Pumpkin Granola Buckwheat Pancakes

Like a lot of people during the fall season, I get just a little obsessed with everything pumpkin!  (See my previous post from October 13, 2012 on “Pumpkin Season”)  http://thebookofdonna.blogspot.com/2012/10/pumpkin-season-pumpkin-pie-smoothie.html  Whether it’s at the coffee shop, the Yankee Candle store, or the bakery I want to devour myself in ALL things pumpkin throughout the fall season!

So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk
It's dairy free so its great for those who are
lactose intolerant!

So when my Whole Foods finally started carrying the So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk, you can imagine how excited I was!  I believe I actually started doing the “happy dance” right there in the store!  I know I probably got a few looks from other customers, but it’s no different than when I’m in my car so I just do my dance and go about my business.

I use So Delicious products all the time - I love their  vegan “ice cream” and I use their coffee creamers.  They have a vanilla and hazelnut flavor coffee creamer, but I have missed the seasonal flavors that come out during the holidays.  However, even though I miss the seasonal flavors, I can’t get myself to drink them anymore because of all the nasty ingredients they contain that I try to keep out of my diet.  Sooooo... back to the Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk.  If you know me, you know I love food and I’m someone who isn’t afraid to experiment with recipes.  The So Delicious carton has a recipe on it for pancakes and while I’m sure it’s very good I wanted to make my own version!  I’m big on texture when eating so I prefer granola pancakes over regular pancakes because I feel like the oats gives it more bite.  And I love buckwheat so I thought I’d try making Pumpkin Granola Buckwheat Pancakes and WHO’DA THUNK???  They were so amazing that I knew I had to share the recipe immediately!

These are the ingredients I used (those aren't real pumpkins - they're actually candles).

I ate my pancakes with just a little bit of (real) organic maple syrup that I heated up so it was nice and warm and I cannot even begin to describe how happy it made my my belly!  Do yourself a favor and get yourself some REAL maple syrup and DON’T waste your money or tastebuds on that fake corn syrup stuff!  It’s nasty and not good for you and is a pain to clean up - plus maple syrup tastes so good!

I used a little ladle to easy pouring for the batter.

You'll know they're ready to flip when
the edges of your pancakes look "dry".

Beautiful golden brown pancakes!

You know you want to make these!

The first time I made these pancakes I used an egg, but I made it the second time using EnerG Egg Replacer to make it was vegan.  Honestly, I couldn’t tell the difference in the taste, but you can make it whichever way you decide and let me know what you think!  According to the Book of Donna, if you like pumpkin - you’ll want to eat these pancakes every morning for breakfast!

So delicious with a little warm maple syrup!

Pumpkin Granola Buckwheat Pancakes

Makes about 9 dollar size (5") pancakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Buckwheat Pancake Mix

1/3 cup Rolled Oats

1/3 cup Pumpkin Puree

1/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 cup So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk

2 tsp Safflower Oil *you can also use canola oil

1 Egg, beaten OR 1 serving EnerG Egg Replacer for Vegan Version

Directions:

1. Mix buckwheat, rolled oats together in a medium bowl.  
2. Add Pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk, safflower oil and egg OR egg replacer if making vegan version.  
3. Whisk together until completely combined.  
4. Heat griddle on medium heat and lightly spray it with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto griddle - cook for about 2-3 minutes, depending on your stove top.  The way you’ll know your pancakes are ready to flip is the edges will start to look “dry”.  I always use a spatula and carefully peek under the edge before flipping to make sure they’re ready to flip.
6. Flip and cook other side for about 1-2 minutes.  Enjoy with warm maple syrup.

*Tip:  When I’m making a BIG batch of pancakes, I pre-heat my oven to 200-250 degrees and place the pancakes on a pan in the oven to keep them warm until I’m ready to serve them.  This way, they’re all nice and warm when you’re ready to serve!  

*Also, you can make a large batch and freeze the leftover pancakes!  They re-heat really well and taste just as good as the day you originally made them!  Just put them in a plastic zip-loc bag and put them in the freezer - reheat in the toaster oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or in the microwave.

*For a variation, you may want to try adding some chopped walnuts or pecans either directly into the pancake batter, or top off your pancake with the nuts.

Let me know what you make these and what you think - tweet me or comment on my Facebook page.  Have a great day!