whole wheat pumpkin pancakes

We might be at the end of pumpkin season, but I had to squeeze in this post…  These pancakes are absolutely divine, easy to make, and basically very nutritious.  Okay, they’d definitely be healthier without the candied walnut topping, but this is what I call a “special occasion” or “weekend breakfast” – something you’re not going to be eating Monday through Friday.  Joe discovered a pumpkin pancake recipe in his Men’s Health magazine, ripped it out, and casually left the page somewhere it would be discovered…   Translation:   “Please make this for me!”  Anything for him.  So, I worked with the recipe and did my own take on it.  Let me know what you think!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Walnut Pancakes
Inspired by Men’s Health Pumpkin Pancakes p.54 October 2010

Serves 2 (or 4 sides)

1 cup whole grain pancake mix
1 ½ Tbsp. brown sugar
4 Tbsp. ground flax seed
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp. all spice
¼ tsp. ground ginger
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup almond or regular milk
½ cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Pure maple syrup
Candied walnuts* recipe after

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to blend.  Whisk milk, pumpkin, egg, vanilla, and olive oil until smooth.  Pour pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredient bowl and mix until well-combined.  Heat griddle over medium high.  Ladle approximately ¼ cup of batter onto griddle for each pancake.  Cook until bubbles form in the batter and the edges begin to brown.  Flip and cook other side.  Drizzle with with maple syrup and garnish with candied walnuts.

Candied Walnuts

2/3 cup shelled walnuts
3 Tbsp. demerara natural sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/8 cup maple syrup
1/8 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place walnuts on a foil lined baking sheet and toast for about 15 minutes, until golden brown and fragrant.  Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.  Pour the maple syrup and honey into a small microwaveable bowl and set aside.  Upon removing the nuts from the oven, microwave the maple-honey mixture for about 15 seconds on high.  Stir well until combined and then add toasted nuts, making sure to coat evenly.  Spoon wet nuts back onto the lined baking sheet, being careful not to get any excess drippings on the foil.  Sprinkle the wet nuts with about 1/2 of the sugar mixture and shake them around until well coated.  Return the sheet to the oven for 10 minutes, tossing the mixture once in the middle of baking.  The nuts should be bubbling and rich brown when ready.  Remove the tray from the oven, ensuring all of the raw sugar is now melted.  Let cool for 1 minute and then begin acting quickly, transferring the nuts from the foil-lined sheet to a piece of wax or parchment paper.  After letting cool an additional 10 minutes, separate any nuts that are stuck together.

A few notes:

  • I use Arrowhead Mills multigrain pancake mix
  • The consistency of the batter may vary based upon the pancake mix you use.  Play around with the amount of milk until desired consistency is reached.
  • How about a dollop of maple whipped cream?  Maybe next time…
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17 Responses to “whole wheat pumpkin pancakes”

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  1. Lauren says:

    Pumpkin has no season in my opinion… I eat it starting in very early autumn and enjoy it well into the late winter months ;). These pumpkin pancakes sound awesome, and the candied walnuts put them over the top! I love Arrowhead Mills, and must pick up their whole grain pancake mix and make these pronto.

    • KarmaCucina says:

      Hi Lauren,

      Thanks for commenting. I like the notion that pumpkin has no season! I definitely associate it with Halloween and Thanksgiving, but there is no reason we can’t enjoy it outside of those months! And yes, Arrowhead Mills is wonderful. Can’t beat 22 grams of whole grains per serving! Let me know how these work out for you.

      P.s. those prosciutto wrapped dates on your blog are making me salivate!

  2. Jessie says:

    These pancakes are making me want breakfast for dinner RIGHT NOW !!!

  3. Margot says:

    Hi, Alyssa! This picture alone is enough to motivate me to make these pancakes this weekend! Really incredible. Do you take your own pictures? I try taking pictures of the food I make and they sure don’t come out as well as yours.

    Keep up the great work…

    • KarmaCucina says:

      Hi Margot! Thank you so much for the kind words! Yes, I do take all of my own pics, but am merely an amateur. I cannot begin to tell you how many pancake photos I took before selecting this one… how about 200? That’s about accurate! So, if I can share any advice with you, it would be keep shooting and practice does make perfect… or almost perfect! Thanks for stopping by.

  4. Ted says:

    Hey Alyssa!

    Okay. Must try this one.

    Side note: did you take these images? eh? eh?? I see commercial work in the future. 😀

    • KarmaCucina says:

      Yes, sir… You’re too kind! I’m inspired by some of the best! ; ) you know who you are!

      • Ted says:

        Not to take away from this, cause, I just printed out the recipe. Any Christmas blends?

        But you should totally check out, Penny De Los Santos’ food images. She combines photojournalism with food and lifestyle.

  5. KarmaCucina says:

    I’ll check her out tomorrow for sure!

    I’ll have to work on the new pancake blend. I have christmas oatmeal coming uo in the next week or so. Stay tuned for that.

    Maybe you can join me for a guest post on pho!

  6. Kim says:

    I’m very impressed, Alyss! Once I show Justin the pics of these pancakes, I’m pretty sure he’ll have me making them this weekend. Yummy!!!

  7. Sue McNamara says:

    Congratulations! Your pancake recipe has put me in a holiday mood. A great Christmas morning treat! 🙂

  8. I just discovered your blog, and I must tell you that your site as left me inspired to cook but, it’s also left me listening to the sound of my tummy grumbling! What wonderful and creative recipes you’ve included! I can’t wait to read more of your recipes and test them out myself, although I’m sure they wouldn’t look as good as they do in your photo’s!

    • KarmaCucina says:

      Thank you for your generous words, LovinLife! My goal is to share delicious and (mostly) healthy recipes with the masses. I love nothing more than evoking reactions like yours with my photos and words. So thank you VERY MUCH for commenting. I’m really just beginning and I appreciate all the feedback I can get.

      Also, I just checked out your blog and see that you’ve also just began your own blogging adventure. Best of luck to you!

      • Thank you very much for your wishes of luck! After creating my first post and then looking over some other great blogs, I see see that there are many great writers out there. I’d say you’ve done a great job so far of accomplishing your goal of evoking wonderful reactions in regards to your blog. I wouldn’t have known that you just got started until you pointed it out. Take care!

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