Gingerbread Pancakes

It's Saturday and I have to clean. Which means I woke up this morning wanting pancakes, but realized immediate thought was, I have no pancake mix. You see, every Saturday morning growing up, we'd have pancakes before cleaning the house as a family. In fact, pancakes were the first dish I learned to cook by myself. Mom would mix up the Bisquick, I'd pour them into the skillet and wait for bubbles to form, then flip them over. Afterwards, I'd get to cover them in real maple syrup, an annual souvenir from my grandparents and their yearly vacation to the Adirondacks.

So, even though I've adapted to making almost everything from scratch, including dishes I never would have considered as a child (pie crust or mac & cheese, for example), somehow I've never thought about making pancakes, which consist of like 4 or 5 ingredients. Fortunately, I had all of them, as well as the all important maple syrup (Thanks Grandma!) But, because I can't ever seem to leave well enough alone, I had to play with the batter. I wanted something more grown-up, more fall-y, even if it is 75 out today. I think my concoction turned out just fine.

As always, I like my food fairly strongly spiced. I also use whole spices, and grate them myself with a microplane grater. So, if you use my exact proportions with preground spices, it'll probably be a little milder.

Gingerbread Pancakes

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk + 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 egg

Mix lemon juice and milk, and set aside to curdle.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add liquids in, and stir until just mixed.

Heat skillet over medium heat, and lightly grease. When hot, pour batter in by 1/4 cup scoops, about 3 to 4 to a pan. (A standard ice cream scoop is about the perfect size for this.) Cook until edges are dry, and a few bubbles have broken on the surface, then flip.

Great with maple syrup, whipped cream or spiced apples or pears.

Serves 2