Silver Dollar Pumpkin Pancakes

In my hometown when I was growing up, there was, inexplicably, a Dutch pancake restaurant called Pannekoeken Huis. I have no idea whether or not my family and I pronounced it correctly, but we just loved heading down to “Panna-kooken-hoos” and chowing down on the delicious breakfast offerings ranging from good ol’ bacon and eggs to big, poufy Pannekoeken that waitresses sporting braids and wooden clogs had to run to deliver to the tables before deflation occurred. Because at Pannenkoeken Huis, if a Pannekoeken fell before the waitress delivered it to the table…well, it was pretty much the end of the world.

Just what a Dutch pancake house was doing in a town of 35,000 in Northeastern Oklahoma is, to this day, a complete mystery to me. All I know is I loved it dearly, I miss it dearly, and I had a lot of memories there.

Oh, and Pannekoeken Huis is now a Chinese buffet. It’s called Hunan and it’s delicious. My younger daughter and I and go there sometimes when I take her over there for soccer practice. We load up our plates, return to the table, then I send her back for seconds because I’m too embarrassed to go myself.

My gosh, what was my point? Oh! I remember: The first time I ever heard of silver dollar pancakes was at Pannekoeken Huis. This is funny to me, because silver dollars are obviously an American currency, so what was a Dutch restaurant doing serving a dish with such an American influence?

These are the answers I hope to someday find in the hereafter.

Anyway, yesterday—because it’s that time of year—I made a batch of pumpkin pancake batter using my Perfect Pancake recipe as the base. But instead of proceeding with standard pancakes, I remembered the old days of Panna-kooken-hoos and went the silver dollar route. I inhaled them, my boys inhaled them, and when Marlboro Man and the girls got home from my older daughter’s soccer game two hours away, they inhaled them, too.

That was quite possibly the longest recipe headnote in the history of recipe headnotes. Until my next recipe headnote, which I think I’ll make longer, just to see if I can one-up myself.

I’m sorry you have to put up with me.

The Cast of Characters: Cake flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin puree, eggs, vanilla, whole milk, butter, and maple syrup.

Oh, and heavy cream. Not pictured, because I’m an airhead.

And pecans. Not pictured, because I’m an airhead.

And caramel sauce (optional). Not pictured, because I’m an airhead.

Are you seeing a pattern here?

Measure three cups of cake flour…

 

And throw it into a large bowl.

 

Add some salt…

Baking powder…

 

And sugar.

Then stir it together and set it aside.

Measure some canned pumpkin puree (or some fresh, if you’re into that kind of thing. Here’s how to make the fresh stuff if you’re interested!).

Throw it into a separate bowl…

Along with a couple of huevos…

Some vanilla…

And some whole milk.

When I cook or bake, I love to use whole milk. Makes me feel naughty.

And jiggly.

Then grab some of this…

 

And sprinkle it in.

Whisk it all together until it’s combined…

And slowly pour it into the dry ingredients.

Stir it gently as you pour it in…

And if it seems overly thick, splash in an additional half-cup of milk at a time until it’s right. It should be pourable but not overly runny.

 

I used a kitchen scoop to drop tablespoons of batter onto a lightly buttered skillet over medium-low to low heat. Any hotter than that and the pancakes will burn, which will ruin your entire day…or at least your pancakes.

Then just let ’em cook on both sides until they’re nice and golden brown.

Pretty!

Yummy!

Meanwhile, pour some heavy cream into the bowl of a mixer…

Along with some maple syrup.

Whip it together until light and fluffy.

Meanwhile, Chapter 2: Chop some nuts. Or, if you’re lazy, disenchanted, disenfranchised, and malodorous like me, just chop them in the food processor.

 

To serve ’em up, arrange the pancakes in an overlapping circle, ending with one in the center.

Add a plop of butter…

Then sprinkle on some nuts…

Look at that nut mid-air! The official photography term for this is “Mid-Air Nut.”

Next, drizzle on some warm maple syrup.

After the syrup, add a dollop of the maple whipped cream…

 

Along with a fresh sprinkling of nuts.

This is totally optional: Next, grab some caramel sauce…

 

Drizzle on a zig-zag criss-cross pattern.

Then cry because of the bliss you’re about to experience.

Geez Louise. Over and out. Amen and Hallalujah.

These were divine!

Oh, and you can also make big ones! The batter obviously works either way.

These would make the perfect Halloween morning breakfast this week!

Enjoy, guys. Here’s the handy dandy printable!

Recipe

Silver Dollar Pumpkin Pancakes

Prep Time:

10 Minutes

Difficulty:

Easy

Cook Time:

10 Minutes

Servings:

6 Servings

Ingredients

• 3 cups Cake Flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
• 3 Tablespoons Sugar
• 2 cups Canned Pumpkin Puree
• 2 whole Eggs
• 3 teaspoons Vanilla
• 2-1/2 cups Milk
• 1/4 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
• Butter, For Serving
• Maple Syrup, Warmed, For Serving
• Finely Chopped Pecans, For Serving
• Caramel Sauce, For Drizzling (optional)

Instructions

(Note: Recipe can easily be halved.)

In a large bowl, combine cake flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Stir together and set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and milk. Slowly drizzle wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stirring gently with a spoon as you go. Once combined, if mixture needs more moisture, splash in a little more milk. Batter should be pourable.

Heat large skillet or griddle over medium-low to low heat. Smear a little bit of butter over the surface and drop tablespoon-sized amounts of batter onto the pan (more if you want larger pancakes.) Wait a minute or so, then flip to the other side. Pancakes should be light golden brown and set in the middle.

Whip cream with maple syrup (optional) until light and fluffy. Set aside.

Serve silver dollar pancakes in a circular pattern on a large plate, ending with one in the center. Top with butter, sprinkle with chopped nuts, and drizzle with warm syrup. Top the whole thing with the maple whipped cream and serve immediately! (Note: you can drizzle with a little caramel sauce, too!)

a