This is almost identical to the autumn peach pancakes I made last week—except for the pumpkin, of course. Derrick says these are his favorite of the pancakes I’ve made so far.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup Smart Balance milk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Smart Balance Butter, melted, plus more for serving
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ can pumpkin (Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and vanilla. Preheat a nonstick griddle over medium heat.

Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry. Switch to spoon. Stir in the melted butter. The batter should be thick and smooth. Stir in pumpkin.

Spoon the batter onto the griddle 1/4 cup at a time. Cook the pancakes until set and thoroughly bubbly, about 3 minutes. Flip them with a spatula and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

I’ve been making pancakes every other weekend, and I think they’re worth the time and effort of making them from scratch compared to using a mix. The taste difference is huge. This recipe has become my baseline for almost all of the fruity pancakes I’ve been experimenting with.

I created this recipe this morning, and it had nice flavors. I had a few left over, so we’ll see how well they reheat for breakfast tomorrow.

Autumn Peach Pancakes

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup Smart Balance milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Smart Balance Butter, melted, plus more for serving
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup frozen peaches, thawed.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and vanilla. Preheat a nonstick griddle over medium heat.

Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir in the melted butter. The batter should be thick and smooth. Fold in the peaches.

Spoon the batter onto the griddle 1/4 cup at a time. Cook the pancakes until set and thoroughly bubbly, about 3 minutes. Flip them with a spatula and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

This started out as a smoothie, but it tastes much more like a slushy and has a chunkier consistency. I am calling it autumn slushy, because it is a beautiful deep red color.

Autumn Slushy

3 ice cubes
1 cup apple juice
1 cup no-sugar berry blend (strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry)
1 spoonful honey

Put ingredients in blender, and blend. Enjoy! (But not too quickly, or you might brain freeze).

Makes 2 servings.