Carrot Cake Pancakes

We woke up on Saturday morning to a winter wonderland in Nashville, and the roads were pretty much impassable. Fortunately, I had everything I needed to make these delicious pancakes. A lot of the bulk comes from the shredded carrots, of which my food processor made quick work, but the spices add a lot of the carrot cake flavor. The batter is thick and needs to be spread thinner on the griddle, otherwise the middle doesn't cook through. Definitely try these for a variation on your normal pancake without any added fat.

Carrot Cake Pancakes
source: Cooking Light January 2010

Preparation

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• Dash of ground cloves
• Dash of ground ginger
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups finely grated carrot (about 3 medium/large carrots)
  
• Cooking spray
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons honey

Preparation

1. 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 or griddle over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Spoon a 1/4 cup of batter 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.