What's For Breakfast: Gingerbread Pancakes

The holidays are quickly approaching ... and my to-do list is not getting any shorter. In fact, if anything, it's getting longer! But there's always time to whip together some holiday fun in the kitchen, because, well, a girl's gotta eat, right?

Yesterday I made a batch of these delicious–and dare I say super-cute–gingerbread men pancakes. My most successful gingerbread men were made by cooking the pancake batter inside a gingerbread man cookie cutter. Albeit, it was a tad dangerous given how hot the metal gets! But the end result was so worth it. (And, uh, you could always use a tool that's meant for the job, like this gingerbread man egg/pancake mold.) The little men puff up in the cookie cutter, so you end up with a really fluffy gingerbread man pancake. You can easily replicate these in your own kitchen with a cookie cutter and a thin spatula (for careful flipping), or you can of course make these as regular round pancakes.

Served alongside some pure maybe syrup, and maybe a little powdered sugar if you want to cover any wonkiness (although I think that any variations just give the little guys some extra character!), and you've got a great breakfast for any winter holiday celebration.

Gingerbread Pancakes (printer-friendly version)
makes 4 servings

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsulphured blackstrap molasses
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for the skillet

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
2. In a separate bowl, stir together the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and molasses.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients, and whisk until just combined. Then stir in the melted butter. Do not over stir!
4. Melt the butter in an electric skillet heated to 350 degrees. Add about 1/3 cup of batter in rounds to the skillet. Flip the pancakes when bubbles form and the batter looks matte in appearance. Cook for an additional minute or two. If you would like to make gingerbread men pancakes, spray a gingerbread man cookie cutter with cooking spray. Set the cookie cutter in the skillet and then spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter into it and spread the batter into the head and appendages. Cook until matte and bubbly, then carefully (the cookie cutter will be hot!) flip it over. Cook for another minute or two, then remove from the skillet and let cool for a few minutes before carefully removing the gingerbread man from the cutter. Alternately, you could make a large pancake and cut out the gingerbread man shape from the pancake. Serve the pancakes immediately or keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.