Pumpkin Dutch Baby Pancake

Yup, it's officially fall! I like to think that the first pumpkin recipe of the season is the official marker of the change of season. Yup, totally official. It's in the rulebook. And it seems only fitting that the first fall pumpkin recipe on this blog is for a Pumpkin Dutch Baby Pancake, because Dutch Baby Pancakes are just about one of the most fun and interesting recipes to whip up.

If you've never made a Dutch Baby Pancake before, the process is goes a little like this: blend together a mixture of eggs, flour, and milk and pour that into a hot, buttered cast iron skillet. Immediately place the skillet in the oven and when it's ready you'll be greeted with a huge pancake souffle that looks more like a big circus tent than a pancake. But, after the pancake cools a bit out of the oven the souffle will soon deflate and you'll be left with gorgeous (and delicious) pockets of fluffy pancake that looks as good as it tastes.It's a process that I always enjoy witnessing whenever I'm in the mood for a Dutch Baby Pancake.

This pancake is one of those things that's perfect for Sunday mornings, especially those slow, cozy mornings that come about every fall. To not make a sit-down breakfast on a fall Sunday should be a crime - if you haven't experienced it for yourself yet I highly recommend it lest you miss out on a ~mood~.The absolute best part about cooking for yourself is that you get to make food that is customized to your liking - not the liking of the guy down the street, Fred from Montana, or the gal who cut you off in traffic - you make food for YOU.

So I adorned this pumpkin pancake which a couple of things that sounded good to me at the time: SO Delicious Coconut Milk non-dairy yogurt, Bear Naked's Peanut Butter Granola (this stuff is so good, I seriously eat it by the handful), pepitas, and honey. Yummy!I hope this pumpkin pancake finds its way into your fall plans. While you're at it, check out another one of my Dutch Baby Pancakes here if you're in the mood for making two this weekend:

Mixed Berry Dutch Baby Pancake

INGREDIENTS

• 3 large eggs

• 2/3 cup milk

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 tbs pumpkin puree (I use canned)

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• pinch of nutmeg

• pinch of salt

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Put your iron skillet on the middle rack of your oven and preheat to 450 degrees.

2. Add all the ingredients –minus the butter- to a blender. Pulse until a smooth and thin batter forms.

3. Take your preheated skillet out of the oven and add the 4 tablespoons of butter, swirling the pan to melt the butter and coat the pan. Once the bottom of the pan is covered in butter, pour the Dutch Baby pancake batter into it and immediately return the skillet to the oven.

4. Bake until puffed and golden-brown, about 20 minutes.

Adapted From: In My Red Kitchen