Don't Know What to Do with Canned Pumpkin? Try Pumpkin Pancakes

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pancakes

I have a pet peeve, recipe disappointments. I'm not talking about recipe fails, they are obvious. You take the dish out of the oven and you can see right away, something didn't work. I'm talking about recipe disappointments, those moments when you finish your recipe, stand back and think wow, that looks yummy. Then you bite into the dish and everything falls apart. While it may look beautiful, the taste is flat. Don't worry I'm not perfect by any means and have these experiences quiet frequently. Normally when they happen I try re-making the recipe with changes in order to figure out what exactly needs to be modified. It doesn't help when many food sites are moving to user based reviews. While I like the idea of reviews, they have a few issues. When you see that thousands of people like a recipe you assume it will turn out and when it doesn't you instantly feel like a failure. I think that is the root of the problem, the more positive reviews a recipe gets the more pressure you feel to give a positive review. With my reviews I try to be as honest as I can, when something doesn't work I relate how to change the ingredients or steps in order to make the recipe work. Today I tried a new recipe for Pumpkin Pancakes from the new All Recipes magazine which was one such experience.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 12 pancakes. I made a number of changes to the original recipe and suggest even a few more. Perfect pancakes are something to be savored and I do my best to make delicious breakfasts. After struggling with pancakes for years I bought a griddle and haven't looked back. They are wonderful, no more gooey centers or burnt pancakes. I eat gluten free so I made two batches of these pancakes, one with gluten free flour and one as written. Either way I suggest a few modifications. The taste of the allspice is way too strong. It needs to be reduced to 1/2 teaspoon or less. The recipe does not include nutmeg, which to me helps reduce the strong taste of ginger and allspice in recipes. Additionally, the cinnamon flavor is hard to notice. I would suggest adding a 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, increasing the cinnamon and using buttermilk instead of milk and vinegar. The flavor would be much better. The pancakes end up too dense and heavy, which could be alleviated by only using baking soda or baking powder. Using both of them and too little liquid makes for a pancake that sits in your stomach for days. A thinner batter would help for the pancakes to be a little less hearty.

I made these again with changes and they were much better. However, my two kids liked them either way, they ate both batches. For the second batch, which is pictured, I added chocolate chips. Both my kids and I preferred the chocolate chips since it mellowed the pumpkin taste. My family is an example of different food opinions, my boys loved the recipe as written, while I preferred it with changes. Food as with many things in life, is relative.

For the recipe go to Pumpkin Pancakes.