Easy Gingerbread Pancakes

These were absolutely delicious. Total “mix to table” time was under 35 minutes. Two thumbs up from our family, and a definite new addition to our breakfast menu!

This is a great recipe to bring the children into the kitchen to “help.” The measurements are simple and stirring is a breeze. The total amount of lemon zest I used was right under 1 teaspoon. I also used about 3/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste instead of the bean or extract. I heated my nonstick skillet and used only 1 drop sunflower oil. I plopped 2 heaping tablespoons batter into the skillet, and it spread to well over 4 inches in diameter. 2 minutes per side is all you need for these delicious treats.

The pancakes aren’t overly full of the gingerbread flavor, but that doesn’t stop these from being perfectly wonderful on a beautiful fall Sunday morning. Heating the maple syrup just a tad before serving over the pancakes is a special touch.

These were a lovely change from regular pancakes. You could taste the gingerbread, but it wasn’t overpowering. Overall, a great pancake recipe. It served the 4 of us (2 adults and 2 kids) but probably wouldn’t feed 4 hungry adults.

I cooked the bacon in the pan while preparing the pancake ingredients. The bacon finished cooking just as I finished making the batter, which took about 10 minutes. Cooking the pancakes took another 15 minutes. I used 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, and my lemon zest measured a scant tablespoon. The lemon zest seemed a bit strange to me, though in the end, I couldn’t taste it at all. Maybe in the future I’ll just use buttermilk and skip the lemon zest and regular milk.

I added the milk and then egg as described but found that the batter was still way too thick. I added an additional 1/4 cup milk to the batter, which made it a more pourable consistency, though still quite thick. I think I could’ve added more milk to make a thinner, more spreadable pancake. I left about 1 tablespoon bacon fat in the pan and cooked the pancakes in that, which worked well. My “dollops” were about 1/3 cup batter, which yielded 8 pancakes about 5 inches in diameter. They took 3 minutes to cook on the first side and 2 minutes on the second side, resulting in nicely browned, fluffy pancakes. Overall, an excellent flavor that was enjoyed by all.

These gingerbread pancakes are perfect for cold snowy mornings when you want something comforting to start your day. The pancakes are delicately spiced, and the grated lemon peel adds a warm touch of citrus.

The recipe makes a really thick batter, almost too thick. I didn’t use any oil to start the bacon, but I had almost 1/2 cup bacon grease when I’d cooked it all. I removed most of the bacon fat to cook the pancakes. I added the fat back by the tablespoon as needed to keep the pan well-greased and used a 1/4-cup scoop to place the batter in the pan.

Our result was 10 pancakes for the 4 of us that were light and more cake-like than pancake-like and truly heavenly in taste. When I make these again (possibly around the 25th), I will probably thin the batter to make them more pancake-like. The spicing I wouldn’t change one bit.

If you have the time to whip up a special holiday breakfast, give these a try. The flavor is a lemony gingerbread and pairs well with maple syrup and, for a special treat, don’t forget the crème fraîche or whipped cream. The flavor may be more suited to adults than children, but it was yummy nonetheless. I served these with maple syrup and whipped cream rather than the crème fraîche or sour cream.

Never fear! Despite a few extra ingredients like cinnamon, ginger, and lemon zest, these gingerbread pancakes come together easily. Yes, tuck this recipe away for special holiday weekends with your family, but I bet you’ll be reaching for it more often than you think. These pancakes are that delicious and, I daresay, traceable.

Make sure you use the back of a fork to break up and distribute the brown sugar into the rest of the dry ingredients. I added a few drops of real vanilla extract. I used a few passes of a good-quality, non-additive spray canola oil to slick the skillet before adding the bacon. Once the bacon was cooked, I removed the slices and gave the griddle a gentle wipe with paper towels to distribute the drippings and soak up the excess grease. For a 4-inch pancake, add 1/4 cup batter. The batter is thick, but it does tend to spread when heated. The cakes were ready to flip in 2 1/2 minutes. Total yield using 1/4 cup was 9 perfect pancakes. It’s very important to keep the pancakes warm in a low oven. If they cool, they become tough. And absolutely don’t forget a dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche. I just love how the zest, spices, maple, and sour cream play so well together.

I liked these gingerbread pancakes a lot!

The batter was easy to put together and done in about 10 minutes. I measured 1 teaspoon lemon zest from a very small lemon. I didn’t make the bacon, so I used about 1/2 tablespoon canola oil to cook the pancakes. The 12-inch nonstick skillet had room for 3 cakes at a time. The pancakes were about 4 inches wide. The heat was on medium, not low, so they cooked rather quickly, less than 1 minute on each side. They had a nice blend of ginger and cinnamon and were just slightly sweet. I used a few drops vanilla extract instead of the vanilla bean. The lemon zest added a nice, subtle taste.

The texture was on the cakey side with a firm exterior, especially on the second side that was cooked. I consider this a Testers Choice recipe. It’s a nice change from the typical old pancake.

These pancakes are a wonderful way to start the day. We enjoyed them on a lazy holiday morning, but they would be just as doable on a busier morning since they’re so quick and easy to make. The warmth of the spices comes through, as you would expect, but it’s the lemon zest that really pulls the flavors together into something special. I accidentally let a few of the pancakes go a little too long in the pan. Even though they appeared to be blackened, they still tasted like a gingerbread treat. I didn’t have self-rising flour on hand, so I used a homemade version. I used a pinch of ground vanilla beans in place of scraping the seeds out of 1/2 a vanilla bean. I didn’t make the meat for this breakfast, but I used 1 tablespoon bacon fat from a prior occasion to cook the pancakes. After the first couple batches were out of the pan, I added 2 additional teaspoons bacon grease before continuing with the pancakes. I used 1 1/2 tablespoons batter for each of my pancakes, and this gave me the exact yield mentioned in the recipe.

This is the first pancake recipe in a while that my husband immediately deemed a “10 out of 10.” The flavors were subtle and light. The pancakes puffed up like pretty griddle cakes and looked lovely topped with crème fraîche. The batter is thick. I thought it was going to be too thick to function until I added the egg at the end. I used 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. I had to smoosh the batter into the 4-inch rounds once I dolloped it into the pan. This yielded 8 pancakes—4 servings if you go with 2 per person.