Gingerbread Pancakes

I found this wonderful recipe on the Taste of Home website (tasteofhome.com) and just had to try it. We all loved it! The pancakes were light and fluffy and had just the right amount of gingerbread flavor. They are perfect for breakfast on a snow day!

• 1 Cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• pinch of ground cloves (small pinch - cloves can be over-powering)
• 1 Cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 2 Tablespoons molasses
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

In a bowl, combine the first eight ingredients, set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, molasses, and oil; then add to the dry ingredients. Use a whisk to mix just until the ingredients are combined. Do NOT overmix.... (That's a mistake a lot of people make when they cook home-made pancakes. Lumps in the batter are good - if you try to beat out every lump, you will have tough, flat pancakes. So, go ahead and whisk until the dry ingredients are combined with the wet, then put the whisk down! : )

Use a ladle to pour the batter by 1/4 cupfuls (approximately) onto a lightly greased hot griddle. (I set mine for 400 degrees and sprayed it lightly with cooking spray.) Use the back of your ladle to gently swirl the batter into a small circle.

Now is the part when things sometimes go wrong for inexperienced pancake makers. When to flip? Recipes will often say flip once you see bubbles starting to form, but you really need to wait a bit. Don't flip until you see lots of bubbles AND the edges of the pancake should look rounded and partially cooked. When they look like this:

Go ahead and flip! And this is what you should get:

Let the second side cook for a few minutes - check the underside, and when it's golden brown, the pancake is done. This recipe should give you between 8 - 10 medium-sized pancakes. I doubled this recipe with no adjustments and it worked just fine. With doubling, I got 18 pancakes and fed my two kids, one of their friends, and myself with leftovers. Enjoy!!

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