Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Butter

Inspired by Luke’s Pumpkin Pancakes from Gilmore Girls, these are light, fluffy, and packed with pumpkin flavor — perfect for chilly fall mornings.

Honestly, what’s more quintessential fall than waking up and enjoying a plate full of freshly made pumpkin pancakes slathered in homemade cinnamon butter?

These pancakes are inspired by a Season 4 scene from Gilmore Girls — and they’ll transport you right to the brisk air and perfectly decorated streets of Stars Hollow.

Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Butter Ingredients

Here’s everything you’ll need to make these pancakes:

Pumpkin puree: For the signature flavor.

Flour: For the pancake batter.

Brown Sugar: For warmth and sweetness.

Baking powder and baking soda: To give these pancakes their lift.

White vinegar: To help speed up the process of the baking soda and powder.

Milk: For the batter.

Eggs: For richness.

Melted butter: Unsalted.

Vanilla extract: For flavor.

Pumpkin pie spice: Because it has all of the season’s best spices in one.

Salt: To bring it all together.

Cinnamon butter: We’ll be using unsalted butter, powdered sugar, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, and honey.

How to Make Pumpkin Pancakes with Cinnamon Butter

Step 1: Make the cinnamon butter

The first thing you can do is make the cinnamon butter by combining all of the ingredients and whisking them together until smooth. Set aside.

Step 2: Prep your ingredients.

The first thing you’ll want to do is combine the milk and vinegar and set it aside for 10 minutes (or until curdled).

While that’s happening, feel free to measure everything else out (and melt the butter).

Step 3: Mix the dry ingredients.

Combine the dry ingredients (aka the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) and mix. Set aside.

Step 4: Mix the wet ingredients.

Combine the pumpkin, sugar, milk and vinegar mixture, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until a beautiful orange liquid forms, like this:

Step 5: Make the batter.

Now add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined and no huge dry bits remain (but not completely smooth — you want some lumps!). Like this:

Allow the batter to sit for 5 minutes.

Step 6: Make the pancakes.

Now add a bit of butter to your skillet over medium heat. Add about ¼ cup of batter and cook until air bubbles begin to form all over the batter (about 2.5 minutes). (You may need to lower the heat in order to cook it through without burning the top of the pancake).

Once you have enough air bubbles (should be more than the above picture), flip the pancake and allow to finish cooking for about 1–2 more minutes.

Continue until the batter is used up. Serve immediately with the cinnamon butter and some syrup (and maybe a dusting of powdered sugar if you’re fancy!).