Gingerbread Spice Pancakes
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Make a batch of these fluffy, spiced gingerbread pancakes for a relaxed winter breakfast or holiday brunch.
A stack of the best homemade pancakes on a relaxed, lazy morning — doesn’t that sound like a perfect way to start the weekend?
These gingerbread pancakes will remind you of a gingerbread cake or spice cookie, because they’re seasoned with traditional aromatic dessert spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg.
To add depth of flavor and ensure that each bite is fluffy but not dry, I added a bit of cocoa and some molasses to the batter.
Because isn’t a delectable cake-like texture exactly what you’re looking for in a pancake?
Pancakes are always a comforting, homey option for breakfast (and even dinner), but these spiced-up cakes will elevate a dreary, chilly morning and make a weekend brunch extra-special.
Fun facts about spices used in gingerbread:
- The scent of cinnamon (and cassia) has been shown to be a mood-lifter. The spice is one of the most-used in the world.
- Ginger has long been a medicinal remedy for digestive ailments. And in colonial times, gingerbread cookies were allegedly used as bribery to sway voters from one candidate to another.
- Cloves are powerful and pungent — a little goes a long way in cooking. In addition to being used to treat toothaches, cloves are a key ingredient in ketchup.
- Large (we must assume very large) doses of nutmeg are poisonous and can cause hallucinations akin to an LSD trip. Culinarily, nutmeg is essential in pumpkin pie, eggnog and French four-spice.
Gingerbread Spice Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup (110 g) dark brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) molasses
- 2 cups (500 ml) milk
- Powdered sugar
- Maple syrup, warm
Instructions
- Sift the flour, cocoa, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.
- Whisk the eggs sugar, oil and molasses in a medium bowl. Stir in the milk.
- Pour the egg mixture over the flour mixture and mix just until dry ingredients are moistened.
- Spray a griddle with non-stick spray or grease with butter; place over medium heat until hot.
- Spoon about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto griddle. Cook until small bubbles emerge and start to pop on the surface of the pancakes; turn with a spatula and cook until second side is lightly browned.
- Dust the pancakes with powdered sugar and serve with warm maple syrup.
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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We just made these this morning. We were out of ginger and molasses so they were just spice, not gingerbread. But still very yummy!
We did two batches:
One without cocoa for one child who doesn’t like chocolate and one with the cocoa. Both were a big hit.
Thank you for the inspiration.
Yay – so glad your family enjoyed them!
YUM! These pancakes look utterly amazing! I love gingerbread, and these would be just perfect for the weekend ♥