Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Why This Pumpkin Spice Pancakes Works

As the dry and wet bowls come together, the flour, baking powder, and baking soda start reacting with the buttermilk and pumpkin. The buttermilk is a little sour, so it wakes up the baking soda, and tiny bubbles start forming in the batter even before it hits the pan. Pumpkin puree is thick and a bit heavy, so the extra baking powder gives more lift, which keeps the pancakes from turning dense.

During cooking, those bubbles expand in the heat and stay trapped by the flour and egg, so the pancakes puff up instead of spreading flat. The pumpkin and buttermilk keep the batter moist, so the inside stays soft while the outside browns. Spices like cinnamon and nutmeg are mixed into the dry bowl first, so they spread evenly and don’t clump. By the time the pancakes are flipped, the batter has set enough that they hold together, but there is still enough moisture inside for a tender, fluffy texture.

Mistakes To Avoid

Overheating the pan at the start makes the outside of the pancakes brown fast while the centers stay thick and undercooked. The cook often lowers the heat after the first batch, but by then some pancakes are already dark outside and still a bit wet in the middle.

Stirring the batter until it is completely smooth beats out the air and works the flour too much. The pancakes then cook up flat and a little tough instead of soft and fluffy, and they don’t soak up syrup as nicely.

Using pumpkin pie filling instead of plain pumpkin puree throws off the moisture and sweetness. The batter turns looser and sugary, so the pancakes spread too much, brown too quickly, and can end up gummy in the center.

Pouring big, thick pancakes from this batter can cause trouble on the stove. The outside sets and browns while the middle needs more time, so by the time the center cooks through, the surface can be dry and a bit rubbery.