Gingerbread pancakes

These came out *perfect*: tall, bouncy, richly spiced, crisp on the edges. I adapted them a bit from the New York Times Cooking blog. If you don't have fresh ginger, then first of all, that would be a shame (it's really great in this recipe) but second of all, just double the powdered ginger. However, do make sure you have lemon zest, as it simply makes this recipe!

Mix wet in one bowl:

• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/3 cup dark molasses (but not blackstrap)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger (I mean *really* fine. Biting into a chunk of ginger is great in soup but jarring in pancakes)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (seriously, do this)

Mix dry in another bowl:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves

Pour the wet into the dry and stir until just combined. You don't want to overblend; it's okay if there are some lumps in there.

Drop batter by the 1/4 cup onto a preheated, thickly buttered skillet (it should sizzle a little). Fry them up like usual. They'll inflate to towering cakes, mmm! Keep finished batches on a plate in a warm oven until it's all cooked up.

Serve with whatever (butter, quark, cream cheese, syrup, all of the above) but be sure to top it with cinnamon! Some orange slices make the plate look pretty, too.