Pumpkin Pancakes

Tis the season for pumpkin! It's hard to believe that summer is over and we are heading into fall. (I know I'm jumping the gun a little) I REALLY love pumpkin anything. During the fall I try and cook with pumpkin as much as I can. Pumpkin makes these pancakes very moist, and pairs excellent with maple syrup or just some powdered sugar and butter...YUM! These are almost like a dessert to me, but I'm up for any kind of dessert for any meal of the day. I love to make these on Sunday morning before church, so that the whole family can enjoy. If you don't have whole milk, use whatever you have on hand. Don't skip beating the egg whites, this makes the pancakes light and fluffy. The texture is a moist airy pancake that tastes like a pumpkin pie in pancake form...P.S. my kids LOVED them!

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/4 c flour
6 tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 c whole milk
3/4 c canned pure pumpkin
4 eggs, separated (room temperature)
1/4 c butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla

Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Whisk milk, pumpkin, egg yolks, melted butter and vanilla in medium bowl to blend well. Add pumpkin mixture to dry ingredients; whisk just until smooth (batter will be thick). Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in another medium bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into batter in 2 additions. Brush large nonstick skillet with oil; heat over medium heat. Working in batches, pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls into skillet. Cook until bubbles form on surface of pancakes and bottoms are brown. They may take a little longer to cook than regular pancakes, so turn down the heat so that they will not burn. Serve with syrup.

cooking spray
maple syrup