Gingerbread Pancakes with Eggnog Gravy (GF/DF options!)

Disclaimer: I make no claims or promises that this is healthy or even good for you in any way. It’s pure indulgence. Wonderful, ridiculous indulgence. Because of that, I made 2 batches of regular pancakes and just jazzed up the last 4 for Hubby and I. We didn’t need any more than that. Yum.

I have this thing…call it a gift, call it a curse…but I randomly come up with food combinations that should just be left alone. Like oreo-brownie-cherry-pie. Most of the time, I don’t post them here. You all are trying to keep your bodies and babies healthy. You don’t need my food-crack. (That sounds gross…I mean crack like drugs. Cos the food is addictive. Not stinky and always showing up when you don’t want it too, like a crack-crack. Ew.)

This time, though, I had to share. It’s not really good for you, but it’s not devoid of nutrition, either. And it’s delicious. It started while I was craving eggnog and making gravy. Hmmm…what would…eggnog gravy taste like?

And of course, I would need to dip something in it. I had hoped for churros, but those aren’t so easy to come by when you are gluten free. Bob’s Red Mill has a rockin’ pancake mix, so I went with that.

But, when I was making the pancakes I realized they needed a little something special, too. So “gingerbread” pancakes were born.

The pancakes were light and fluffy, thanks to Bob, but the sugary-gingery topping just sent them over the top. The gravy was the icing on the cake, and felt just as indulgent. Hubby added Nutella to his, but I couldn’t do it. It was enough to just savor the brown sugar, ginger, nutmeg…ohh man…Okay no more teasing. Here is the recipe (as always, remember I cook to taste, and you should, too!).

Gingerbread Pancakes

You all know how to make pancakes. Mine, in order to be gluten free without much experimentation, were Bob’s Red Mill mix. Namaste’s mix is good, too. Or, just make your own whole grain mix from The Vegetarian Mother’s Cookbook.

While your skillet or griddle heats up, mix up your topping…the fun stuff. I eyeballed it, but here’s roughly what I used:

-1/2-2/3 c sugar + a teensy squirt of molasses. Mix that up, and you have light brown sugar

-a splash of vanilla

-about a tsp each of cinnamon and ginger, and a little shake of nutmeg

I think mixing the brown sugar yourself is important to get that full flavor that molasses has. Anyway, mix everything together. When you get a pancake on the griddle, sprinkle the crumble mix on top of it. It’ll settle down in the batter a bit.

Flip and finish as normal.

I did find that my skillet was pretty sticky once I’d flipped it and the sugars hit the pan. So don’t try to pull them off the pan too early after you flip.

If you don’t make eggnog gravy, I think a maple syrup would be great, too. BUT…

Eggnog Gravy

-1/3-1/2 c flour (I used brown rice flour, in keeping with gluten free)

-1/2-2/3 c sugar plus a bit of molasses to darken it up

-splash of cinnamon

-a couple tbsp butter (I told you..I never promised health. BUT, if you want dairy free, Earth Balance margarine rocks)

-1-1/2 c eggnog (Promised Land makes a good eggnog with minimal ingredients. For dairy free, Silk Nog is a pretty great alternative.)

Mix up the “dry” ingredients (all but the butter and eggnog), let the butter melt in the skillet. Throw in the flour/sugar mixture. You want it to sizzle a little but not fry away.

Add in the eggnog and stir to remove the clumps. You can add more flour or even some corn starch or arrowroot powder to thicken it up. I didn’t want mine crazy thick, but if I wanted it on griddle biscuits, I would have thickened it a bit more.

It probably won’t be white, cos you’ve got brown sugar in there. It’s brown cos it’s delicious.

I really wanted some earthy hot tea, something Traditional Medicinals. I think that was my body screaming for balance. Sometimes, though, you’ve just gotta tip the scales. Just do me a favor…follow this up with some protein, or don’t tell your midwife you got this from me