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These golden, crispy-edged pumpkin hotteok hide a molten pumpkin-spice filling that oozes with every bite. Korea's beloved sweet pancakes get a cozy autumn makeover!
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Watch how to make this
What makes this dish special
When I was a kid, my mom used to buy me frozen Korean pancakes from the market for breakfast. I absolutely loved them. These pancakes, also known as hotteok, are soft pancakes filled with a brown sugar filling. Little did I know that the real hotteok tasted nothing like the frozen ones. They were infinitely better! Suffice to say, I'm still obsessed with these pancakes. And so, I decided to make my own version by adding pumpkin for a fall twist.
Filled with a brown sugar, walnut, and pumpkin filling, my version is a cross between a donut and a pancake. The bread is softer and fluffier than the traditional recipe, but it's just as delicious. Even if you have never heard of hotteok before, I'll bet you'll fall in love with this pumpkin hotteok.
Ingredients
- Sweet rice flour: Also known as glutinous rice flour, sweet rice flour creates a tender yet elastic dough that can stretch without tearing when you bite into it.
- Pumpkin puree: Contributes natural sweetness and moisture to the filling.
- Brown sugar: Melts and caramelizes during cooking, forming the syrupy interior that hotteok is famous for.
- Cinnamon: Adds warmth and complements the pumpkin.
- Walnuts: Provide textural contrast in the filling.
Substitutions and variations
- Nuts: Swap the walnuts for finely chopped pecans or almonds.
- Pumpkin: Try this recipe with sweet potato puree for a slight twist.
- Spices: You can add other spices such as ginger, nutmeg, allspice, or clove.
Recipe
Pumpkin Hotteok
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup warm milk, between 100-110 degrees F (250 ml)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast (3 grams)
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (219 grams)
- ½ cup sweet rice flour (102 grams)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- oil for frying
Pumpkin filling
- ½ cup pumpkin puree (122 grams)
- ½ cup brown sugar (100 grams)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup finely chopped toasted walnuts (30 grams)
Instructions
- Make the dough. Combine warm milk with sugar and active dry yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture is foamy.
- Mix yeast mixture with flour, sweet rice flour, salt, and olive oil until well combined. Knead the dough for about 6-8 minutes or until the dough is smooth and soft. The dough will be slightly sticky. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover, and let proof for 1 hour in a warm area or until doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, make the pumpkin filling. Mix together pumpkin puree with brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped toasted walnuts. Set aside.
- Punch down the dough, cover, and let rest for 20 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 5-inch circle. Place about 2 tablespoons of the filling in the center and gather the edges to enclose the filling. Flatten the hotteok to make a round disc. Repeat with the remaining portions.
- Heat enough oil in a saute pan to come up ½-inch up the sides over medium heat. Place the hotteok in the pan, leaving plenty of space in between. Let sit for 30 seconds, flip, and flatten the pancakes using the bottom of a spatula. Flip the pancakes again and cook until golden brown.
- Place a lid on the pan, reduce heat to low, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the lid and transfer hotteok to a paper towel-lined plate to remove excess oil. Repeat with the remaining portions, adding more oil as needed. Serve warm.
Notes
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Make dough
To make hotteok, first you have to make the dough. All you need is milk, sugar, yeast, all-purpose flour, and sweet rice flour.
Make sure to use sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous flour) and not rice flour. The sweet version gives the hotteok a slightly chewy texture similar to mochi.
Once the yeast is activated, add the remaining ingredients and knead the dough until smooth, about 6-8 minutes. The dough should pull away from the bowl and will feel slightly sticky.
Transfer the dough to a clean bowl and let it proof for about one hour or until doubled in size.
Step 2: Prepare filling
While you're waiting on the dough, make the filling. Combine pumpkin puree with brown sugar, cinnamon, walnuts, and cinnamon.
I used canned pumpkin, but you can make your own pumpkin puree if you prefer. You can experiment and add other spices, replace the nuts, or even add chocolate chips for a sweeter touch.
Step 3: Assemble pancakes
Once the dough is ready, punch it down and let it rest for another 20 minutes.
Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. I make my pumpkin hotteok relatively big, but if you want them to be thinner and smaller, make 8 portions instead.
Roll each portion into a 5-inch circle and fill each portion with about 2 tablespoons of the pumpkin filling. Gather up the edges and pinch the ends to enclose the filling.
I don't recommend rolling the pancake larger than 5 inches because the dough will be too thin, and it'll be harder to prevent the filling from bursting.
I also don't recommend adding too much filling. The pumpkin filling is a wet filling, so if you add too much, it'll be harder to close the seams.
Step 4: Fry
Heat enough oil in a medium saute pan to come up the sides about ½-inch. Normally, you don't need as much oil when making hotteok; however, these pancakes are much thicker than the traditional ones. So, we need to add enough oil to come up the sides of the pancakes.
Place a few of the pancakes in the hot oil and cook until golden brown. Make sure to leave plenty of space in between.
Flip over the pancakes and carefully use the bottom of a spatula to flatten them. Street vendors in Korea use a weight to place on the hotteok to prevent it from puffing up. This is the trick behind keeping them nice and thin.
I wanted to make mine a little more like a donut, so I kept them on the thicker side, only slightly flattening them while they cooked. Also, if you try to flatten them too much, the filling can burst.
Flip the pumpkin hotteok again and cook until golden brown. Then, place a lid on top, reduce the heat to low, and continue to cook for about 2 minutes. This will help ensure that the inside is fully cooked.
Remove the lid and the hottoek, draining the excess oil on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining portions.
The best part about these hotteok? You can dig right in. Be careful of the hot filling, it can get really hot! But the pancakes are best served warm while the brown sugar and pumpkin filling are still gooey and delicious.
These pumpkin hotteok are not like the traditional Korean pancakes because of the addition of pumpkin and its lighter texture, but man, is it good! They're like Korean donuts, and who doesn't like donuts?
Make-ahead and storage
- Make-ahead: You can make the dough the night before and let it chill in the refridgerator overnight. Bring it to room temperature before using.
- Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.
Frequently asked questions
After 5 minutes, the milk-yeast mixture should be foamy and bubbly on top. If it's not foamy, your yeast may have expired, or the milk was too hot/cold.
You can freeze the shaped, uncooked hotteok for up to a month. Fry directly from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the cooking time.
More pumpkin dessert recipes
Looking for more pumpkin treats? Try these:
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