This year Halloween falls on a Sunday. Yippee! The perfect day to whip up some dressed up pumpkin pancakes for breakfast or of course you could just go to IHOP.
However if you'd rather spend a quiet morning at home, IHOP has decided to share these tips for making the perfect pumpkin pancakes.
•The batter - Start with your favorite pancake batter recipe and simply add canned pumpkin pie mix.
•Water temperature - When preparing dry pancake mix, it is essential that the water is chilled to less than 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Use ice to bring the temperature of the water down.
•Lumps are good - Do not over mix the pancake batter. Small lumps of flour are what make pancakes tall and fluffy.
•Grill temperature - Use a 350-degree grill and make sure there are no hot or cold spots that can affect cooking time.
•Cook time - The appearance is how you judge when a pancake is ready. When dropping the pancake batter, watch for bubbles to form and for the batter to have a dull appearance. This takes approximately 2.5 minutes. After flipping, cook approximately 2 minutes.
•Pancake topping - Top pumpkin pancakes with whipped cream.
IHOP will be serving Pumpkin pancakes through out the month of October.
However, if you're looking for a specific recipe for creating your own spectacular Halloween pancakes here's a recipe you can follow:
Pumpkin Pancakes with Hot Cider Syrup or Spooky Black Cinnamon Syrup
Makes 12 pancakes
Ingredients:
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
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
Directions:
1.In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
2.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. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface and the edges look dry. Turn over and cook until golden brown. Serve immediately with syrup of your choice.
Hot Cider Syrup
1 1/2 c. apple cider
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. corn syrup
2 oz. butter
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
Grated rind from 1 lemon
2 apples, peeled, cored & thinly sliced
Directions:
In a small saucepan, combine apple cider, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon rind. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Add apples. Heat for several minutes more. Serve over pancakes.
Black Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 brown sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup water
Black food coloring
In a saucepan combine white sugar, brown sugar, all-purpose flour and cinnamon. Stir dry ingredients together. Add vanilla extract and water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until thickened. Add food coloring until you get to the desired shade. Remove from heat until you are ready to use and place in a squirt bottle to decorate.
Decorating ideas with Black Syrup: spider web, spider, witch, bat, cat, pumpkin face, etc.
Note: If you'd like to decorate your pancakes for Halloween with something other than the syrup try IHOPs design. Using some whipped cream decorate a smile for the mouth and add candy corn on top for the teeth.
Use a strawberry for the nose and whipped cream circles for the eyes with a mini oreo set onto each whipped circle. Now who wouldn't love that?
Looking for more fun? Check out these Halloween Pancake Molds.
Have fun!
