To all my American peeps out there who may not have heard yet…
It’s Pancake Day over in the UK!
*pause to acknowledge my clever use of rhyming before 7am*
Also known as Shrove Tuesday…or the day before Lent.
(for more info, click here)
Now, I’m fully aware that I don’t live in the UK, I’m not Catholic, and I JUST celebrated Pancake Sunday two days ago, but c’mon…you can’t expect me (The Pancake Queen) to turn down a chance to wake up early and make pancakes instead of going to the gym!
I may have beat off the crowds at the gym tonight when I get off work, but believe me…
It was worth it!
Pumpkin Peanut Flour Pancakes topped with leftover Cashew Cream Icing and thawed frozen raspberries!
And the “recipe” couldn’t be simpler:
1 serving just-add-water pancake mix…this one is my favorite!
1/4 cup peanut flour
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice
Did you/are you celebrating Pancake Day today?
Are you giving up anything for Lent? Like I said, I’m not Catholic or anything, but I have given up things for Lent in the past just as kind of a test of my willpower. One year I gave up chocolate…that’s the year I found out cocoa is in red velvet cake! Lol
I’ll have to do some thinking today and decide if I’ll be doing it this year.
So, it seems after taking January off, I seem to be on some sort of pancake making spree! Just when I think I’ve run out of flavor combinations or ingredients to stuff inside, I dream up something new!
Now, I’ll go ahead and tell you that without even looking, I KNOW I’m not the first person to come up with the idea of cinnamon roll pancakes…or even PUMPKIN cinnamon roll pancakes, buuuuuuuut here is my series of thoughts whenever I see those recipes and their drool-worthy pictures with perfect cinnamon swirlies and the creamy white icing that looks so good I want to lick my computer screen:
“Oh wow, that looks ahhhhhhmazing…”
“Wonder what’s in it…”
“Hmm, butter, butter, sugar, more sugar, and oh look…MORE sugar”
*insert sad face*
So I just thought I’d try whipping up a recipe that still has all the same wonderful flavors but with less of the butter and sugar…you know, because I want to enjoy a plate of pancakes without going into a diabetic coma 😉
So this is what I came up with:
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
by Heather Powers
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
6017685
Ingredients (Serves 2)
For Pancakes
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
For Cinnamon Swirl
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2-1 teaspoon water to thin if necessary
Instructions
1. Heat a large skillet or electric griddle to medium heat and coat with butter or cooking spray.
2. Combine flour, leavening ingredients, and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Pour 1 cup of milk into a measuring cup, add apple cider vinegar and set aside for 1-2 minutes. This is your “buttermilk”
4. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, egg, butter, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Whisk until smooth.
5. Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
6. Combine melted butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, and water if needed to make the cinnamon swirl sauce.
7. Scoop batter into/onto skillet/griddle by 1/3 cup, swirl with cinnamon sauce and allow to cook 4-5 minutes or until edges start to brown.
8. Flip and allow to cook for 4-5 minutes more or until done.
9. Transfer to plate and top with cashew cream “icing” (recipe to follow) and sprinkle with more cinnamon.
And don’t even try to tell me it’s not pumpkin season…my pantry filled with 12 more cans of the stuff begs to differ!
I need a bit more practice in my cinnamon “swirling”…guess I’ll just have to make these again sometime soon.
Oh darn! 😉
Flipped and plated and waiting for their icing bath!
Oh yeah, THERE it is!
I know, I know…I’m totally wishing I could be that pancake right now too!
The cakes came out so moi….um, yeah…you know what I mean and the cinnamon swirl added just the right amount of sweetness…I totally could have eaten them plain, but once I got a taste of this icing, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that they were getting smothered drizzled with some!
Cashew Cream “Icing”
by Heather Powers
Prep Time: 3-4 hours (for soaking cashews
Cook Time: N/A
6017689
Ingredients (Serves 2)
1/3 cup soaked cashews (allow to soak in water for 3-4 hours or overnight)
1/3 cup milk of choice
1/8 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a mini food processor or Magic Bullet and blend until smooth and creamy.
Now you guys know I stand firm on my belief that you should go with the “real” stuff when it comes to syrup (the fake sugars will only leave your body wanting more), but I accidentally picked up this “table syrup” the other day instead but didn’t notice until I cracked it open this morning…
Turns out, it’s made from brown rice syrup, it’s pretty flippin’ tasty, AND has about 22-23 grams less sugar!
I hope you are all having a great weekend! Now that BB has done finished all the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and waited patiently for me to get this post up (how lucky am I?), it’s time to get ready and head to his family’s house for his niece’s birthday celebration!
What are you guys up to today?
What seasonal flavor can you just not give up lately?
Anyone else feel like it took two weeks for Friday to finally get here? It’s just been one of those weeks for me (probably because I was working late AND have been battling this sinus funk that seems to be going around)…needless to say, I could use a little lighthearted humor to start my weekend off right!
That last one killed me!
Hope you guys enjoyed those…now how about that breakfast pizza, huh?
For the last few weeks, thanks to the drop in the temperatures around here (really Mother Nature…make up your friggin mind already), I have practically LIVED off of oatmeal. Not that that is a problem, but this week, having a bit more time for breakfast, I decided to change things up a bit.
Who around here likes omelets?
Ok, now who likes actually MAKING omelets?
You know, you crack the eggs, let them spread and coat the skillet, fill them with delicious goodies, pause to admire how beautiful the colors are, and then slap yourself on the forehead after you “try” to flip it and are left with some sort of egg-tastrophe that nowhere near resembles the picture you had in your head…
Plus there’s the time, the precision…omg, who has that kind of time?!
My solution: Don’t flip!
AND…while your at it…why not get really wild and turn it into a pizza!
1. Saute onions and bell pepper over high heat in 1/4 tablespoon olive oil for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add spinach, cover, and allow to cook 2-3 minutes longer, or until spinach is wilted.
3. Remove veggies from pan.
4. Coat skillet with 1/4 tablespoon olive oil (or cooking spray) and reduce temperature to medium heat.
5. Return veggies to skillet, spread evenly across skillet.
6. Pour in egg whites, cover, and allow to cook for 4-5 minutes or until egg starts to set and the edges start to turn brown and pull away from the sides of the skillet.
7. While you wait, pop your tortilla under the broiler and toast just until it starts to get crispy. Once done, allow to cool for a couple of minutes and then spread with cream cheese.
8. Uncover skillet and allow to cook 2-3 minutes until egg is set and no liquid remains on top.
9. Using a large spatula, transfer the egg white “pizza” to your toasted tortilla that has been spread with cream cheese.
10. Garnish as desired and slice with a pizza cutter.
I was a little curious about the stats so I plugged it into a calorie counting website and was pretty impressed with what came out:
33 grams of protein?! Heck yeah!
Now the recipe/nutritional facts is for the original version that I first started with. Since then, I’ve made it two other times (and can see it appearing more in future breakfasts) and changed up the veggie “filling” and toppings…
Really guys, the sky’s the limit with this!
You don’t have to keep it traditional…
Switch out the greens…I used Swiss chard in this one…add some Mexican seasonings and top it with some salsa and cilantro for a little “Latin flair”…
Or why not use the oil from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes instead of olive oil, top with tomatoes, olives, and sprouts (just because you saw them in the fridge) and go Greek…would have been even better had I had a little feta cheese to go on top.
Open wide!
**WAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT!**
Hold the presses!
This just happened for lunch:
Can I interest anyone in a slice of dessert “pizza”??
Close your eyes…well, after you read this next part….and think how amazing a bite of creamy melty peanut butter, spicy cinnamon, warm banana slices and toasted coconut tastes…
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter (or other nut butter of choice)
1 small banana
dash of cinnamon
chocolate chips and/or other desired toppings
Instructions
1. Heat a skillet to medium heat.
2. Coat with coconut oil and add liquid egg whites.
3. Cover and allow to cook 5-6 minutes or until almost set.
4. While the eggs are cooking, toast a whole wheat tortilla under the broiler in your oven. 5. Once done, spread with peanut butter and set aside. Do not turn off the broiler.
6. Uncover and sprinkle with cinnamon and allow to cook 2-3 minutes more or until egg is set and the edges start to brown and pull away from the pan.
7. With a large spatula, transfer your egg white “pizza” to the tortilla.
8. Top with banana, chocolate chips, coconut…whatever your heart desires and place back under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until chocolate chips are melted and/or the coconut flakes are toasty.
9. Slice with a pizza cutter.
Sweet eggs…think French toast…don’t knock it till you try it…you WON’T regret it!
What has been your “can’t get enough of” breakfast lately?
Any big plans for the weekend?
BB is finally back from being out of town and we both have this Monday off for the holiday so I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with him…plus, I just found out yesterday that there’s a new Greek restaurant in town and I’m dying to try it out!
My name is Heather! I'm a southern gal with a passion for food, fitness, and photography...and alliteration if you didn't notice! Here you'll find a mix of random musings, delicious recipes, and hopefully a chuckle or two! Check out my "About' tab to learn more!
