Gingerbread Pancakes with Lemon Sauce

This past Sunday in Boston was very cold-- a huge departure from the mild weather we'd been having. There was no way I was heading out into that blustery weather, so I decided to try these wintertime pancakes. The smell of cinnamon and nutmeg made me excited for the holidays-- I even listened to some Christmas tunes while I cooked.

(Oops, not great with pouring the batter...)

The end result? This dish had the flavor of gingerbread cookies and the texture of fluffy pancakes. The light and tangy lemon sauce was the perfect complement. Plus they were very easy to make! I found this recipe on simplycook.com, but it's originally from the Pillsbury Cookbook (circa 1986). While an old recipe, it's certainly a good one to try out during this holiday season!
I would say this serves 3 hungry people (in my case, myself, Z, and Dish Mom) or 4 not-so-hungry people...

Ginger Pancakes with Lemon Sauce


Lemon Sauce

1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Dash salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons margarine or butter (margarine is so 80s; use butter!)
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Pancakes
1 cup pancake and waffle mix
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon oil
1 egg
Powdered sugar (to garnish, optional)

For lemon sauce, combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium saucepan; mix well. Gradually stir in water. Bring to a boil; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until thickened. (This actually took closer to 10 minutes for me). Remove from heat. Stir in butter, lemon peel, and lemon juice; mix well. Keep warm.

For pancakes, heat skillet over medium heat. Combine pancake mix, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in large bowl; blend well. Add milk, molasses, oil and egg. Mix until large lumps disappear. Pour batter into hot skillet to form pancakes. Flip when edges look cooked and bubbles begin to break on surface. Serve warm with lemon sauce drizzled over pancakes.

Even my cat wanted some!

From Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks, 1986