A great thing about the food blogging experience has been the opportunity to bring the recipes I filed away for “another day” to life. Gingerbread pancakes, cut from a Real Simple magazine, is the first of such recipes. These pancakes, a seasonal makeover for a standard dish, sounded both festive and comforting. I have such fond memories of blueberry pancakes that I added blueberries, along with some lemon zest, to my pancakes.
Every year, my extended family on my mother’s side would take a week’s vacation in Bear Lake, Michigan. And every Sunday, we would eat blueberry pancakes served by the Bear Lake Lion’s Club. I have no idea how that tradition started, but eating blueberry pancakes on that one annual Sunday in July was as normal as eating s’mores by the campfire in the evening.
I have never been much of a maple syrup girl. For many years, I preferred to melt only a simple pat of butter on my pancakes. I’ve since warmed somewhat to syrup, so I opted to make blueberry syrup to accompany my pancakes. Not only does blueberry syrup taste delicious, it makes boring brown pancakes photograph much better!
Another great thing about food blogging is the opportunity to try new recipes, and gingerbread waffles is one such recipe I discovered while reading Annie’s Eats. I liked the orange zest in the gingersnaps so much, I added it to the waffles as well. And in both of my recipes, I omitted 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons of cloves.
Both recipes helped me recognize the simplicity behind a gingerbread breakfast. All you need are a few spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves) and molasses to add to your basic pancake or waffle mix, and voila, a simple, delicious breakfast is born.
Too many pancakes? Place a fried egg and a piece of sausage or Canadian bacon between two small pancakes to enjoy a homemade McGriddle.
Too many waffles? I’ve seen many a sandwich creation that includes meat and cheese sandwiched between quarter slices of waffles. With the gingerbread flavor of these waffles, I can’t help but think they would work well with a warm sandwich made with turkey or ham, melted Swiss cheese, and thinly sliced granny smith apples. If you try these ideas, I’d love to hear how they turn out. Enjoy!
- For the Pancakes
- 1 cup pancake mix
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 egg
- 1 scant cup milk
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- optional: 1 teaspoon lemon zest and any number of blueberries
- For the Waffles
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup milk
- cup sour cream or plain yogurt
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- optional: 2 teaspoons orange zest
- To make the pancakes, combine the pancake mix, spices, and if using, lemon zest in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, molasses and vegetable oil.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Allow the batter to rest for five minutes before pouring onto a hot griddle.
- Place a desired amount of blueberries onto the poured pancakes.
- Cook each side until well browned (the molasses will impart a very brown look to the batter), flipping when a number of “bubbles” appear on the uncooked side.
- To make the waffles, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, salt, and if using, orange zest, in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, butter, milk, sour cream or yogurt and molasses.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Pour the batter onto a waffle iron and cook per the manufacturer’s instructions, typically until steam no longer escapes from the iron.
these sound awesome + your pics turned out lovely. i love your idea of pairing them with meat to make a more savory breakfast. well done!
Thank you! The pancakes were my favorites, but the waffles were pretty delicious too.