Tasty Tuesday: Carrot Cake Pancakes

Saturday mornings are our favorite time of the week.  Justin normally hauls our loads of laundry down to the on-campus laundry mat and I prepare a big breakfast.  I'm sort of a fanatic for new recipes and generally make something new about once a week, and usually on Saturdays.  Conversation around the table is pretty predictable on Saturday mornings.  It usually goes something like this.

Justin:  Thanks for cookin hon!
Bonnie:  Thanks for doing the laundry babe!
Justin:  Yummm, these are the best carrot cake pancakes I ever tasted.
Bonnie:  They're the only carrot cake pancakes you ever tasted.
Justin:  So. 
Bonnie:  And you're the best husband I ever had.
Justin:  awe, love you!
Bonnie:  love you!

 Now on to the recipe, that really is the best carrot cake pancake recipe ever (even though its the only carrot cake recipe I've ever seen). :)

This recipe originated from Cooking Light magazine Jan 2010

5.6 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
dash of ground cloves
dash of ground ginger
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tbp canola oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups finely grated carrot (about 1/2 pound)
cooking spray 3 tbsp butter, softened
2 tbsp honey

1.  Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife.  Combine flour and next 7 ingredients (through ginger) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar and next 4 ingredients (through eggs); add sugar mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.  Fold in 2 cups carrot.

2.  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Spoon 4 (1/4 cup) batter mounds onto pan, spreading with a spatula.  Cook for 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked.  Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 1 minute or until bottoms are lightly browned.  Repeat procedure twice with remaining batter.  Combine butter and honey in a small bowl; serve with pancakes.  Yield:  6 servings (serving size:  2 pancakes and about 2 tsp honey butter).

*** These bad boys don't need syrup; the honey butter is a perfect topping.  I didn't have any buttermilk on hand so I made these using whole milk and they still turned out really good.  I am not sure where recipes get their serving sizes from sometimes, because Justin and I could have easily devoured this entire recipe in one sitting :)  If you were cooking for 4-6 people, I would double the recipe.***

Calories:  315;  Fat 13.3g;  Protein 7.8 g; Carb 41.6 g; Fiber 2.2g; Chol 78 mg; Iron 2.3 mg; Sodium 381 mg;  Calc 177 mg