Pumpkin Pancakes with Maple-Pecan-Brown Butter

I've been totally obsessed with brown butter lately. It turns out that almost anything is better with brown butter. (Which, to be fair, is not at all surprising. Browned, nutty, salty, fresh butter? How could that not be good?) I had some extra pumpkin after making these pumpkin cheesecakes, so I decided to make these too. It is a great way to use up some extra pumpkin and a fun way to spice up breakfast a little bit instead of the same things we always have. The pancakes were good, but the brown-butter syrup...that is heavenly. I'm sure it would be great on waffles, crepes, buttermilk pancakes, french toast, a spoon...

Pumpkin Pancakes with Maple-Pecan-Brown Butter
adapted from Taste of Home Magazine, October/November 2010


Maple-Pecan-Brown Butter
1/2 cup butter, cubed (I used salted)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tb. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups milk
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1. In small saucepan, cook butter until golden brown (about 8 - 10 minutes). Stir occasionally, and don't walk away. Once it starts to brown, it browns very quickly! Remove from heat and add the maple syrup, cinnamon, and pecans.
2. To make pancakes, whisk together eggs, milk, pumpkin, and yogurt. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined (batter will be lumpy; don't over mix). Drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto hot greased griddle. Cook for about 3-4 minutes (until bubble form on top and keep their shape), flip and cook about 2 more minutes. Continue with remaining batter. Serve pancakes with warm maple-pecan-brown butter and fresh whipped cream.

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins

These muffins are absolutely amazing. Want to know how amazing? Last night, I skipped dessert and had another one of these instead. Yeah. If that's not a shining review, I don't know what is (especially since dessert was this delicious cake, it's one of my favorites).

Now normally I'm not too big on banana bread, and mashing up the bananas literally makes me gag (I have weird issues with over-ripe bananas). But I will mash bananas any day for these delicious muffins. As an added bonus, they are healthier than normal (with whole wheat, honey, and light sour cream). I made half of these with cinnamon chips (like chocolate chips, but cinnamon flavored, Hershey's makes a good one) and half with a streusel topping...and both were great, but to be totally honest I think I liked the ones with the cinnamon chips better (which is great because that cuts even more fat and calories). I had all sorts of intentions of freezing part of these to pull out for quick breakfasts later in the week, but I doubt they'll last until the end of the day.

  
Whole Wheat Banana MuffinsRecipe adapted from Cooking Light via Our Best Bites


Muffins:
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 t. cinnamon
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c. mashed very ripe banana (I used 5 small bananas)
1/3 c. low-fat sour cream or plain yogurt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Streusel Topping (optional):
1/2 c. pecans, chopped
6 Tb. packed brown sugar
3 Tb. whole wheat flour
2 Tb. cold butter

OR 1 cup cinnamon chips (instead of streusel)


Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin pan with 18-20 paper liners.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, honey, and butter. Add each egg in one at a time, mixing until fluffy and well blended. Add the mashed banana, sour cream, and vanilla. Slowly add in remaining muffin ingredients, mixing until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly (so the cups are about 2/3 full) among 18-20 muffin tins. Combine the streusel ingredients and sprinkle them on top of the batter, or sprinkle with cinnamon chips if desired. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Hot Spiced Punch

This is a classic Monson recipe. We have had it every winter since I can remember. It's a great hot punch (kind of like a wassil) that is fantastic served with fresh cinnamon rolls, poppy seed cake, or with a couple of Christmas cookies. It makes even the coldest winter day seem a little bit better. It makes a ton, so if you're not planning on serving it to a big group, I'd recommend at least halving the recipe.


Hot Spiced Punch
Serves about 30

5 Quarts Water
1 tsp. ground cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
4 cups sugar
6 lemons, juiced
6 oranges, juiced
1 large can pineapple juice

Boil water, sugar, cloves, and cinnamon together for 5 minutes. Add teh juices. Cook until heated through. Serve hot or cold. Keep refrigerated.