Goodness. These gingerbread pancakes are pure goodness. I’ve mentioned this before, but pancakes are my kind of comfort food. I love pancakes for their ability to elevate a morning from ordinary to celebratory simply by gracing the table with their presence.
These humble spiced pancakes are fluffy yet hearty, and both warming and comforting. Topped with orange zest-laced cream cheese and real maple syrup, they’re really extraordinary. Yes, these pancakes are for Christmas morning and special occasions, but they are also for those other days when we need a little reminder that there is a lot goodness left in this world.
I stayed up far too late working last night so I’m struggling to find my words today, but I will say that the prospect of eating these leftover pancakes for breakfast made getting out of bed much more bearable. I still haven’t learned how to gauge the heat level on my new gas stove so the exteriors of my pancakes got a little overdone but they were delicious regardless. I hope you’ll make them soon.
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
- around 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar).
- In a smaller bowl, whisk the egg and then whisk in the milk, molasses, vanilla and melted butter. Slowly pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, stirring as you pour, until the flour is just incorporated.
- Heat a griddle, cast-iron pan or non-stick pan over medium-low heat. It’s hot enough when a drop of water sizzles against the pan. Grease the pan with a pat of butter or non-stick cooking spray. Give the bowl one more stir and pour 1/3 cup batter into the pan. Flip when the perimeter of the pancake is no longer shiny (these pancakes don’t develop many of the tell-tale bubbles around the edges so they can be a bit tricky). Serve the cooked pancake immediately or keep warm in an oven set to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Repeat with remaining pancakes, adjusting heat as necessary to achieve pancakes that are cooked through and golden brown on both sides.
- Whisk together the cream cheese and orange zest in a bowl (rough measurements are given above, adjust to suit your tastes). Serve pancakes with orange cream cheese and real maple syrup.
- Adapted from my pumpkin pancakes recipe.
- Yields 8 medium pancakes, enough to feed 2 to 4.
49 Comments
Oh my goodness, lock me up and throw away the key!! Gingerbread screams Christmas to me but like you said, what’s wrong with having it on other days when you just need a little extra spice in your life? These sound fabulous. Pinned! :)
I would call this anything but humble…they look gorgeous!
Thank you, I’m glad you think so. :)
Since my husband is gone during the week now and eating crappy cafeteria food every day, weekend breakfasts have become even more of a “thing”. And by thing, I mean lazy, comforting, delicious food to make up for the 5 days of nasty vats of oatmeal made with who knows what. So yeah, these just made the list for this weekend. Seriously excited! :)
Hope you two love the pancakes! He deserves a good breakfast after all that cafeteria food, yuck.
i love anything gingerbread and these look indulgent yet wholesome. These are so going on the Christmas brunch menu! I want to smear leftover pancakes with maple peanut butter :)
Maple peanut butter sounds awesome. I’m partial to almond butter with molasses-sweetened things. Something about it is so right!
Love your syrup shot!
I’m totally with you, pancakes are my comfort food for sure. Like clockwork, when I’m experiencing a no good, very bad morning, I crave a pancake, make a batch and feel comforted almost immediately!
Your comment made me realize that I should keep pancakes stocked in the freezer for those no good, very bad mornings! Or those no good, very bad evenings… I like pancakes at any hour. :)
I do that! Just add the frozen pancake to the toaster, toast like bread and you’re eating in under 2 minutes. I thank myself every time I hit that stash!
These are STUNNING Kate!! I love gingerbread :D
I love the translation of a cookie into a pancake! I too had issues with adjusting to a gas stove, I am a huge fan now, bu coming from electric it was a switch.
I had a gas stove in my last apartment, but this one is smaller and the knobs only have indicators for “medium” and “high”! It’s tricky.
Looove this idea! These pancakes look as good as they sound!
what a fabulous idea!! pancakes are my favorite dish too! now I have to decide between this and the pigs in a blanket idea I saw (sorry I forgot the website) where you place a breakfast sausage inside a pancake and cover it in maple syrup.
I’ve been seriously craving pancakes-for-dinner lately and what better recipe to get me in the spirit of the holidays!
Eddie and I decided to make these for dinner – you a rock star, lady! We LOVED them. I mean, who doesn’t love pancakes for dinner… but these were amazing.
I’m a huge gingerbread fan, so these pancakes sound amazing! I’ve been dying to try out your gluten free oat pancakes too. Maybe I’ll combine them? :)
Totally going to make these for the fam on Christmas morning!
Sinply divine. That orange cream cheese is calling my name!
There’s something about gingerbread and citrus that just go so well together. The pancakes look amazing, and I love the addition of the orange cream cheese. Citrus can always lighten up an otherwise heavy dish.
Perfect pancakes! I love gingerbread spices and the idea of that warming mix in these pancakes would have me springing out of bed in the morning!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe! My family just finished our breakfast and we all enjoyed it. I added blueberries to it as I think gingerbread is better with them (thanks to James Beard for the tip). I used olive oil as I do not eat butter and had fat free cream cheese plus sugar free syrup as a family member is diabetic. We will be eating this again.
yum! those look like the perfect Christmas morning breakfast. All I need is a bloody mary to go along with it! Thanks for the recipe!
Mmm. These look like the perfect Christmas miracle. My kids are pancake fanatics – I’m going to have to try these out this weekend.
I imagine these would smell heavenly as well from the gingerbread spices, a nice way to start the day.
We had these pancakes for dinner tonight with a fried egg and bacon. They were delicious, even without the cream cheese topping. This recipe is a keeper.
“AAAW YES.” That’s what I was saying in my head when I read the title of this post and saw that first photo. I think a little sweet and spicy comfort has been extra needed for all of us lately. Good call, lady. These look wholesome and perfect.
I made these pancakes this morning and man were they delish! My mom(being the health freak she is) was worried that they were going to be “far too sweet”, but guess what…she loooved them! Ahh we have leftovers in the fridge. So yum. I found your blog the other day and have already made two recipes (this one and the curried garbanzo beans). You have totally inspired me to make a food blog. Thank you for sharing your recipes with us all! Xox
Thanks, Quinn! I’m so glad to hear you’re enjoying my recipes and happy to hear that your mom loved these pancakes. I’m making them again for my family on Christmas morning!
These pancakes are DEFINITELY worth waking up to. You know, I’m a pancakes kinda girl, and anything gingerbread-y is my thing. Have a happy holiday my friend!
Kate, thank you so much for posting this recipe – they were perfect for our Christmas breakfast! Merry Christmas!
Made these this morning..they turned out great; thank you for this recipe..!
I am eating these right now with fresh raspberries and maple syrup with a wee dusting of icing sugar. First attempt at pancakes. OMG.
Hope this recipe lead to many more homemade pancakes, Whytney! Pancakes are the best.
I am visiting my mom this week to celebrate Christmas with my family and made these for breakfast this morning. They were a hit! We couldn’t find a zester for the orange so I served them with sliced oranges, but other than that I followed the recipe exactly (just quadrupled it because there are a lot of us!)
Perfect! Thanks Kathryne.
(PS on this trip I have cooked 4 meals for my family using recipes from your blog and they have all gone over well!)
Oh yeah I forgot to mention, it was my first attempt ever at making pancakes. I found a new love!!!
That’s so awesome, Sarah! I’m so glad you and your family has been enjoying the recipes. Thanks for letting me know. Come visit me in KC again!
absolutely delicious. I made this for breakfast yesterday and topped it with fresh fruit.
Thanks, Jaycee. I’m glad you enjoyed the pancakes.
Why not blackstrap molasses? (I’m just curious)
Hey Daniella! Sorry for the super delayed response. I suggested against using blackstrap just because of the flavor intensity; I thought it would be too strongly molasses-y for most. If you love molasses flavor, though, go for it!
Another must try…Love your photos so inspiring :)
Thank you, Jeff, that’s really nice to hear. Hope you love the pancakes (I think you will!).
I love gingerbread anything, and the addition of whole wheat flour makes me want to eat them more! I have a gingerbread waffle recipe that I love, but sometimes waffles are too heavy. This is the alternative. They look fabulous!
How will I get to the gingerbread granola if I get sidetracked by these? But there’s the new griddle in my kitchen to think of. Might have it make both this weekend…pancakes for this morning, and granola for all week long…
Wow – I have never seen my 3yr old son eat ANYTHING as fast as these pancakes! We didn’t do the fancy cream cheese thing – just the pancakes and syrup. He didn’t even stop to put syrup on them!
We used the gingerbread man cookie cutter – large one – to make them into an even cuter version!
He ate 3 and I’ve never seen him eat that much food at one time before!
Thanks – these were sooooo YUM YUM YUM
Thanks for the great comment, Donna! I’m impressed that your son enjoyed molasses pancakes. I made these for my family on Christmas morning and my younger brother told me to “never not make pancakes this way again.” Ha. Your gingerbread cookie cutter idea is just too cute!
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