Pumpkin ‘Nana Pancakes
What a great start to your weekend or holiday morning festivities with these yummy Pumpkin ‘Nana Pancakes! Enlist the help of your little chefs by getting out the bowls and measuring spoons. They’ll have so much fun in the kitchen, don’t be surprised if they beg you to help cook dinner too!
Yield: about 24 (3-inch) pancakes
Yield: about 24 (3-inch) pancakes
Ingredients
Banana-Maple Syrup
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 2 ripe bananas peeled and sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
Pancakes
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk or regular milk + 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour can replace 1/4 cup of either flour with 1/4 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg optional
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 whole eggs
- 2 egg whites
- 1 cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 1-2 tablespoons honey
- 1 medium ripe banana peeled and chopped
- Olive oil spray
Instructions
Syrup:
- In a small sauté pan, melt butter over medium-low setting. Sauté sliced bananas and cinnamon in butter, for about 2 minutes or until bananas are softened, but not mushy.
- Reduce heat to low setting; stir in maple syrup.
- Cook over low setting for 1 minute. Turn off heat.
- Before serving, rewarm for 1 minute over low setting.
Pancakes:
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, ground flax seeds, spices and baking powder.
- In a large bowl, beat together whole eggs and egg whites.
- Stir in pumpkin, honey and almond milk-vinegar mixture (the vinegar will curdle the almond milk) until well combined. Fold in chopped bananas.
- Add dry mixture to egg-pumpkin mixture, folding just until combined. (Do not over-mix.)
- Lightly coat a large skillet with olive oil spray; heat over medium setting.
- Ladle pumpkin-banana mixture by the 1/4 cup full (smaller or bigger depending on your preference) onto hot pan.
- Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until small bubbles appear and pancakes are lightly browned. Carefully flip the pancakes, cooking only until done, about 1 minute. (Cut open one to test. If not cooked through, allow pancakes to cook a little longer.)
- Remove to an oven-proof platter and keep warm in oven. Repeat process with remaining batter.
- Pour syrup over hot pancakes. Serve immediately.
Notes
Make Ahead and Storage Tips: batter is best made prior to serving. Leftover pancakes may be stored tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 4 months. (For easier separating, store with a piece of foil, wax or parchment paper in between each layer.) Reheat, lightly covered with foil at 250 degrees F for about 7 minutes or until warmed through. Syrup is best made prior to serving to prevent bananas from becoming mushy.
Cooking Tips: if batter seems too thick, thin with a bit more almond milk. Watch how hot your pan gets, adjusting heat setting as needed.
Flavor Twist! These pancakes would also be yummy with an equal amount of mashed butternut squash instead of pumpkin. If not cooking your own squash, look for the Farmers’ Market brand sold in many supermarkets and natural food stores such as Whole Foods.
