Day After Thanksgiving: Pumpkin Pancakes

It seems that before Thanksgiving is even over, we are encouraged to panic over the fate of our leftovers. This seems strange, as we’ve always found it remarkably easy to get rid of leftovers by refusing exit to any guest without a plateful. Barring that, there’s always turkey curry salad. Still, there are a couple of Thanksgiving purchases that cannot so easily be passed off or reused; among them is pumpkin purée.

If you had the misfortune of using a pumpkin pie recipe that was not kind enough to simply use up the entire can of purée, or, if by some chance, you followed sage advice and roasted your own pumpkin, then you will have some leftover pumpkin purée. Lucky for you that back in 2004 we clipped a recipe from the October Martha Stewart Living that, unlike most lackluster magazine recipes, has hung on for dear life, and four years later, still visits us every fall around this time. It’s for pumpkin pancakes. And you will love it. These pancakes are tender and airy, lightly spiced and not too sweet to withstand a thorough dousing of maple syrup. The recipe is below. Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy.

(Incidentally, if you’ll be making a pumpkin pie this year, might we suggest that you reference these: detailed instructions for making flaky pie crust, information on roasting your own pumpkin and, of course, a delicious pie recipe.)

Pumpkin Pancakes
Adapted from October 2008 Martha Stewart Living.
We’d say this makes pancakes enough for 2 people, or perhaps 3 if you’re also making bacon.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cloves
1 large egg
6 tablespoons pumpkin puree (this is actually 3/8 of a cup, so 1/4 cup plus 1/2 of a 1/4 cup--much easier than trying to scoop out 6 accurate tablespoons)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup milk, preferably whole

Whisk dry ingredients together. Whisk wet ingredients together, including the melted butter. Fold wet and dry together until just mixed, a couple of lumps are okay. If the batter seems too thick to pour, add a bit more milk. In butter or oil, fry pancakes over medium heat until golden brown on each side, making sure each pancake is set on the bottom before flipping.