Zahra Cooks

I’ve told you that I love sweet potatoes haven’t I? Well, I do. And I also have a whole lot of it leftover in my fridge.

That’s why yesterday I woke up super early to make us sweet potato pancakes. Had I ever made sweet potato pancakes before? No. Did they turn out edible? Yes. Unlike the terribly awful ones I made for Neil the first time I ever made pancakes for him. Oh how I shudder at the memory.

So here’s what you need:

Sweet Potato Pancakes à la Zahra

2/3 cup mashed baked and cooled sweet potatoes (mine were in the fridge overnight)
1 cup flour (I used whole wheat but all purpose is fine!)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 EACH of cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, and ground ginger (aka “pumpkin pie spice” if you’re cool and have that, I’m not)
1 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
Optional: about 1/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Start by coating the bottom of your griddle VERY LIGHTLY with Canola oil. Really, any type of oil or butter would be fine here. But please please please blot it all (almost) out because you don’t want to fry your pancakes. Trust me, I know from experience. Turn on the heat to medium.

2. Next, mix all your dry ingredients except for the brown sugar (flour, baking powder and all your pumpkin pie spices)

3. Mash your sweet potatoes! Mash ‘em good.

4. Add the sweet potatoes to the dry ingredients followed by the egg and vanilla.

5. Dump that brown sugar right in there too. Then add the milk and mix it all together until just combined. Don’t over beat it or you will have flat pancakes.

6. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, measure out the batter onto your hot griddle.

They will look like this.

7. If you please, and I always do, press some of the chopped pecans into the batter as it’s cooking on one side.

8. Using a pretty flat spatula, flip the pancakes over when you see bubbles forming on the top.

See how nice and fluffy they get??

9. If you’re like me, you hate cold pancakes. So here is what I do. Turn on your oven to the lowest setting possible. I have this WM (I’m guessing “warm”) setting so I always turn it onto that. This is just to keep your pancakes fresh and warm until you’re ready to serve them all at once.

My pecan-y pancakes are on the left and Neil’s are on the right. He doesn’t like surprises in his pancakes.

10. Top with butter and extra pecans and tons of maple syrup and enjoy! I’m not too healthy in the mornings. Butter is delicious.

You know when you’re eating and eating and then all of a sudden you run out of steam at the last bite? This happens to me all the time and it’s quite unfortunate. That last lonely and unloved bite just looks at you, wanting to be eaten because it is just as yummy as its earlier bite siblings, but you just can’t do it. That bite usually gets (I am lowering my voice now so my mom can’t hear me) thrown away.

On this morning, though, I took a deep breath, and devoured that bite anyways. Mission accomplished.