Halloween Pancakes

5 from 4 votes

Who wouldn't want to wake up to a stack of Halloween Pancakes on the morning of October 31st? Or any other morning in October! Serve these orange, black, and white pancakes with some "edible blood" syrup for an extra tasty treat!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Halloween

Cuisine: American

Servings: -6 servings

Calories: 375kcal

Author: Amy Nash

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons activated charcoal powder
Orange food coloring

Instructions

In a bowl or measuring cup, stir the milk and apple cider vinegar together to combine. Let this mixture sit for 5 minutes while preparing the other ingredients.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk to evenly combine everything so you don't end up with lumps of baking powder or baking soda anywhere in the pancakes.
Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients along with the oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir just until combined but do not overmix the pancake batter.
Divide the batter into three bowls. Set one of the bowls aside to stay plain. In another bowl, add one to two tablespoons of activated charcoal (add additional if needed to reach the color you desire) and mix until combined. In the third bowl, add orange food coloring and mix until combined
Heat a skillet or large griddle to medium low heat and rub with a little butter or spray with a little cooking spray. Pour about ¼ to ⅓ cup of pancake batter onto the hot surface for each pancake.
Let the pancakes cook for a couple of minutes until the bubbles that begin to appear on the surface of the pancakes start to burst. Once the bubbles start to pop, use a spatula to flip the pancakes and cook for another 30-60 seconds until the pancakes are done and no longer doughy in the middle. Repeat until all of the pancake batter has been used up. The finished pancakes can be kept warm in a warm oven (about 200 degrees F) until they are all ready to serve.
Serve immediately.

Notes

Buttermilk substitute: Combining milk and vinegar together makes a very good buttermilk substitute. You can use the same amount of real buttermilk instead if you happen to have some on hand.
"Bloody syrup": To make the "blood syrup" we recommend using strawberry pancake syrup mixed with a little extra red food coloring. Or mix strawberry or raspberry jam with a little apple juice or water to thin it out slightly and add a bit of red food coloring as needed! You can also use regular maple syrup and add food coloring, although it will turn out a darker red than what you see in the pictures.
Storage & freezing: Leftover pancakes freeze well for up to 3 months. We reheat them in the toaster straight from frozen without thawing, which works well.

Nutrition