Gingerbread pancakes topped with whipped cream or lemon curd are a festive way to start the morning. Ginger, cinnamon, cloves and a touch of molasses make these like a warm gingerbread cookie.

When my three kids were growing up, my three bedroom house seemed way too small. Three kids, a dog and two cats ran in and out. Sometimes their friends were over. It seemed like never a dull moment.

As they started moving out, things got quieter and quieter. My sons still live in Austin but they’ve got their own places and are working now. Becks is away at college. Now it’s just me, our dog, and a big empty house.

I don’t really mind the quiet. I used to get up extra early for work to have some quiet time before the chaos. My life is much simpler now that I’m not driving kids all over town, cleaning up and cooking for four. Still, I do sometimes miss the chaotic days when we were all together under one roof. So when they come for a visit, I really cherish the time together.

The thing is, when Becks comes home from college, she’s home but not home. She went far away – to Indiana – for college. And when she’s home, she wants to see all her high school friends. This means she’s out more than she’s in.

This year, I’m in Cambodia so I missed seeing my kids at Thanksgiving. My sons couldn’t take much time off work so Becks is the only one who could come for Christmas.

She brought her boyfriend, Caelum, with her. That’s a new experience for me (and him). He’s a nice kid and a good student and he’s good to Becks. In the end, all any of us want is for our kids to be happy so if he makes Becks happy, that’s good enough for me.

Still, since Becks only has one friend here, I’m actually seeing quite a lot of her. We baked cookies together, ate a lot and had a quiet Christmas morning together. If you’re wondering what Christmas is like in Cambodia, you can read about it here.

I wanted a low key breakfast for Christmas morning. A large turkey occupied my oven so it needed to be something I could make on the stove.

One of Becks’ favorite Austin restaurants, Kerbey Lane Cafe, specializes in pancakes. They have a gingerbread pancake that’s pretty good. In fact, they now market the mix so maybe you’ve seen it in your local store. Since Becks couldn’t get her pancakes this break, I decided to make my own version of Kerbey Lane’s gingerbread pancakes.

I’ve always thought the Kerbey Lane Cafe gingerbread pancakes needed more spice and molasses taste so I increased that in my recipe.
We didn’t have maple syrup here. Frankly, gingerbread pancakes taste better with whipped cream or lemon curd. So if you haven’t had your fill of gingerbread yet, try these pancakes.

Gingerbread Pancakes

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Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons molasses

Instructions

1. Mix together all dry ingredients.
2. In a separate bowl whisk eggs and all liquids together.
3. Mix wet and dry ingredients together until they are just mixed (don't over beat). It's ok if there are small lumps.
4. Heat a griddle on medium heat until drops of water sizzle. You may want to lightly oil the pan first.
5. Pour pancake batter onto pan (I used a 1/4 cup measure for each pancake) and cook until you see bubbles in the center of the pancake. Turn over and cook the other side until cooked through.
6. Serve with whipped cream and/or lemon curd.

Want more gingerbread?

Gingerbread Men

Here are some other fun pancake recipes.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Cake Batter Funfetti Pancakes