Pumpkin Pancake Flavor Face-off

Fall is in full swing and I've been having an apple moment for the last month ever since we went apple picking in early October. But after making apple-everything, it's all about pumpkin now. This is my pumpkin moment.

It's the first weekend in November that we've been home to enjoy the crisp, fresh, Fall air and so I took advantage to do exactly what should happen on a perfect Saturday morning: homemade brunch.

The tricky part about cooking anything when it comes to the hubby and I is that we eat completely differently.  He's all about flavor, and I'm all about how healthy it is. My argument of course is that the two can, and do, go hand-in-hand.  

However, when it comes to pancakes, he wants the old-fashioned flour, milk and sugar kind, while I'm left scouring Pinterest for a hemp seed, flourless, protein-packed version.  And so today I ended up with a flavor face-off of pumpkin pancakes.  I'm happy to report that BOTH were delicious!

Traditional Pumpkin Pancakes for Him:

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups milk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Pumpkin Pancake recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

Healthier Pumpkin Pancakes for me:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oatmeal

6 egg whites

1/4 cup pumpkin

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp pumpkin spice

a splash of vanilla extract

2 tbs hemp seed (optional)

1/4 cup crushed walnuts (optional)

Grind the oatmeal first by using a coffee grinder, magic bullet or a blender (I used my new Ninja blender, which worked amazing).  Stir the rest of the ingredients all together. 

Set a non stick pan to medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Cook each side for about a minute. Depending on the size of your pan it could make from 3 large pancakes to 5 smaller ones (which is what I did).

Recipe courtesy of fit-fun-delish.com

Like I said, both of these recipes were delicious.  I would say 'his' were a bit sweeter (even before adding maple syrup!), and did have a very nice, spiced pumpkin flavor.  I loved mine for the nuttiness of adding the walnuts against the sweetness of the pumpkin, and ended up topping with raspberry jam for a fruity kick.

Feel good!