Some of my most random experiments happen as a result of my disdain for wasting food. I recently posted about having pancakes for dinner,and I even had them for breakfast a few times over the past week. Still, I wanted to use up as much of the mix as I could before it expires.
Pumpkin pancakes w/ roasted figs & pumpkin ricotta
Somehow muffins popped into my head, so I just googled something like “muffin pancake mix” and found myself here. I adapted it a little to lower the sugar and used apple sauce instead of olive oil because the only oil I have it really, really good olive oil, and no way am I going to use that in experimental muffins. I also used 1/8 cup of maple syrup instead of sugar because pancakes + syrup = meant to be.
These turned out perfectly and are a great size to enjoy as a snack (for me, that means I can easily fit a foil-wrapped one into my lab coat pocket) or to pair with other things for breakfast. The sweetness is so mild, you could even pair them with something savory (eggs, bacon, tempeh bacon…). Each of these has around 100 calories and 5 grams of protein—not too shabby.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups pancake mix
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 cup milk of choice (I used skim)
- 1/8 c maple syrup (you can use more if you want more sweetness)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Add wet to dry ingredients. Mix well.
- Pour into 12 lined muffin cups.
- Cook about 15 minutes.
I paired my test-pancake-muffin with a generous swipe of nonfat ricotta, the last of some strawberries, a roasted fig, and a drizzle of maple syrup. I’ll set aside some for the next few days, but most of these are going to go into the freezer for future enjoyment. 
Have you ever used pancake mix for uses besides pancakes?