Bringing the Holiday Cheer: Gingerbread Pancakes and Blogmas #3

   Happy Holidays! I finished my finals and started break this week; so why not relax with something festive? My family loves to make different pancake recipes according to the time of year. Out of all of the pancakes my family has made our gingerbread pancakes have to be my favourite! I thought I would share the recipe with you. It is the perfect breakfast for Christmas morning or any day during the holiday season.
   This recipe encompasses all your favourite holiday spices. Cloves and nutmeg fill the air with holiday cheer. The cakes are soft and fluffy while also being a little bit dense in the perfect way. As soon as you pour the batter onto the griddle you get a hit of holiday joy.
   I love the holidays more than anything, and as I'm writing this blog the house is filled with the smell of Christmas cookies. It's day  #1 of Christmas cookie baking in our house. So with that, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do and try it out during your holidays!

Holiday Gingerbread Pancakes

Yield: About 24 pancakes (leftovers are great)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 5 tsp ground ginger
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup fancy molasses 
• 4 large eggs 
• 6 tbsp melted butter  

Directions:

1. Combine all dry ingredients into a medium size bowl. Mix with a whisk for about 20 seconds, until fully incorporated.
2. In a separate bowl combine water, molasses, eggs, and melted butter. If you spray the measuring cup with PAM before measuring the molasses it will come out super easy. After adding all wet ingredients into a bowl whisk until it is all incorporated.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, this is where you will pour the wet ingredients. Whisk until combined. The batter can be a little lumpy, it most likely will be due to the butter cooling off and solidifying.
4. Heat your griddle to 350 degrees. Melt some butter on the griddle (you can use PAM) and pour the batter immediately onto the griddle, repeat for each batch cooked. The batter should be a bit liquidy. I usually do about 2/3 cup batter per pancake. Flip the pancakes once you see bubbles surfacing. The pancakes should be done after the feet look dull and not wet.

These pancakes are great served hot with some maple syrup and a little whip-cream. 

   If you're mornings are hectic, say on Christmas day, and you don't want to have to spend a ton of time making breakfast, you can prep these pancakes beforehand so you only have to cook them. Here's what to do: mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, cover with cling wrap, and set aside on the counter over night. Then mix all the wet ingredients in a bowl, cover with cling wrap, and refrigerate over night. In the morning all you have to do is combine the wet and dry ingredients and cook them on the griddle.

   Thanks for returning to Cook, Create, and Contemplate; and for your continued support. This was Blogmas #3 and be sure to come back next week for #4. Happy Holidays! You can check out some more blogs here, and my YouTube channel here, and you can follow my social media @tyler_dziwenko.