this don’t you? Squash + Maple + Rosemary + Pancakes =BREAKFAST FOR THE WIN! The almost-lemony flavour of the rosemary is the perfect partner to the smoky maple syrup, both of which perfectly partner the sweet squashy depths in the pancakes. The puffy, aromatic, butter frazzled pancakes… oh baby.
The pumpkin really does something incredible for the texture of these babies. They are thick pancakes, but not spongy. They have frazzled edges, but they’re not crispy. The word that keep popping into my head is velvety. When you get a mouthful of the velvety soft pancakes, drenched with the rosemary maple syrup and scattered with a few crunchy pepitas – it’s heaven. And oh oh, they reheat SUPER well. The moisture in the pumpkin makes them the greatest make-ahead pancakes of all time. Whip them all up the night before, stash them on a tray in the fridge overnight, and then 10 or 20 minutes in a low oven the next morning and breakfast is served! Pancakes for everyone! Clever you, and they’re so delicious, and so unusual. And the World’s Greatest Host Award goes to….
Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe
Makes 15 – 20 coaster-sized pancakes.
INGREDIENTS: 1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 1/2 – 2 cups milk or buttermilk
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
Butter, for cooking the pancakes
Pepitas and Rosemary Maple Syrup, to serve In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and spices to combine. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the pumpkin, eggs and 1 cup of milk. Beginning with small motions, whisk together the wet ingredients, working towards the outside of the bowl, slowly incorporating the dry ingredients, until smooth. The mixture should be the texture of very thick cream, so add a further 1/2 to 1 cup of milk to reach the correct consistency. To cook the pancakes, place a crepe pan, or frying pan over a low heat. Add a teaspoon or so of butter to the pan, and swirl it to coat. I like to use an ice-cream scoop to add even-sized dollops of batter to the pan. They take about 1 1/2 minutes on the first side, or until the edges look cooked and bubbles are forming on top. Once flipped, they should only need a further minute and then they’re done! Place onto a tray in a low oven, if serving straight away, and continue cooking the rest of the batter. If you’re serving them later, let them cool down immediately, and stash in the fridge, before reheating in a low oven for 10-20 minutes. Sprinkle with pepitas and serve with Rosemary Maple Syrup, recipe below.
Rosemary Maple Syrup
Makes 1 cup
INGREDIENTS:
250ml Maple Syrup
3-4 sprigs rosemary For the rosemary maple syrup, simply place t hemaple syrup into a small saucepan, and add the rosemary. Bring to the boil, then leave to cool and steep. Taste – if the rosemary flavour is too strong, adding more syrup will balance it out. If it is weak, then simply bring the syrup to the boil again to reduce and intensify.
I wasn’t sure if I was ready for fall yet, but you’ve convinced me that I 100% am!! Can’t wait to make these once pumpkin is in season again!
These pancakes do shout autumn, don’t they?
These are some pancakes I can get down with..
Get down on it…
Wow – do these look yummy!! What beautiful photos and such a great idea!! Nice job!!
These sound SO good. I love the addition of a rosemary syrup. I <3 all things rosemary but would never have thought to combine it with pumpkin. I can't wait for pumpkin season here :)
These are some killer pancakes right here! I’m so ready for pumpkin season :)
These sound amazing. Love the rosemary syrup.
I LOVE your writing Sarah, seriously. You’re great. I like how you made your own puree rather than the canned stuff. Definitely takes it up a notch.
Thanks Todd! That means a lot to me! (about the writing, not the purée)
i love the height of these pancakes. they. look. so. fluffaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy! and love the touch of rosemary. How delightful!
I LOVE pumpkin pancakes! I’m so glad you are a convert :) And rosemary with the maple syrup is very intriguing. Great combination of flavors! These pancakes look perfectly fluffy too.
Look who’s talking! These pancakes are adorable. It’s the rosemary syrup that does it for me, though… how brilliant is that savoury twist along with the pumpkin?
I’m convinced! I’m signing up! :P Seriously though these look lovely and thick and full of pumpkiny goodness :D
So glad you’re a pumpkin convert! It really is such an awesome ingredient–and major snaps for going all MacGyver and making your own puree! Rosemary is a genius addition and now I can’t wait to add rosemary to all of my pumpkin desserts this fall!
I am in LOVE with pumpkin and have been on Pinterest pinning all things pumpkin lately! haha I cannot wait to try these pancakes.
These look fabulous! I didn’t even know that you could find any pumpkin puree in Australia?! Totally impressed that you made your own with butternut squash. They are so similar in flavor, you’re not really missing out :)
I adore pumpkin pancakes. I make a version where I fold in beaten egg whites at the very end and they are just so fluffy and delicious. Need your rosemary maple syrup twist, though!
So we are kinda like BFF’s because I made pumpkin pancakes last night. Our Fall foods are totally on the same calendar girl!
beautiful! Love the height on those things.
They look thick, fluffy, and totally delicious.
I haven’t made any pancakes this summer but I think it is time I tried these!
I want a huge stack of these pancakes right meow!
Wow oh wow Sarah!! These look gorgeous, such high stacks of heaven I can only salivate over the thought of those pillowy stacks served warm doused with your special rosemary syrup. Yummmmo
Fabulous indeed! I’d never thought of rosemary with maple syrup, but it sounds like a delicious combination.
These pancakes look delicious! They are so thick and puffy. <33
I love the combo of rosemary and pumpkin–it's very unique, and sounds fabulous! :)
Pinning this!
Woa, pumkin pancakes sounds yummy, they look fluffly and gorgeous. Love me some.
Your pancakes look beautifully presented with the pumpkin seeds. I ought to try your rosemary maple syrup, this sounds like a pretty unique flavor. I made vegan masala chai pancakes before (with the use of coconut yogurt instead of the eggs), and now I would love to make this version someday soon (I’m actually traveling in Spain right now), with cardamom, cinnamon and pumpkin puree. This adorable recipe is making me look forward to fall!
Oh man, I am SO toked for the fall just so that all the pumpkin-flavored seasonal treats come out in the market again. But until that time, I am definitely making these because, whoa. Rosemary syrup on pumpkin pancakes? Such a creative and delicious-sounding combination!
Oh wow, pass me the pumpkin! I’m with you – I know I’d bake more pumpkin desserts if I could get hold of canned pumpkin.
Wow! these pancakes look great! Love the idea of adding rosemary to the syrup!
I absolutely love the rosemary maple idea. And woah, the fluffiness of these pancakes. They look awesome!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such gloriously puffy, fluffy pancakes before! Don’t worry, the photos say everything, no words needed.
Believe me, the fabulousness is well and truly conveyed! Your pictures tell all and these look incredible. So fluffy!
Pinned to my pumpkin Board! Love that you’re making pumpkin stuff already. I am too. I just haven’t blogged about it quite yet. I will start though :) Love how fluffy they are!
Oh no! I don’t have a pancake station! I need to assemble one quickly to make these pumpkin pancakes. I just made pumpkin cookies and I’m gearing up for fall!
OMG ARE YOU EVEN SERIOUS. THESE ARE SO FLUFFY I’M GONNA DIE!!!