How to Make Ultra Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes with Easy Steps

Photo: KnowInsiders

There are some recipes that you always come back to, these pumpkin pancakes are that kind of recipe. These pumpkin pancakes are simple to make and call on ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.

There are two tricks for the fluffiest pancakes:

1. Mix the dry and wet ingredients separately. Then when you’re ready to cook, slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Once you see most of the large lumps of flour disappear, you’re done. No more mixing is required. We use the same approach when making quick bread and muffins.

2. Use the right amount of leavener. In this recipe, we are using baking powder and baking soda to get nice, tall fluffy pancakes.

Ingredients

6–8 servings

Photo: Once Upon A Chef

BATTER

2 large eggs

1½ cups buttermilk

1 cup pumpkin purée (preferably Libby’s)

¼ cup (50 g) sugar

3 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter

1 2" piece ginger, peeled, finely grated

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2½ cups (313 g) all-purpose flour

2½ tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. baking powder

¾ tsp. baking soda

1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt

MAPLE BUTTER AND ASSEMBLY

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

4 Tbsp. pure maple syrup; plus more for serving (optional)

½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt

1 cup pecans

Vegetable oil (for pan)

Preparation

BATTER

Step 1

Photo: Once Upon A Chef

Separate yolks from eggs over a small bowl to catch egg whites. Place yolks in a large bowl. Add buttermilk, pumpkin purée, sugar, butter, ginger, and vanilla to egg yolks and mix with a rubber spatula to combine. Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to combine, then gently add to buttermilk mixture and mix until dry ingredients are mostly hydrated. Briefly beat egg whites lightly with a fork, then add to batter and mix until completely incorporated. Let batter sit for 10 minutes.

MAPLE BUTTER AND ASSEMBLY

Step 2

Photo: Once Upon A Chef

While the batter is resting, heat softened butter in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave for 10 seconds. The butter should be extremely soft but still pale yellow in color and not melted. Add 4 Tbsp. maple syrup 1 Tbsp. at a time, whisking vigorously after each addition to fully emulsify before adding more, about 2 minutes total. Whisk in salt; set aside.

Step 3

Heat a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-low and toast pecans, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool; coarsely chop.

Step 4

Photo: Once Upon A Chef

Lightly brush the same skillet with oil and increase heat to medium. Stir batter, and, using a ⅓-cup measuring cup, scoop a heaping cupful of batter into a skillet. Repeat a few more times to fill the pan but leave enough room around pancakes to keep them from touching. Cook pancakes until bottoms are golden brown, edges begin to dry out, and bubbles form on the surface, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook on another side until golden brown and pancakes are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a platter and repeat the process with the remaining batter, brushing the skillet with more oil between batches if needed, until all pancakes have been cooked.

Step 5

Photo: Once Upon A Chef

Divide pancakes among plates and top each with a heaping tablespoonful of reserved salted maple butter. Drizzle more maple syrup over if desired and scatter pecans on top.

Seven best tips for perfect pancakes every time.

1. Check the freshness of your baking powder.

2. Whisk your dry ingredients to avoid big lumps.

3. Resist the over-mix.

4. Rest the batter.

5. Use a big skillet or, better yet, a griddle.

6. Wipe out the pan between batches.

7. Pay attention.

More Pumpkin Recipes

• Easy Pumpkin Mac and Cheese — How to make extra creamy pumpkin mac and cheese in under 1 hour. The perfect Fall dinner!

• Pumpkin Pancakes with Butter Pecan Syrup — Fluffy pumpkin pancakes recipe with pumpkin puree and warm spices. Plus, a recipe for homemade butter pecan syrup.

• Homemade (and easy) Pumpkin Pie — How to make classic, unfussy pumpkin pie from scratch. This is our favorite way to make pumpkin pie. It’s easy, too!

• Pumpkin Scones — How to make the best-spiced pumpkin scones inspired by Starbucks.

• Chocolate Orange Pumpkin Bread — This quick bread has pumpkin, orange, and is packed with chopped chocolate. Not too sweet, extremely moist and perfect for fall!

• Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte — How to make the best pumpkin spice latte at home with pumpkin puree, coffee, milk, and fall spices. Better than store-bought!

The Unofficial Happy History of Pancakes

600 BC - The first recorded mention of pancakes dates back to ancient Greece and comes from a poet who described warm pancakes in one of his writings.

1100 AD – Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day) becomes a traditional way to use up dairy products before lent – the pancake breakfast is born.

1445 - The year that villager’s in Olney, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, started their famous pancake race. Each year the winner receives a smooch from the church bell ringer.

1700s – Before baking soda chefs used fresh snow, which contains ammonia, to help make pancakes light and fluffy.

1800s - Milk and occasionally cream become the preferred liquids for pancake batter: before then, brandy and wine had been just as common.

1870s - The flapjack becomes known as the pancake and America is changed forever.

1880s –Maple syrup becomes the preferred topping of choice.

1931- Bisquick is first introduced and good cooks across America start using it to make extra fluffy pancakes.

1966 – A “New York Times” food editor publishes a recipe for a baked pancake that he discovered while visiting a friend in Honolulu.

1985 – Bisquick becomes the official sponsor of National Pancake Week, creating a weeklong celebration of all things pancake.

1995 - The largest pancake ever flipped was made in Rochdale, United Kingdom. It measured 16.4 yards across, weighed 3 tons and took more than just a frying pan to flip it over.

2008 – Actor Rainn Wilson creates SoulPancake.com, a feel-good website that encourages people to explore what it means to be human with a little laughter along the way.

2009 – Aldo Zilli set a new world record for flipping a single pancake – he flipped it 117 times in 60 seconds.

2012 – 890 people set a world record for the most people tossing pancakes — 930 tried but 40 flippers were disqualified for dropping their cakes.

How to Make Morning Glory Baked Oatmeal with Easy Steps This Morning Glory Baked Oatmeal brings together everything you love about morning glory muffins but in oatmeal bake form.

How to Make Lemony Tortellini Soup with Spinach and Dill Springy and light yet comforting and flavor-packed, this recipe takes its cues from avgolemono, a family of Greek soups (and sauces) in which broth is ...

How to Make Tomato and Egg Drop Noodle Soup with Easy Steps Scroll down to know how to make Tomato and Egg Drop Noodle Soup - a beloved Hong Kong dish with approximately one billion variations!