Breakfast is quite possibly my favorite meal of the day. Nothing beats a lazy weekend morning filled with the sweet aroma of bacon and fresh brewed coffee. In my family, long, and hearty, breakfast are a family tradition. The smell of bacon sizzling, and coffee brewing brings back great memories of holidays and family gatherings spent chatting over a warm cup of steaming french chicory while occasionally sneaking  pieces of bacon off the cooling rack.

Thus, in honor of the three-day weekend (yes, there are some perks for Federal workers, like getting President’s Day off!), I’ve decided to post one of my all-time favorite weekend starters – Sweet Potato Pancakes!

This is a nice southern twist on your typical pancake, with sweet potato and pecans. Topped off with  cinnamon and brown sugar, these cakes are sure to add a bit of spice to your next long weekend morning!

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp Canola oil
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole-wheat flour
OR, for a healthier version, make up 1/2 cup of additional flour from whole grains:        ¼ cup whole-wheat flour
2 Tbsp rye flour
2 Tbsp oat flour
1 tbsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp allspice or cloves
3 Tbsp packed dark brown sugar
½ cup cooked sweet potato
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1/3-1/2 cup of chopped pecans

Directions:
Place sweet potato in the microwave and cook on each side for about 4-5 mins, or until completely soft when you poke a fork through it. Remove from microwave and allow to cool before adding to batter.

Meanwhile, in large mixing bowl, add egg, buttermilk, and Canola oil. Beat with fork until smooth and well mixed. Add all flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice/cloves, brown sugar. Again stir until well blended.

Cut cooled sweet potato in half and using a spoon scoop out the middle of the potato and add to batter. Using your fork, stir vigorously until the potato batter is again well blended. Finally, while gently fold pecans in until they are well mixed throughout the batter.

Warm skillet to medium heat, NOT high. You do not want the skillet too hot, as this will burn one side while not cooking the pancake all the way through. To test the temperature, you can sprinkle a few drops of water on it and if the water sizzles and bounces around then you’ve got the right temperature.

Using a large spoon or ladle, pour batter into skillet and let pancake cook for 3-5 mins or until small bubbles begin to form on the top of the pancake and batter looks a little more set around the edges.

Then gently slide a spatula under the pancake and flip to the other side. If this is your first time making pancakes, it may splatter a bit on the flip, but don’t worry – you’ll get the hang of it by your second or third try and have perfectly round cakes by the end of morning!

Let cook for an additional 3-5 mins on the other side and serve warm with syrup or fresh comb honey!