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Bring the flavors of the holidays to your breakfast table with this easy, winter-inspired gingerbread pancake recipe. A decadent, delicious way to start the day, complete with homemade peppermint whipped cream. Sure to become a family favorite!

2 plates of gingerbread pancakes topped with whipped cream & peppermint.

It's no secret that I love to put a fun spin on a pancake breakfast. Homemade pancakes are super simple, and easy to dress up in endless ways to satisfy any craving!

Whether you're in the mood for basic fluffy homemade buttermilk pancakes or something more creative (like these birthday cake confetti pancakes with sprinkles, or these mocha chip pancakes), I've got you covered!

I've been making these gingerbread pancakes, along with the accompanying peppermint whipped cream, with my virtual cooking classes for several years now. They're always a HUGE hit with kids and grown-ups alike!

Jump To:

🧡 Why we love this recipe
📝 Ingredients
🥣 Ingredient spotlight: baking powder
✅ How to make this recipe
📌 Tips
🥣 Tips for measuring flour
💡 What to serve with gingerbread pancakes
🔪 Equipment
🥡 Additional tips and storage recommendations
📖 Recipe

Drizzling maple syrup over a stack of gingerbread pancakes.

🧡 Why we love this gingerbread pancake recipe

It's festive - perfect for holiday breakfast or brunch.
Kids can help make it! Pancakes are a perfect way to get kids involved in the kitchen.
The peppermint whipped cream is the perfect complement to the warm gingerbread spices and molasses.
Any time you get to crush up some candy to go on top of a meal, it's a good time!
This is basically an excuse to eat gingerbread for breakfast. Santa would absolutely approve!

📝 Ingredients

Here's everything you need to make these festive pancakes (see recipe card below for ingredient amounts and full directions):

All-purpose flour
Granulated sugar
Baking powder
Fine-grain salt
Ground cinnamon
Ground nutmeg
Ground cloves
Ground allspice
Ground mace
Ground ginger
Unsalted butter - for the pancake mix, plus extra for the griddle
Buttermilk - be sure to shake it in the container before measuring!
Eggs
Molasses - I usually use one labeled "original - unsulphured" NOT blackstrap molasses. Here's a great article all about molasses from Southern Living.
Vanilla extract

Note that the spice mix for the pancakes is flexible. If you don’t have ones like mace or allspice, no need to go buy them. Your pancakes will still have plenty of flavor from the other spices.

Pouring granulated sugar into a bowl of flour. — Add dry ingredients to a bowl.

Adding ground nutmeg to a bowl of dry pancake ingredients. — Don't worry if you don't have all of the spices listed!

Whisking together the dry ingredients for gingerbread pancakes. — Whisk dry ingredients together to combine.

🥣 Ingredient Spotlight: Baking Powder

Baking powder increases the volume of baked goods, creating a nice rise and light, fluffy texture.

In most cases, recipes that call for baking powder refer to double-acting baking powder, though there are some instances when single-acting baking powder is used.

Please note that many brands of baking powder contain aluminum, which can cause a metallic or bitter taste, especially when used in larger quantities.

I recommend using brands that are specifically marked aluminum-free. Some of my favorites are Rumford and Bob's Red Mill.

Popping the yolks of eggs in a mixing bowl with a whisk. — Pop the egg yolks first to make whisking easier.

Pouring buttermilk into a bowl of beaten eggs. — Remember to shake the buttermilk before measuring.

Pouring molasses into a bowl of wet ingredients for a gingerbread pancake recipe. — Use regular molasses, not blackstrap.

✅ How to make this recipe

These festive pancakes come together pretty easily. Just follow a few steps:

Preheat a griddle (or nonstick skillet) over medium heat (or 375°F).
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Melt butter in a small, microwave-safe bowl. (You can also do this in a small saucepan on the stovetop if desired.)
Whisk together the wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients (or vice versa) and stir to combine, being careful not to overmix.
Cook the batter onto a preheated, buttered griddle until golden brown on both sides.
Serve pancakes with maple syrup, peppermint whipped cream, and crushed peppermint candies (or candy canes) as desired.

See recipe card below for full instructions.

Whisking together the wet ingredients for a gingerbread pancake recipe in a large mixing bowl. — Whisk the wet ingredients together.

Wet ingredients whisked together in a bowl for gingerbread pancakes. — Whisk until well combined.

📌 Tips

One of my favorite things about making pancakes is that they tell you when they’re ready to be flipped.

You’ll notice that small bubbles will form on the surface of your pancakes as they cook. Once those bubbles pop, that’s your indicator that it’s time to flip.

They should be nice and golden brown. If for some reason they aren’t, no worries! You can always flip them back over to continue cooking.

An added benefit of using a measuring cup (or another standardized scoop to portion out your batter) is that they all cook at the same rate.

Of course, skillets and griddles could have hot spots, so certain positions may brown more quickly than others. Patience and a bit of experimentation are key!

I find that the pancakes take less time to cook on the second side than the first and that the second doesn’t get quite as brown when it’s done.

Pouring the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients for gingerbread pancakes. — Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients (or vice versa).

Incorporating wet and dry ingredients together in a bowl with a silicone spatula. — Gently stir the wet and dry ingredients together.

Gingerbread pancake batter in a bowl with a silicone spatula holding a scoop of batter. — Don't overmix - the batter will be lumpy and that's OK!

🥣 Tips for measuring flour

When measuring flour, especially for baked goods, pancakes, and waffles, I recommend using the "scoop and sweep" method to ensure proper measurements.

Use a spoon to scoop flour from your container into the measuring cups, being sure to overfill them a bit. Then, sweep across the top to level it off before adding to your recipe.

Pouring flour into a measuring cup. — Pour flour from the scoop into the measuring cup.

You can sweep with the back of a knife, the handle of a spoon or spatula, or even your finger (hey, clean hands are great kitchen tools!).

Try to avoid plunging the measuring cup into your container of flour and compressing it against the side of the container when measuring. This will pack more flour into each cup and could negatively impact the final texture of your baked goods.

Leveling off a measuring cup full of flour. — Use a flat edge to sweep across and level off the measuring cup.

💡 What to serve with gingerbread pancakes

These pancakes are great all by themselves, and pretty filling. You can for sure dress them up with some fun toppings and/or sides.

We like these pancakes served with some peppermint whipped cream, crushed candy canes or peppermint candies, and maple syrup. A dusting of powdered sugar would be nice. Regular whipped cream would be a fun addition, too.

Mini marshmallows and a drizzle of melted white chocolate could be a fun alternative to the whipped cream and mint combo.

As far as sides go, these pancakes would be fantastic with homemade breakfast sausage patties or oven-baked bacon. I love a sweet and salty moment!

Sprinkling crushed peppermint candies onto a stack of gingerbread pancakes. — Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candy for a colorful topping!

🔪 Equipment

You don’t need a ton of special equipment to make these gingerbread cake pancakes. I usually cook ours on our Griddler, which we’ve had for a million years and it still gets a lot of use (especially for breakfast foods!).

Griddle or large nonstick skillet
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Medium bowl
Large bowl
Small microwave-safe bowl and microwave OR a small saucepan and stovetop
Whisk
Flexible spatula or spoon
Spatula or turner for flipping pancakes
Sheet pan and wire rack (optional) if keeping pancakes warm in the oven

Two plates of gingerbread pancakes topped with peppermint whipped cream, crushed peppermint candies, and maple syrup.

🥡 Additional tips and storage recommendations

If you’d like to serve your pancakes all at once, you may want to keep them warm while you finish cooking the rest. If you have a super large griddle, you won’t need this tip, but most of us will likely have to work in batches.

When you start cooking, place a baking sheet in your oven and set it to “keep warm” or whatever the lowest temperature setting is. If you have a wire baking rack, be sure to put that on the sheet pan, too, as this will allow the heat to go fully around your pancakes.

As your pancakes finish cooking, transfer them from the griddle or skillet onto the tray in the warm oven. Keep them there while you cook, so they stay nice and warm until you’re ready to serve.

Leftover pancakes can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for several days. You can reheat them in the microwave, on the stovetop, in an air fryer, or in a toaster/toaster oven.

Pancakes freeze really well! My recommendation is to freeze them in a single layer first, then you can stack them and place them into an airtight container. Freezing them separately first will help keep them from sticking together once frozen.

Stack of gingerbread pancakes topped with peppermint whipped cream and crushed peppermint candies.

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