Zucchini Bread Pancakes with Pan Fried Apples

I'm lucky to have a supportive husband, but sometimes he just doesn't understand. Take last Sunday, for instance. I so wanted to participate in this month's Improv Challenge, hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker (go visit her...she's awesome). I missed last month for some reason or another--the time sometimes just gets away from me. At any rate, the ingredients for this month's Improv are Zucchini and Brown Sugar and I thought some nice Zucchini Bread Pancakes would fit the bill. The hubby thought so, too. He certainly had his plate at the ready when the first pancakes came out of the pan. But, by the time the pancakes were done, and I finally got a few on a plate so that I could take a picture, half of the morning was gone and he was chomping at the bit to be on the road to go apple picking. "You take pictures of pancakes every time you make them. Don't they all look the same? Can't you just recycle a few?" Seriously. Didn't he see the little green specks in these?

If I were to be completely honest with myself, I do get a little obsessive with the picture taking. Someday, I'd love to take a photography class and actually get a real camera, but for now I have a great deal of fun playing with my smart phone. After all, I don't gamble or smoke. Taking pictures with my phone is a much better vice, no?

With four different picture apps on my phone, I can get creative with the look of my zucchini.

As for the pancakes, I loved how these turned out--but since I was in a bit of a rush, I neglected to add a fun topping. 

Just a little butter and syrup...not too exciting, but tasty nonetheless.

Zucchini Bread Pancakes

Printable Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups buttermilk, room temperature

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the griddle

2 cups shredded zucchini

Heat a griddle on medium-high. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, add eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Mix in zucchini. Add to flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Batter should have small to medium lumps.

Brush a little melted butter on the griddle. Pour the pancake batter by ¼ cups onto the griddle, keeping the pools of batter 2 inches apart. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.

We had our fill of the pancakes and I packed the leftovers into a container so that we could feast on them throughout the week. Then, it was off to the apple orchard.....

We went to the same orchard as last year and, once again, we were blessed with beautiful weather and gorgeous apples. We came home with a boatload of Honey Crisps and Honey Golds...yum!

Wednesday, after work, it occurred to me that we still had some pancakes to eat. It also occurred to me that we had loads of apples. Pancakes. Apples. Apples. Pancakes. Now, there's an idea!

Apples fried in butter and brown sugar. Does it get any better?

It does if you put those apples on top of Zucchini Bread Pancakes.....

Pan Fried Apples with Brown Sugar and Cream

2 tablespoons butter

3-4 medium sized tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and saute until the apples are slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon over the apples, add the cream, and cook until the liquid is reduced and slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat. 

Now, go check out what everyone else is making with Zucchini and Brown Sugar......

Sourdough Banana Pancakes

It seems like every other day I have a bunch of overripe bananas. This time, not only did I have overripe bananas, but I had some sourdough starter to use. Seriously, that stuff can get out of hand! It almost needs more care and feeding than my Chihuahua. Luckily, it didn't take long for me to figure out a way to put both the bananas and the sourdough starter to good use....Sourdough Banana Pancakes. Yup..I could make these  every week. They are that good.

Sourdough Banana Pancakes
Printable Recipe

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup sourdough starter

1 cup low fat buttermilk

2 eggs, slightly beaten

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the griddle

1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat a griddle on medium-high. Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, add bananas, sourdough starter, buttermilk, eggs, butter, and vanilla; whisk to combine.  Add to flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Batter should have small to medium lumps.

Brush a little melted butter on the griddle. Pour the pancake batter by ¼ cups onto the griddle, keeping the pools of batter 2 inches apart. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 ½ minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.

Have I mentioned how I came about my sourdough starter? Check out this box of goodies I won from Food Hunter's Guide to Cuisine. Notice the jar of sourdough starter? It's from the King Arthur Flour site and, apparently, has origins dating back 250 years! To make your own sourdough starter, you can visit the site and buy some of this stuff, or you can make your own. Here's a recipe I found on allrecipes.com: Sourdough Starter.

Remember to not over-mix the batter. No one likes a tough pancake.

The pancakes turned out awesome! Next time, I may add some fresh blueberries for an incredible banana/blueberry pancake, but, in the mean time, these were tasty with just some melted butter and some sugar-free syrup.

What kind of pancakes do you like?

Carrot Cake Pancakes with Ginger-Maple Cream

It's that time of the month for another Improv! If you're not familiar, each month Kristen from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker hosts a little party with a theme. This month the theme is Carrots and Ginger.

Why is it that I keep thinking that I have these really cool original ideas, only to find that they've been done? Again, when I googled my idea, it was all over the place. Carrot Cake Pancakes, indeed. Thank goodness they are good enough to repeat. Plus--these have ginger!!

Carrot Cake Pancakes with Ginger-Maple Cream

Printable Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups buttermilk, room temperature

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the griddle

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, well drained

1 cup finely shredded carrots

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Heat a griddle on medium-high. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl.In another medium bowl, add eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Mix in carrots, pineapple and ginger. Add to flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Batter should have small to medium lumps.

I found it easy to grate the ginger with a Microplane grater.

Mush the pineapple in a strainer with a spoon--then give the juice to someone you love.

Remember not to over mix. Small lumps are a good thing.

Brush a little melted butter on the griddle. Pour the pancake batter by ¼ cups onto the griddle, keeping the pools of batter 2 inches apart.  When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute. 

You could just top them with some syrup at this point, but why not take it to a new level?

Ginger-Maple Cream Sauce (inspired by The Pioneer Woman)

1-1/2 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

Combine the cream, maple syrup, corn syrup, cinnamon, and ginger in a small, heavy saucepan. Heat on medium-low, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the mixture is reduced and thickened. Serve warm over pancakes. Or add some bourbon and serve over bread pudding.

If it looks familiar, it's because I used this (minus the cinnamon and ginger) with some added whiskey to pour over my Green Apple Pie. 

Be sure to click on some of the other links to see what everyone has been busy cooking!

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Eggnog Pancakes with Cranberry Maple Syrup

Do you know that I’ve never been a fan of eggnog? Hard to believe when you see me posting not one, but two eggnog recipes in one week and (hold on to your hat), a third one is in the works. It seems that something happened when I added eggnog to my cinnamon roll recipe. I guess the flavor is just a little more subtle, but I really, really liked it. So much so, that I couldn’t wait to try it in my pancakes. That’s right. Pancakes. I had the crazy idea of just subbing out the buttermilk in my favorite pancakes. And it was a good decision. Yes, it was. Of course, just like with the Eggnog and Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls, I wasn’t the first one to think of this combination. About 5 minutes after I licked the last morsel off of my plate, one of my Facebook foodie friends was posting her version of eggnog pancakes. At least my cranberry syrup is different. But then, who knows? I didn’t google it. J

Eggnog Pancakes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups eggnog

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for griddle

Directions

Heat griddle on medium high. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Add eggs, eggnog, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps.

It's really important not to over-mix. Those lumps should be there.

Brush a little melted butter on the griddle. Pour the pancake batter by ¼ cups onto the griddle, keeping the pools of batter 2 inches apart.  When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.

They need just a little something....

Cranberry-Maple Syrup

Printable Recipe

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 cup real maple syrup

1 cinnamon stick

Place all of the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the berries are softened and the syrup is reduced. Add additional syrup if too thick. Serve warm.

I ended up adding more syrup to this...it was good, but a little thick.

Can we say "Plate Lickable" ?

And now on to other eggnog delights. How does an Eggnog Cheesecake sound?

Dutch Pancakes (Pannekoeken)

Have you ever asked someone for a recipe and gotten a blank stare….because they don’t really follow a recipe? You know—an old family heirloom that is made without measurements, but always turns out perfect? Such is the case with my family’s Dutch pancakes. I've been making them for years after being taught how by my sister, who learned from our mother. It goes something like this:

6 eggs
12 spoons of flour
1 spoon of sugar
1 spoon of oil
1 dash of salt
Enough milk to make it all a buttermilk consistency

Dutch pancakes are very much like a slightly thicker, eggier crepe. They are great eaten hot with some fried apples and maple syrup or, in the rare case there are any leftover, cold with a little sugar or jam. We have them for breakfast or for dinner and, though I know that the pancake restaurants in Holland serve them wrapped around savory fillings as well as sweet, we always serve them sweet, with syrup and maybe some fruit. Today, they made a perfect Christmas breakfast.

Let’s see if I can translate the recipe into something workable.

First, whisk the eggs, flour, sugar, oil and salt in a large bowl.

When I say spoons, I mean regular soup spoons. Some spoons of flour will be big, and some smaller--you'll get the right consistency when the milk is added.

Then add the milk, whisking constantly, until you have a thin batter. Now let the batter sit for at least 30 minutes.

Next, heat a small, heavy pan over medium high heat. Melt a bit of butter in the hot pan, then add 1/4 cup pancake batter, swirling it around to coat the pan evenly.

When the top looks dry, flip it over.

After you flip it,  the pancake might curl slightly and that is OK, but if it curls too much, add a bit more milk to your batter. Sometimes the first pancake is kind of a dud. Just eat it and don't show it to anyone.

Go ahead and stack them on a plate. At this point, impatient people will try to snatch a few. Tell them to wait for the apples.

The fried apples are easy. Just melt a couple (or four!)  tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan and add of couple of sliced apples. I'm not sure what kind of apples these were, but they were a little dry. You can sprinkle a bit of sugar on them (I don't) and just fry them until they caramelize, about 20 minutes.

Whether you decide to have fruit or not, the way to serve Dutch pancakes is rolled up. They are best with real maple syrup, but my family has a strange preference for the stuff in a bottle that resembles corn syrup. For a real treat, serve up some very crispy bacon or some sausage for that sweet/savory combo.

Here, we rolled them up with some leftover fruit compote.

And here we've topped them with some orange-cranberry compound butter...Holy Yum!

Any way you serve them, they won't last long!

Pancakes, the Breakfast of Champions…..or Just People Who Like to Eat

For years I stayed away from buttermilk pancakes. The stuff I got in restaurants, or from a box, was heavy and nasty. In fact, the only pancakes I really liked were the ones my mother made. Hers were Dutch pancakes (of course) which are really more like thicker, eggier crepes, all rolled up with fried apples and real maple syrup (to be sure, I will be making those again, soon). But a buttermilk pancake didn’t interest me until I tried a recipe from Martha Stewart.


Now, I kind of have a “love/hate” thing going on with Martha. I’m not a real fan of all of the perfection. And I didn’t care for the way she handled herself when she got herself into hot water with her stock dealings. Still, she did come out of that whole ordeal with a nice looking crocheted thingy…..and, more importantly, she knows how to cook. It was her recipe for buttermilk pancakes that converted me into a buttermilk pancake fan. These are the lightest, tastiest buttermilk pancakes you will ever eat!  And so, I present to you:

Martha Stewart’s Buttermilk Pancakes
Printable Recipe

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or slightly less table salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 tablespoon extra for brushing griddle
• 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen and thawed (optional)

First, you’ll want to preheat an electric griddle to 375°F, or place a griddle pan or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Next, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons melted butter into another bowl, whisk to combine, and add it to the flour mixture. Mix it together lightly; the batter should have small to medium lumps.

Test the griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water on it. If the water bounces and spatters, the griddle is hot enough. Using a pastry brush, brush the remaining 1/2 teaspoon butter onto the griddle. Wipe off the excess with a folded paper towel.

Pour the batter in pools 2 inches apart (I use a 1/3 measuring cup). If you wish to make blueberry pancakes, arrange a handful over the cooking pancake, pressing them in slightly (this time I used a frozen mixed cherry/berry blend from Trader Joes). When the pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around the edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. If any batter oozes or blueberries roll out, push them back under with your spatula. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.

Repeat with the remaining batter. You can keep the finished pancakes on a heat-proof plate in the oven at 175°F. Serve warm.

I like to make several plain pancakes as well as the berry filled ones. Then you can wrap one around a sausage and you will have a wonderful “Pig in a Blanket”!

Bon Appetit!!