Every November, I bust out a couple of recipes that I only make once a year—my pumpkin cookies, and my pumpkin pancakes. Jade loves them both so much that he looks forward to me making them all month long.

My pumpkin pancakes have evolved over the years, though. I used to make them with whole wheat flour—I argued that I needed a little bit of health in them to offset the butter and maple syrup. However, whole wheat flour makes for a denser pancake, so I nixed that this year.

I also wanted a stronger pumpkin and spice flavor than the recipes I’ve used in the past. I was excited to try this recipe because it called for a full cup of pumpkin (most others I’ve tried only used 1/2 a cup). I changed up a few things—I made my own pumpkin pie spice mix and I added pecans and dried cranberries for texture.

We wanted to serve our pancakes with bacon so we used this recipe to make brown sugar glazed bacon. It’s super easy to make. First, pat dry your bacon strips. Sprinkle brown sugar and grind black pepper onto your bacon strips. Line a pan with tin foil (for easy clean up), place large rack on lined pan, and arrange bacon strips on  the rack. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Let cool on a paper towel lined plate to soak up extra grease.

These are seriously the best pumpkin pancakes I’ve ever eaten. The pumpkin flavor and spices are really strong and blend so well together. These really do taste just like pumpkin pie, but better! The crispy sweet and savory bacon is a perfect compliment to the rich pancakes. I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. Maybe you’ll make it a yearly tradition in your family too—and I’d love to hear what you think.

The Best Pumpkin Pancakes with Pecans and Dried Cranberries

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup dried cranberries
Butter and maple syrup for serving

Directions:

In a large bowl, add the milk, pumpkin, eggs, butter, and vanilla and stir with a whisk to combine. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.

Pour the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Let batter rest for about 5 minutes.

Heat a non-stick griddle to 325 degrees or set large frying pan over medium heat. Melt a little butter on the cooking surface, spreading it evenly, if desired (if the surface is non-stick, you may not need to do this).

Using a 1/3 cup measure; pour the batter onto the griddle or into the frying pan. Add dried cranberries and pecans to the pancakes while the first side is cooking. The pancakes are ready to flip when they look a little dry around the edges and start to form little bubbles, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side until golden brown and completely cooked through, 1 to 2 more minutes.

Serve topped with butter and maple syrup, if desired.