Breakfast

Waffle Recipe

Posted by admin on Feb 2, 2019 in Breakfast, Food Journal | 0 comments

Waffles Recipe – This quick and easy recipe will have you eating waffles that are crisp on the outside and fluffy, chewy goodness on the inside in no time. Be sure to check out the video tutorial down below. Also, I have a few upcoming videos/recipes that will show you how to take these waffles up a notch. Also, waffles make a really good Valentine’s Day breakfast in bed, just sayin’.

Dry Ingredients for Waffles
2 cups A.P. flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 Tablespoons sugar

Wet Ingredients for Waffles
1 1/4 cups milk (warmed up)
1 cup buttermilk (warmed up)
3 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Combine all of the dry waffle ingredients into a large bowl. Mix them and make a well in the center.
2. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and use a whisk to combine. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure that the waffle batter is well mixed.
3. Add the waffle batter into your heated and oiled waffle maker and cook until done. There is a video tutorial down below if you’d like more detailed instructions :)

Pumpkin Bacon Doughnuts

Posted by Chef Alicia P. on Nov 18, 2015 in Breakfast, Food Journal | 0 comments

These pumpkin bacon doughnuts combine two of my favorite flavors, pumpkin and bacon……..mmmmmm, together at last and in a doughnut. YES! Ingredients
Dry
3 1/2 cups Self- Rising Flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
(For the salt, I used 1/4 teaspoon smoked sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon iodized. For a more traditional doughnut, use all iodized).
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Wet Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup bacon grease
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup buttermilk
15 ounces pumpkin puree

Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
milk, buttermilk, or cream to desired consistancy

Sugar Topping
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Garnish
1/2 pound bacon, cooked and chopped

Instructions
1. Mix all of your dry ingredients into a small bowl and stir until well combined.
2. In a large bowl, cream the sugar and bacon grease. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Stop and scrape the bottom and sides of your bowl.
3. Mix in the sour cream. Add the pumpkin puree and mix until well combined.
4. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture. Only mix this until the flour is barely combined. Overmixing will cause tough doughnuts. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk and mix. Continue to alternate the flour mixture and buttermilk until all of the ingredients are used.
5. Cover the dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
6. Once the dough has rested you can either fry it as is and make fritters or you can make the doughnuts. To make the fritters, simply drop large spoons of the dough into hot oil and turn them half way through cooking. When they are done, place them on paper towels for a minute to drain and then roll them in the sugar mixture while they’re still hot.
If you want to make the doughnuts…..
7. Place the dough onto a well floured surface and sprinkle some flour on top. Work additional flour into the dough until it is stiffer (see video).
8. Cut out the doughnut shapes and fry them in the hot oil. Turn them half-way through cooking.
9. Let them cool enough to handle them. Dip one side into the glaze and then into the crumbled bacon.
Enjoy!

Frittata with Mushroom, Spinach and Gruyere

Posted by Chef Alicia P. on Feb 22, 2012 in Breakfast, Food Journal | 0 comments

Frittata with Mushroom, Spinach and Gruyere – The Italian word frittata comes from the word fritto and means “to fry” (there’s some grammar stuff in there about past participles and whatever, but this is a cooking lesson, not a lesson in Italian, you wouldn’t want to take one from me anyway ;D). In Italy. It was originally a general word that was used to describe cooking any kind of egg in a skillet. Outside of Italy, it was used interchangeably with omelette. It is only in the last fifty or so years that it has become the word for a specific egg dish that resembles an open faced omelette. I kind of think of it as if an omelette and a quiche had a baby, it would be a frittata. The biggest difference between an omelette and a frittata is that you add the ingredients into the egg mixture for a frittata and you fold them into an omelette. Normally, frittatas are made to share and cut into slices like a pizza, this recipe is for an individual frittata but the recipe can be doubled if you want to share it. Also, this has nothing to do with cooking but, does everyone remember the a-coon-a-ma-tata (no idea how to spell that right) song, I’ve now had a-coon-a-frittata in my head for 3 days :D! Happy Cooking!
Ingredients

for the mushrooms

3 Crimini mushrooms, washed and sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

dash pepper

1 teaspoon olive oil
for the frittata

1 teaspoon olive oil

3 eggs

1 cup spinach, I just use a handful but if you measure, don’t pack it down, also, remove the stems

1/4 cup Gruyere Cheese, shredded

Instructions

1. Wash your mushrooms-You can do this one of two ways. For just a few mushrooms, like in this recipe, wash them under cold running water. If you’re washing a lot, put them in a bowl, fill it with water and swirl it around. Then drain them. You’ve probably heard that they absorb water, maybe a little (I’ve never noticed), it won’t hurt (they may not brown as well though) and if you’re cooking them, it cooks out anyway.

2. Place mushrooms in a small (6 inch) non-stick saute pan with the olive oil on high heat.

3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Cook them to desired consistency, there should be little or no liquid left, leave them in the pan.

5. Whisk your eggs in a medium bowl, then add the cheese and spinach.

6. Put your pan (where your mushrooms are waiting) on low to medium – low heat (it depends on your stove, you don’t want to cook this fast though).

7. Spread your mushrooms out evenly and pour your egg mixture into the pan.

8. Allow the bottom to set, about 5 minutes or so, watch for the edges to start to cook.

9. Place it in the oven on broil (after the bottom sets up), if your pan isn’t oven safe, you can either flip the frittata, or cover it with a lid.

10. Allow it to cook until the egg is set – this happens quick, like sometimes in less then a minute so watch your frittata like a hawk and check it often – I keep the oven door a little bit open so I can just glance in every few seconds.

11. Remove the pan from the oven – be careful, your pan handle will be hot.  A smart thing to do, and something we do in professional kitchens is to leave your pot holder on top of the pot handle. This will help to remind you not to grab the hot handle. It also warns others in the kitchen that it is hot.

12. Carefully remove your frittata from the pan, I do this by going along the edges with a high heat rubber spatula and working my way towards the middle to make sure it isn’t sticking anywhere (you don’t want it to tear when you take it out).

13. Enjoy your delicious frittata!

Soft Boiled Eggs with Cumin and Brown Butter Sauce – Recipe

Posted by Chef Alicia P. on Jan 11, 2012 in Breakfast, Food Journal | 0 comments

Brown Butter

Soft boiled eggs with cumin and brown butter sauce (recipe follows) – I’m not really sure if I had ever actually eaten soft boiled eggs until I met my husband Xavier. When we first got together, he would tell me about one of his favorite breakfasts (soft boiled eggs sprinkled with cumin and served with saltines and butter). It’s something his mother would always make and therefore, one of his comfort foods.  I always thought it sounded pretty good, but never was excited about it enough to make it. So, one morning my darling Xavier surprised me with breakfast. Guess what it was. That’s right, at least I hope you guessed right, it’s what we’ve been talking about in some detail :). Delicious, silky soft boiled egg heaven! Why oh why had nobody ever told me about this luxurious yumminess. Yes, it’s sad, I had been failed my whole life on soft boiled eggs :( . Don’t let this happen to the people you love :D ! However, I didn’t feel right giving you a recipe that involved saltines (not that they don’t have their place-a somewhere, I guess). So, I made a little change to kind of “chef it up”! I hope you love it! Happy Cooking!
Ingredients

Yummy Soft Boiled Eggs Before They're Mashed Up

2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon brown butter

Instructions

1. Place eggs in a saucepan and cover them with water. Allow them to set for about 10 minutes (this helps prevent the eggs from cracking since they warm up a little and don’t go from super cold to hot so fast).
2. Place the butter in a saute pan and heat it until it is light brown. Set it to the side *it is a little difficult to make a tiny amount of brown butter and get it out of the pan, so I recommend making a few tablespoons and putting the left overs into the fridge tightly covered (you can use the extra on fish, toast, in a sauce, anywhere you would use butter-just don’t heat it too much more or it’ll be black butter :)).
3. Turn the eggs onto high heat and bring the water to a boil.
4. Allow the eggs to boil for about 2-3 minutes. It’s best to do an extra egg the first time you make this and take it out at the two minute mark and see if it’s done. You have to know your stove. How long it takes the water to boil plays a big factor in the timing.
5. Remove the eggs from the heat.
6. Slice the egg in half (still in its’ shell) with a knife and scoop out the insides into a bowl using a spoon – be careful, it will be hot! I usually use a washcloth to hold onto the egg while I cut and scoop it. Also, don’t get frustrated, this maneuver takes a little practice :D !
7. Sprinkle the eggs with the cumin – feel free to use more then the recipe says.
8. Spoon a little brown butter (just the oil, not the foam) on top of the eggs and serve with toast.
Enjoy!
Yield 1 serving

Soft Boiled Eggs with Cumin and Brown Butter Sauce - YUM :D

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French Toast with Homemade Strawberry Sauce – Recipe

Posted by Chef Alicia P. on Jan 6, 2012 in Breakfast | 0 comments

French Toast with Homemade Strawberry Sauce (recipe follows) – French Toast is so delicious by itself, but add some homemade strawberry sauce and you have got something that’s really yummy! :D I love to make this for my family because it makes me feel like I spoil them. I’m not sure why, but they’re always super impressed when I make syrup or these types of sauces from scratch. I guess it’s because most people reach for the bottled kind. It’s really easy to make them at home though. In fact, I can make the whole family (all 7 of us) breakfast-sauce/syrup included in about 15 minutes (provided I use my griddle to cook the French Toast)! I always keep a stock of frozen fruit just for this purpose. I recommend buying fruit when it’s at it’s peak of season and washing, slicing and freezing some. Freezing fruit isn’t always a good thing. I definitely wouldn’t say to use frozen fruit for just anything. In this case though, it won’t hurt the final result. You can use other fruits too like pineapples (garnish with coconut-mmmmm) following the same steps. It’s easy and delicious, so today, take the time to spoil yourself or someone you love! Happy Cooking! Ingredients for French Toast

4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons splenda (or sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon milk
5 pieces of whole wheat bread
butter for the pan
Instructions for French Toast

1. Beat the eggs, splenda, vanilla and milk together.
2. Place a little butter in a saute pan and turn it on high heat (if you’re making the strawberry sauce, turn that pan on also and start your sauce).
3. Soak one piece of bread in the egg mixture for about 20 seconds, flip it and dip the other side.
4. Place the bread into the saute pan.
5. Turn the heat down to medium.
6. Allow your French Toast to cook on the first side until the egg is cooking around the edges of the bread.
7. When the french toast is golden brown on the first side, lift it out of the pan with a spatula.
8. Swirl the butter that is in the pan around to re-coat it.
9. Flip the french toast into the pan onto its second side. Turn the heat off.
10. Allow the French Toast to cook until it’s golden brown.
11. Remove your French Toast from the pan. Garnish your French Toast with your beautiful homemade strawberry sauce and enjoy :D – repeat with each piece.

Ingredients for Strawberry Sauce

1 c strawberries, sliced (fresh or previously frozen)
1/4 cup water -**only add this if you’re using fresh fruit
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions for Strawberry Sauce

1. Place a saute pan on the stove on high heat.
2. Place your strawberries into the hot pan (add the water too if you’re using fresh fruit).
3. Add the sugar and stir to combine.
4. Bring the strawberry sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-high.
5. Add the lemon zest and nutmeg.
6. Allow the strawberry sauce to cook until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
7. Spoon your homemade strawberry sauce over the French Toast and serve.

Please enjoy this “how-to” video!

Pumpkin-Crumb Muffins (Whole Wheat) with Cream Cheese Filling – Recipe

Posted by Chef Alicia P. on Dec 1, 2011 in Breakfast, Food Journal, Holidays | 0 comments

Pumpkin-Crumb Muffins-The toughest critic of my food in the house is definitely my baby. She is one and a half or I guess technically 19 months old. She is a great gage on how well a recipe turned out because she is completely honest and does not worry about sparing my feelings. If she likes the food, she eats it. If she doesn’t like the food a very dramatic display of her wiping out her mouth and scraping her tongue with her fingers ensues, she follows up by throwing the said food onto the floor and screaming as if she’s been insulted or injured. It’s much cuter than it sounds! Anyway, every now and then, I get the reaction where she completely stuffs her mouth and then points and grunts for more. If she really loves it, these grunts turn into insistent screams. Today, I got the insistent screams and so I must say that these are currently, in the baby’s humble and quiet opinion (LOL), the best pumpkin muffins around. Oh, and there’s an optional cream cheese filling! Happy Cooking!!!!!

crumb topping

crumb topping
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/8 cup light brown sugar
4 Tablespoons butter (room temperature and cut into chunks)

Instructions for Crumb Topping
1. Put all of the ingredients into a bowl and stir them with a fork.
2. Start mashing and stirring the butter with the fork until it looks like you have crumbs.
3. Set this mixture to the side.

Ingredients for the Muffin Batter
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice *see note

1 stick butter (room temperature)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon maple extract
Instructions for Pumpkin Muffin Batter

The wet ingredients look like this when mixed.

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350°F and prepare a muffin pan with cooking spray or butter and flour.
2. Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin spice in a large bowl.
3. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar.
4. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
5. Add the eggs, pumpkin, milk, and maple extract to the butter and sugar and mix-this will not come together, just mix it until it looks uniform.
6. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and add your wet ingredients into the well.
7. Mix to combine.
8. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 of the way.
9. Spoon about 1 Tablespoon of crumb topping onto each one and mash it down a little tiny bit into the batter.
10. Bake your pumpkin muffins at 350°F for about 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

well in the dry ingredients

Filling for the Pumpkin Muffins (optional)

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
8 ounces powdered sugar

Instructions
1. Cream the cream cheese and butter together.
2. Mix in the vanilla.
3. Mix in the powdered sugar adding it half at a time.
4. Fill a piping bag fitted with a #2 tip with the cream cheese filling.
5. Pipe the filling into the pumpkin muffins from the bottom – see video.

yield 12 muffins

*You can make your own pumpkin pie spice by combining equal amounts of nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice and half as much ground cloves.

i.e. – 1 tsp nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice and 1/2 tsp ground cloves

**You can also roast your own sugar pumpkin instead of using canned pumpkin puree, but most of us don’t have the time- especially in the morning!

Check out this “how to” video!

Cranberry-Pecan Muffins (Whole Wheat) – Recipe

Posted by Chef Alicia P. on Nov 28, 2011 in Breakfast, Food Journal, Holidays | 0 comments

Cranberry-Pecan Muffins (recipe and instructions with video tutorial follow)- Every year at Thanksgiving I make a giant batch of cranberry sauce for the family dinner. This year, while shopping at my neighborhood wholesale store (where mayo comes by the gallon), I bought my cranberries. They had a five pound bag for the same price I usually get two pounds for and I am one of those people who doesn’t pass up a good deal or a sale. Lost in the excitement of getting more than twice as much for the same price, I didn’t consider that this bag would be occupying the better part of my fruit drawer in the fridge. When I got home, I realized that I would be making a double batch of my delicious spiced cranberry sauce that night or the rest of my fruit would suffer the consequences. I began going over in my head all the cranberry creations I could come up with and that’s when these wonderful whole wheat cranberry-pecan muffins were born. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup flax meal
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 stick butter
1/2 cup Splenda
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon orange zest
2 eggs
1 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed if possible)
2 cups cranberries (chopped)
1 cup pecans (broken up)

Instructions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350°F.
2. Prepare your muffin pan with cooking spray or butter and flour it.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, flax meal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine.
4. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, splenda, brown sugar and orange zest.
5. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
6. Blend in the eggs and scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.
7. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix them together.
8. Add 1/3 of the orange juice and mix to combine.
9. Continue alternating the dry ingredients with the orange juice 1/3 at a time beating each addition until it’s combined and scraping the bowl frequently.
10. Stir or beat in the cranberries and pecans.
11. Spoon the muffin batter into prepared muffin cups.
12. Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

yield 12-15 muffins

Please enjoy this “how to” video!

Quiche Lorraine (lower fat) – Recipe

Posted by Chef Alicia P. on Nov 22, 2011 in Breakfast, featured-slider-post, Food Journal | 0 comments

Quiche Lorraine  (recipe and instructions with video tutorial follow) - OK, so today I’m going to teach you something about quiche really quick – actually, I’m going to teach you a couple of things (unless you already know all about quiche (if so, good job, move to the head of the class, if not, keep reading)). That way you can impress everyone later with your new found quiche knowledge. You may not realize this, but quiche is actually a form of custard. A custard is a liquid that is thickened by the coagulation of eggs. There are two kinds of custards, stirred, and baked. A quiche is a baked custard. This means it is not stirred during the cooking process and that it sets up firm in the oven. It seems like there is one very common question that I get when it comes to quiche. “How do I keep my quiche from getting watery”? Well, let me tel you. There is one very important rule that you have to know when making quiche. Egg protein coagulates at 185°F and the moisture separates from the thickened protein. Why do you care? Because, it is at this temperature where your quiche will get watery. This is not good. I don’t want to get technical and boring so I’ll just put it like this-pull your quiche out as soon as it sets, or it will be funky and watery. So, now you know how to fix that issue if you’ve had it in the past. Yay! OK, that’s enough of the quiche facts for now I think. One last thing though. I especially love to make this quiche recipe for special occasions like Mother’s Day and Easter. It makes a really yummy brunch. Also, it so easy to make (even though for some reason people find quiche intimidating), it’s nice to have for any day at breakfast. I’ll also confess that we’ve had it for dinner on more than one occasion. Wow, I had a lot to say. Well, now that we got that out of the way, let’s make some quiche!

Pie Crust
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup milk

Instructions

1. Mix the flour, salt, and nutmeg together in a bowl.
2. Add the oil and stir until well combined.
3. Add the milk and stir it until they are well combined (the crust should come together into a ball).
4. Divide the crust into two 8″ pie pans and use the palm of your hand to spread them across the bottom.
5. Work the crust up the sides of the pan (try to keep it all even).
6. Once you have it all spread, dock it (that means poke some holes in the crust with a fork).
* If you are using a shiney aluminum pan, pre-bake your crust for 7 minutes at 375°F, if you’re using a glass pan, don’t worry about it.

I also added 1/4 c broccoli to this one

Quiche
6 eggs
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
dash white pepper
dash nutmeg
1/2 pound swiss or gruyere cheese (grated)
1/2 pound bacon (cooked crisp and chopped small)
1/4 cup green onions

Instructions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375°F.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg and whisk until they’re well combined.
3. Sprinkle half of the cheese, cooked bacon, and green onions into each pie shell (if you pre-baked your pie shell, let it cool first).
4. Pour half of the egg mixture into each pan.
5. Bake at 375°F for 20-30 minutes on the very bottom rack – just until set (that means the middle doesn’t jiggle when you shake it gently).

Please enjoy this “how-to” video!

Plantain Muffins (whole wheat) – Recipe

Posted by Chef Alicia P. on Nov 21, 2011 in Breakfast, Food Journal | 0 comments

Plantain Muffins (Plantain Muffin recipe and instructions follow) – My wonderful husband Xavier has a very unusual allergy- bananas. This is one of those things that I truly feel sorry for him for because I make whole wheat banana bread all the time for the kids. So my poor baby has to be in the house and smell the delicious smell of banana bread baking. Not only that, but then he has to endure all of us sitting around the table raving about how good it is, and it is good! So the last time I made banana bread, our son made the suggestion that I make Daddy some platano (plantain) bread. What a great idea this turned out to be! These muffins are crazy good and they kind of make me feel like I’m on vacation. Or, at the very least I have some great flashbacks of our time in Puerto Rico when I eat these muffins.

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I like Bob’s Red Mill)

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 sticks butter (I like Plugra)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup molasses

2 eggs

2 1/3 cups plantains chopped (use very ripe ones)

6 ounces yogurt

Instructions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 325°F.

2. Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl.

3. Cream the butter, sugar, honey and molasses in a large bowl.

4. Add the plantains.

5. Mix in half of the flour mixture.

6. Add half of the yogurt. Mix well. Then add the remaining flour mixture.

7. Mix in the remaining yogurt.

8. Pour the batter into prepared muffin pans.

9. Bake at 325°F until a toothpick comes out clean.

yield 24 muffins

*I make 1 pan large muffins (12 large) and one pan of mini’s (24 mini’s)

** I would like to say to all of you who like to experiment in the kitchen, don’t just substitute plantains in your favorite banana bread recipe. Plantains are higher in starch and lower in sugar and do not cook the same. I would also like to say that if you experiment in the kitchen- good for you, keep doing it!

Pumpkin Pancakes – Recipe

Posted by Chef Alicia P. on Nov 10, 2011 in Breakfast, Food Journal, Holidays | 0 comments

The pumpkin pancake story/recipe – On Sunday mornings I always make a big breakfast for my family. This past Sunday I woke up craving pancakes. So, I got out of bed while the house was still nice and quiet (the kids were all still sleeping) and went to the kitchen to start the batter so everyone could wake up to the smell of pancakes. Well, to my dismay, when I went to the refrigerator to get the buttermilk, we were out. Dag-gone-it! Yes, I say Dag-gone-it (I got it from my Mom)! Anyway, I still wanted pancakes, and I didn’t have time to run to the store, nor did I want to, before the baby would be up. So, I started digging around my cabinets and came across a can of pumpkin. I love pumpkin! So, I decided to make pumpkin pancakes. I had no recipe so I just made it up as I went (this happens all the time in my kitchen)! I don’t want to sound conceded, but these are some of the best pancakes in the world, provided you like pumpkin of course! They will be a new regular at our breakfast table and may even show up at dinner. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Ingredients

3 c self – rising flour

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

2 1/2 c milk

4 Tbsp butter, melted

1/2 c sugar

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 can pumpkin (15 oz)

1 tsp orange zest chopped fine (optional)

Instructions
1. in a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and spice

2. in a separate, small bowl, beat the eggs a little and add the milk and beat a little more

3. melt the butter in the microwave

4. pour the egg mixture into the flour and beat until combined

5. add the butter and sugar and beat

6. add the pumpkin (and orange zest if you’re using it) and beat until combined

7. pour out 2 oz portions on a griddle heated to 300 or cook on the stove- it is easier if you use a 2 oz ladle – also make sure you use butter or cooking spray on your griddle/pan because these will stick – I use cooking spray

8. the pancakes are ready to flip when the edges start to look a little dry and bubbles are rising to the surface and popping

9. butter them as they come off the heat while they’re nice and hot so the butter melts

10. we used maple syrup on these but they would be good with others like orange

yield about 24 pancakes

*you can make your own pumpkin pie spice by combining equal amounts of nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice and half as much ground cloves

i.e. – 1 tsp nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice and 1/2 tsp ground cloves

**you can also roast your own sugar pumpkin instead of using canned, but most of us don’t have the time- especially in the morning!