Joy Bauer’s Pumpkin Pancakes

Autumn is finally here, and with the changing of the leaves, so changes my diet to include more pumpkin. It’s practically a requirement, am I right? Really, pumpkin is an extremely healthy ingredient (rich in the anti-oxidant beta carotene) that could (and should!) be used year-round. There is just something about this time of year, though, that makes me crave all things pumpkin. Pumpkin Custard Pie? Check. Pumpkin Scones? Ooh, need to make those this year. Pumpkin Bread (with Cream Cheese Frosting)? Yes, please! Maple & Pumpkin Spice Latte? I’ll take two! Anyway, you get the idea! I might be a little bit obsessed.

Today’s recipe comes from Joy Bauer’s cookbook, Slim & Scrumptious. You can find Joy’s other books, including the new Food Cures, at her website. When Joy contacted me to partner up and allowed me to use some of her recipes on my blog, I was over the moon with excitement. Joy is all about cooking meals that are healthy and easy to make without sacrificing flavor or texture, which is something I also strive to accomplish with most of my recipes.

To celebrate, I am giving away TWO (2) free copies of Slim and Scrumptious!

There are two ways you can enter (and yes, you can enter twice!).

1. Post a comment on this recipe with your favorite or least favorite pumpkin dish (make sure to include a valid e-mail address!), or
2. “Like” lolfoodie on Facebook (do this by going to the lolfoodie Facebook page and clicking the “Like” button). Note that to enter via Facebook “Like”, you must “Like” the lolfoodie page and not just this post. If you want to use Facebook to enter and your profile is set to private, please send an e-mail to cathy at lolfoodie dot com with your name so that I can confirm.

The winners will be randomly selected by a random number generator. I will close the contest two weeks from today, on Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EDT and announce the winners shortly afterward.

Anyway… onward, to today’s recipe! Once again, thank you to Joy Bauer for allowing me to publish her recipe for Pumpkin Pancakes on my blog

(I chopped and toasted the pecans while waiting on the camera battery to charge.)

(Step 1) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well combined.

(Steps 2 & 3) In a second large mixing bowl, whip the egg whites until blended. Add the pumpkin, yogurt, brown sugar, and vanilla extract, and whisk until combined. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir together gently until just combined and smooth (no dry streaks should remain), taking care not to overmix.

Note: Save the leftover egg yolks for something like these Chocolate Pots de Creme. You can also save any leftover pumpkin for use in another recipe- for ideas, check out last year’s Pumpkin Dessert Recipe Roundup!

(Step 4) Liberally coat a large skillet or griddle with oil spray. preheat it over medium heat. When the pan is nice and hot (after about 2 minutes), ladle about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto the surface. The batter will be thick, so it may help to spread it out with the back of a spoon.

Cook the pancakes until they are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Recoat the skillet with oil spray between batches to prevent the pancakes from sticking.

At this point, you can follow instructions 6 & 7 to prepare the maple creme (super easy, just combine the cream cheese and maple syrup) and finish assembling the pancakes with the chopped pecans.

Enjoy! 🙂

//edit// Giveaway is now closed!