Gingerbread Pancakes with Pancake Mix

It’s always nice to serve a special breakfast on Christmas morning, but between the wrapping paper flying around and toys being constantly unboxed, it’s a bit too chaotic for something elaborate. But you don’t have to make breakfast from scratch to still enjoy a festive and freshly made meal. With a few extra ingredients, you can make gingerbread pancakes from pancake mix. No, seriously! With just a box of complete pancake mix, you can doctor up the batter with a few other pantry staples—molasses, cinnamon, ginger and cloves—for a stack of warming and well-spiced gingerbread pancakes for Christmas brunch.

Ingredients for Gingerbread Pancakes with Pancake Mix

• Complete pancake mix: Pick out your favorite just-add-water pancake mix and use it in this recipe. Any of our Test Kitchen’s picks for the best pancake mixes will work here, except for the King Arthur mix.
• Molasses: Gingerbread gets its brown color and tangy, slightly bitter flavor from molasses.
• Spices: Cinnamon, ginger and cloves add that warming, zingy, spicy flavor that’s reminiscent of gingerbread men.
• Water: The tap water in my area isn’t great, so whenever a recipe calls for a significant amount of water, I always use water from my water filter to prevent the tap water from altering the taste.
• Pancake toppings: Set out all your favorite pancake toppings so guests can add as many as they please. Homemade whipped cream, fresh orange segments and the best maple syrup would all be excellent with gingerbread pancakes.

Directions

Step 1: Make the gingerbread pancake batter

In a medium bowl, combine the complete pancake mix with the ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves. In another small bowl, combine the water and molasses. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until they’re just moistened.

Editor’s Tip: It’s important not to overmix the batter so you don’t overwork the gluten. There should still be a few small lumps in the batter.

Step 2: Ladle and cook

Pour the pancake batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a greased hot griddle.

Once bubbles form on top of the pancakes, carefully flip over the pancakes and cook until the second side is golden brown.

Step 3: Serve

Plate up your gingerbread pancakes and serve them with syrup and any other toppings you’d like.

Recipe Variations

• Add a little orange zest: Orange and gingerbread are a delicious match. Add a hint of orange zest to the batter for a refreshing and bright component—about 1 teaspoon should do.
• Cook them in a gingerbread man shape: If you have metal cookie cutters for your gingerbread men, you can use them to shape the pancake batter. Grease the cookie cutters, then place them on the greased pan just before adding the batter. Pour just enough batter into the cookie cutters to cover the bottom of each one. Don’t overfill the cookie cutters, or the pancakes won’t cook well or hold their shape. Once the batter bubbles and the bubbles pop, remove the cookie cutters and flip the pancakes. Continue cooking the pancakes until they’re golden brown.

How to Store Gingerbread Pancakes

To store leftover gingerbread pancakes, first allow them to cool completely to room temperature. Transfer them to an airtight container, placing pieces of parchment paper or waxed paper between the pancakes to prevent them from sticking together. Refrigerate the pancakes for up to three days, or freeze them for up to two months.

Can you make gingerbread pancakes with pancake mix ahead of time?

Yes, you can make gingerbread pancakes with pancake mix ahead of time by making the batter the night before. Once you’ve mixed the batter, cover the bowl tightly with storage wrap and keep it in the fridge. The next morning, take the pancake batter out of the fridge, remove the storage wrap and give the batter a quick whisk. Ladle and griddle away!

Gingerbread Pancakes with Pancake Mix Tips

Can you make gluten-free gingerbread pancakes with pancake mix? What about dairy-free?

Yes, you can make gingerbread pancakes with gluten-free or dairy-free pancake mix, as long as you purchase the right mix (my favorite gluten-free pancake mix is King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Pancake Mix). The extra ingredients in our gingerbread pancake recipe are both gluten and dairy-free. For anyone particularly sensitive to gluten, double-check all packaged goods for a certified gluten-free label.

How do you keep the gingerbread pancakes warm while cooking so you can serve them all at once?

To keep the gingerbread pancakes warm, turn your oven to the lowest setting and place a parchment-lined baking sheet inside. Every time you finish cooking a round of pancakes, place them on the baking sheet. As soon as you’re finished cooking all the pancakes, serve them.

You could also bake the gingerbread pancake batter all on one sheet tray, like we do in our sheet pan pancakes recipe, but you’ll need to use less of the gingerbread pancake batter.

How do you know when the gingerbread pancakes are ready to flip?

You’ll know the pancakes are ready to flip when the batter starts to bubble and all the bubbles pop. The ring around the pancakes will also look set, and the bottom will be golden brown.