Jack-O-Lanterns...to EAT!

Around 4:00 on Monday I began to panic when I realized that I hadn't taken anything out of the freezer for dinner. Matt was due home soon and he would undoubtedly ask, "What's for dinner?" a minute or two after he walked through the door. I quickly decided to make pancakes...not just any pancakes...pumpkin pancakes! I went to my favorite recipe website, allrecipes.com, and found the following tasty recipe. Tanner and Abigail each ate two whole pancakes...they didn't even have syrup on them.

Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Pancakes

1 c. flour
1 c. oatmeal
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. salt
1 c. milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 c. canned pumpkin
2 T. vegetable oil
3/4 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

1. Stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a large bowl.
2. In a separate large bowl, lightly beat together the milk, egg, pumpkin, and oil. Stir flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture, blending just until moistened.
3. Heat a lightly greased griddle over medium high heat.
4. Pour batter, 1/3 cup at a time, onto the prepared griddle. Make a jack-o-lantern face in each pancake with the chocolate chips. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip and cook until golden brown on the other side, about 5 minutes per side.

Note: I made mine without the ground cloves and chocolate chips...they were still delicious. The recipe made about 13 small/medium sized pancakes which was just enough for Matt, Tanner, Abigail, and me. If you plan to cook them for a larger group you may want to double the recipe.