Tuesday, September 23, 2025

PERFECT PUMPKIN PANCAKES with EASY BUTTER PECAN SYRUP from author Cleo Coyle



From Cleo Coyle: Fall is now officially here. Whenever feel that brisk autumn chill in the air, I alway start craving pancakes, and these Pumpkin Pancakes make a fantastic fall meal. 🍂 Adding pumpkin is a great way to bring extra fiber, nutrition, and flavor to the table. These little cakes are amazing topped with my easy-to-make Warm Butter Pecan Syrup or try my healthier topping idea, which I've included in the recipe...

So happy fall, everyone!
Let's get our Pumpkin Pancakes on...




Cleo Coyle writes two
bestselling mystery
 series with her husband.
To learn more, click here.

 
 A Recipe Note from Cleo...

🍂 As I mentioned above, adding pumpkin to pancakes is a great way to bring extra fiber, nutrition, and flavor to your breakfast table. 

I like to buy a few extra cans of pumpkin puree during the fall shopping discount window, so I can make these pancakes throughout the winter season.

These Pumpkin Pancakes are incredibly good with the Warm Butter Pecan Syrup recipe I'm also sharing. The syrup is quick and easy to make and fantastic on the cakes. Or try the lighter topping idea I've also included in the recipe. It's delicious with these warm little cakes, too.

May you flip with joy!

~ Cleo



To download this recipe as a free
PDF that you can print, save, 
or share, click here...


☕ Cleo Coyle’s
Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes


Makes 8 – 10 pancakes, depending on size

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter, melted

4 eggs 
½ cup pureed pumpkin (I use canned)
1-½ cups milk (low fat is fine)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (double if you like spice)
(optional) ½ teaspoon orange zest (grated orange peel)
¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
¼ teaspoon salt 
2 cups all-purpose flour 
2 teaspoons baking powder 

Directions:

Step 1 - Make batter: Melt butter and set aside to cool a bit. In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, pureed pumpkin, milk, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and (optional) orange zest. Add brown sugar, salt, and the melted butter that you set aside. Finally mix in the flour and baking powder. Do not over-mix the batter at this point or your pancakes will be tough instead of tender. You can make the pancakes immediately or cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow batter to sit in the refrigerator (and hydrate) for 30 minutes to an hour (or even overnight). 




Step 2 – Cooking the perfect pancake: 

(a) Pre-heat: Pre-heat a nonstick griddle or skillet. If you have a good quality nonstick griddle or pan (and there is absolutely no residue on the surface), you will see prettier results without using grease. Butter, cooking spray, and oil all produce mottled surfaces on your pancakes. If you do have an older pan or it does not have a nonstick surface, lightly grease with butter, oil, or cooking spray.

(b) Pour: Using a measuring cup, pour ¼ cup of batter onto the pre-heated pan or griddle; immediately pour ¼ cup more right on top of the first pour. The pancake batter should spread into a perfect circle, about five inches in diameter.




(c) Flip and finish: When you see bubbles begin to form on pancake’s top, it’s ready to flip. Cook lightly on the other side and serve with my Warm Butter Pecan Syrup or my Lighter Topping Option, both are below.




Cleo's Warm 
Butter Pecan Syrup





A Final Note from Cleo

Full of buttery sweet caramel flavor, this syrup is delicious served warm over pancakes, but also ice cream as well as baked apples or peaches. Enjoy! 

Cleo Coyle's
Warm Butter Pecan Syrup

Makes 2/3 cup syrup

Ingredients:

½ cup butter (1 stick)
¼ cup half-and-half or heavy cream
½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
¼ cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Quick warning: Do not melt butter first in this recipe. If you do, the butter may separate and your syrup will not thicken properly unless you boil it down. Instead, use this method: In a saucepan, over low heat, combine solid butter, half-and-half (or cream), brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Stir immediately and continually. Mixture should not boil. When butter is fully melted, remove from heat, cover and keep warm to serve over pancakes or ice cream.





Cleo's Lighter Topping Option


Instead of using butter and syrup on your pancakes, try this lighter and easier method...

Squeeze juice from the wedge of an orange over the top of your warm pumpkin pancakes and lightly dust with powdered sugar. 

This is a lighter option than butter and syrup, and it tastes delicious—almost like a carnival funnel cake, one of my favorite treats from childhood. The orange flavor also pairs beautifully with the light pumpkin taste in the pancakes.




Eat (and read) with joy!


CLEO COYLE is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times bestselling authors of the long-running Coffeehouse Mysteries, now celebrating more than twenty years in print. With more than 1 million books sold, they have gained an enthusiastic following. Cleo's "relentlessly entertaining" (Criminal Element) novels have been translated into Spanish, Japanese, and Czech; earned starred reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus; received Best of Year selection honors from multiple reviewers; and have been recommended by Booklist as among the best culinary mysteries for core library mystery collections. Alice and Marc are also bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, Toho, and MGM. They live in New York City, where they write independently and together, including the nationally bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries.


Visit Cleo's online coffeehouse here.

Follow Cleo at: Facebook | Twitter | Bluesky 

National Mystery Bestseller 

(Triple) #1 Amazon Category Bestseller 

Fresh Fiction Readers' Selection


To Buy:

Amazon 

Barnes & Noble

Bookshop.org

+ More Buy Links




"EASILY ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS THAT I HAVE READ THIS YEAR...10 STARS!"  Escape with Dollycas into a Good Book 

 

"A KNOCKOUT STORY....one of the best books in this endearing series...a TERRIFIC READ..." —Dru Ann Love, Raven Award-winning reviewer, Dru's Book Musings






No Roast for the Weary is also a culinary mystery with a killer menu of delicious recipes. Click here or on the image below to see the free illustrated guide to our book's recipe section...

Click here or the image above for
Cleo's Free Illustrated Guide to
the recipes you'll find published in
 No Roast for the Weary.



Get a free Title Checklist of
Cleo Coyle's Books in Order
Click here 
or on the image below.

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2 comments:

  1. Autumn came early and I'm pining for pumpkin, and I always love a good pancake. I listened to No Roast for the Weary on audio and imagined being a barista at the Village Blend. I would love to join Clare and Madame on a crime solving adventure. Thank you for a very fun and fantastic read.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks delicious, Cleo. You always make your recipes look easy, and the recipes in your Coffeehouse Mysteries are wonderful, too. Almost as good as the stories!

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