Easy Peasy Pumpkin Pancakes

Forgive me in advance - if you are one who likes recipes for their specificity, then you probably won't like this one. But I urge you to try making these pancakes with a lax attitude, as that is the best way to start a lazy Sunday.

I'm not a big pancakes person.  Eating them?  Sure!  But making them?  Augh.  Just as I detest baking, I detest making pancakes for the same reasons - messy flour, multiple ingredients and measuring cups.  But when this time of year comes around, I can't resist the siren song of pureed pumpkin.  And so, this year I was determined to find an easy way to whip up 5-minute pumpkin pancakes whenever the urge hit, and I can confidently say (after several batches), that this is one of the easiest pancake recipes (if you can even call it a recipe) on the planet, and it's pretty healthy to boot!  (And duh, it's vegan.)

Easy Peasy Pumpkin Pancakes

- pancake mix of your choice (I use Highland Sugarworks' Organic Multigrain Pancake Mix because it's vegan and includes simple ingredients - whole wheat flour, corn flour, rye flour and sea salt)

- almond milk of your choice (I prefer Silk or Almond Breeze - both the plain, unsweetened variety)

- pumpkin pie spice

- pure maple syrup (get the good stuff here - I brought mine back all the way from Vancouver!)

- Earth Balance (or butter)

- pureed pumpkin (yes, from a can)

So you've got all your ingredients.  Now you just combine until you get the desired consistency (which can vary depending on what you like - I like mine a bit thick).  I usually start by adding the pancake mix, pureed pumpkin (use about 1/3 of the amt of pancake mix you use) and some almond milk until I find a decent consistency.  Then I add a generous sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice and a drizzle of maple syrup (which I swear makes the pancakes ever-so-subtly sweet from the inside without using sugar, which is a big plus for me). 

Then just heat a skillet over medium heat (you can use a griddle if you are fancy like that and have one), coat it with nonstick spray and Earth Balance (this is KEY to making your pancakes goldeny brown and delightfully crispy around the edge) and use a 1/4 cup measuring spoon to make each pancake.  Easy peasy!

Note that you can store any leftover batter in the fridge and use it the next day or maybe even the day after that.  I usually just put plastic wrap over the mix and the bowl (as in directly on the batter so a weird film doesn't develop) and keep it in the fridge.  When I'm ready for another pancake, I just let it sit out of the fridge for about 5 minutes and then fry that sucker up.

Serve with warm maple syrup (and Earth Balance, if you so desire, but I don't find it necessary since you're cooking them in it).  Enjoy!