Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes

Christmas 2019. Fifth Christmas at the Martin house. The drive from Birmingham to Prattville in December is forty-five minutes and I can do it now without thinking and still it is not automatic in the way that going home is automatic because going there is intentional. I choose it every time. That is not the same as automatic and I want to keep choosing it consciously.

James was tired this Christmas. Not sick exactly, just tired, in the way that seventy-two-year-old men get tired in December. He sat in his chair more and moved between rooms less. But he was present. He noticed things. He said: you made the pecan pie again. I said: yours from the yard. He said: good. He said it the same way he always says good, with the specific weight of a word that means more than it takes up space.

Gloria gave me a composition notebook this year, blank, with a note that said: for the next chapter of recipes. She means: whatever comes after UAB, whatever kitchen you are in, keep writing things down. I cried in the bathroom again. I am developing a reliable habit of crying in bathrooms at Gloria and James house when something is too large for a public face.

Made a gingerbread cake this year, the first time I have made a proper gingerbread cake as opposed to cookies. Dark molasses cake with cream cheese frosting, dense and warm and spiced with ginger and black pepper and cloves. James said: this is very fine. Fine again. Third time this year. I am going to count the times he says fine the way I count the times he says proud. Both of them are keeping tallies now.

The gingerbread cake I made that Christmas — all dark molasses and black pepper heat — taught me something I’m still sitting with: spice is an act of care. It takes intention to layer warmth that way, the same way it takes intention to drive forty-five minutes and choose a family that chose you back. These pumpkin pancakes carry that same quality — soft and deeply spiced, the kind of thing you make not because it’s easy but because you want the morning to feel like something. James would call them fine. I’m keeping count.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4 (about 12 pancakes)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Butter or neutral oil, for the griddle
Maple syrup and whipped cream, for serving

Instructions

Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves until evenly combined.
Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract until smooth and fully incorporated.
Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a rubber spatula until just combined — a few streaks of flour are fine. Do not overmix or the pancakes will be tough. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes.
Heat the griddle. Warm a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly grease with butter or a thin film of neutral oil. The surface is ready when a few drops of water flicked on it skitter and evaporate immediately.
Cook the pancakes. Pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto the griddle. Cook until bubbles form across the surface and the edges look set, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook the second side until golden and cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes more. Adjust heat as needed to prevent burning.
Hold and serve. Transfer finished pancakes to a baking sheet in a 200°F oven to keep warm while you cook remaining batches. Serve stacked with maple syrup and whipped cream.

Nutrition (per serving)

Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes — The Warmth You Keep Choosing to Come Back To