Every year after Halloween, my mom finds herself at a loss for what to do with the leftover pumpkins that we mercilessly carved into spoopy jack-o’-lanterns. She sees pumpkins as food first and foremost, rather than decorations we use to entertain trick-or-treaters. Seeing the potential in this orange squash, she figured out how to skin them and cut out the flesh. Putting them in the blender, she transforms this would-be trash pumpkin into piping-hot pancakes. I’ve made her recipe student-friendly by substituting a whole pumpkin with ready-made and easily purchasable pumpkin puree. You can find this either in the baking aisle or canned vegetable and fruits section at the market.
What you’ll need:
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- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
What you’ll do:
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- Combine the milk, pumpkin puree, egg, vegetable oil and maple syrup in one bowl. Make sure the egg is thoroughly incorporated into the mix.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and all the spices.
- Make a space in the middle of your dry ingredients and pour in your wet ingredients.
Jasmany Flores/Senior Staff
- Mix together until just combined. It’s okay to have some flour lumps. Be careful — over-mixing the batter can lead to chewy, tough pancakes.
- Lightly grease a pan and put on medium-high heat. Add about a ¼ cup of batter onto the pan.
- When the edges are cooked and the batter seems to bubble, flip the pancake over.
Jasmany Flores/Senior Staff
- Cook until both sides are golden brown and then take off the pan.
- (Optional) Top with more maple syrup when serving. (Super optional) Top with pumpkin spiced whip cream and powdered sugar to be even more basic.
Enjoy!
Contact Angeline Nguyen at [email protected].
