Epicurious.com has a recipe for gingerbread pancakes but it isn’t the one I used for the pancakes in the picture. It’s also from Gourmet, but was originally printed in 1994. Tried to find it online but no such luck. The currant-pear maple syrup is particularly good. I used the deeper-flavored B-grade, our favorite.

For syrup:
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 medium firm-ripe pear, peeled, cored, and sliced (I used a large one as it was all I had, plus we love pears)
1 1/2 tablespoons dried currants or raisins (I used golden ones)

Combine the above in a small saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes. Keep warm while you prepare the pancakes.

For the pancakes (I doubled the recipe, and it was just enough for 1 hungry adult and 4 kids)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I used a combi of whole wheat and AP)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
a pinch ground cloves
3 tablespoons molasses
1 large egg (or egg substitute, in our case)
1/2 cup sour cream or buttermilk (and I would venture to say yogurt can be used also, as I’ve used it before with good results)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted (or use canola or other flavorless oil)

Suggested accompaniment was sour cream though we didn’t use it.

Whisk all dry ingredients in one bowl. Whisk all wet ingredients in another. Combine and whisk briskly just until incorporated — don’t wait for batter to get too smooth; a tad lumpy is fine. Cook pancakes on a heated, lightly-greased griddle (or skillet) about 1 1/2 minutes on each side.

Dig in!