Gingerbread Pancakes

It has been several weeks since I've made pancakes on the weekend, so I was due. But instead of going with one of our standby favorites (like pumpkin or cinnamon), I thought I'd channel the Christmas spirit and make gingerbread pancakes. Sadly, though, I didn't have a recipe saved from any of my favorite resources, so I had to seek out one on my own. After a quick Google search, I ended up choosing a well-reviewed recipe from allrecipes.com.

The first thing I noticed was that the batter was thinner compared to other pancake recipes I've made. I could've thickened it up by adding a bit more flour, but I decided to stay the course and follow the recipe as is. Although they fluffed up a little bit, they are not the big, thick, hearty pancakes that you get with some other recipes. But overall, they were good, with a nice gingerbread flavor. When I first tasted one, I wasn't sure if Nora would like it because of that tell-tale gingerbread "spice" to them, but I should've given her more credit. Girlfriend eats pancakes like her job, and we're learning that she does not discriminate--ALL pancakes are welcome in her world.

Because I am partial to thick, fluffy pancakes, I might try a different recipe next time, but I would most certainly come back to this one in the future. If you're looking for a basic gingerbread pancake recipe, give this one a try.

Gingerbread Pancakes
(Source: Adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 6 tsp. baking powder
- 3 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 6 tbsp. ground hazelnuts (optional, I omitted)
- 3 cups milk
- 3 whole eggs (or 6 egg whites)
- 6 tbsp. dark molasses

Directions:
1. In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, cocoa, ginger, cinnamon and cloves; stir in hazelnuts. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl whisk together milk, eggs and molasses.

3. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into it. Stir just enough to moisten; batter will be lumpy.

4. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.