Pumpkin Pancakes and (Traditional) Shortbread

I wanted to share a recipe that our family had for the first time yesterday - YUMMY! Tastes like eating a pumpkin pie for breakfast.

Pumpkin Pancakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 cup milk (I used buttermilk and added 1/2 tsp soda as well)
  
• 1/2 cup cooked or canned pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks, milk, pumpkin and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form; fold into batter.

2. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot greased griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Cook until second side is golden brown. (Make sure these get done, or they will still be gooey in the middle.)

Click here for the full recipe from allrecipes.com, including an apple cider syrup to go with it. Sounds good, but I didn't have time to make it. I had to double the recipe for our family and it was barely enough. But it was a unanimous hit!

Today, I made shortbread cookies. However, these are for Christmas time. For some reason, shortbread gets better after a few weeks, so I like to make it ahead of time. (Also makes a good gift for that very reason - and this stuff is much better than the tins you can buy in the store!)

Shortbread Cookies

• 2 C butter (if you aren't going to use the real thing, don't even bother with this recipe)
• 1 C brown sugar
• 4 1/2 C flour

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Cream butter and sugar. Add 3 to 3 3/4 C flour; mix well.
3. Sprinkle rolling surface with remaining flour. Knead it in for 5 minutes, making a soft dough. Roll to 1/2 inch thickness and cut 3x1 inch strips or cut out shapes. Prick with fork before placing on ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes until just starting to turn golden. If you can keep from eating immediately, store in airtight container or bag for a few weeks. Enjoy with coffee or hot chocolate!

*No these don't have pumpkin in them, but I thought I'd put this in because this is a great time to make them ahead for the Christmas season. But if you look in the comments section, I did find several pumpkin shortbread recipes (that I have not tried) that do look good. I may try those next week!*