German Pancakes

This is a really weird breakfast that is not actually a pancake. I'm not sure exactly what it is. It's pretty tasty, though. See pictures...it tasted a little like a giant fortune cookie.

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1/2 c. whole milk
1/2 c. flour
2 tbsp melted butter


Toppings: lemon juice and confectioners sugar, maple syrup, butter, etc.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450.
Butter a large skillet or 4 small ovenproof pans.
Beat eggs in large bowl until well beaten.
Add milk and blend well.
Sift flour into the eggs and milk as you whisk or mix.
Add melted butter and mix until smooth.
Pour batter into pan and bake 15 minutes. If using one big pan, reduce heat to 350 and bake 10 more minutes.
Sprinkle lemon juice over pancake and top with sugar or maple syrup and eat immediately.
This was pretty strange, a bit stretchy, a bit sweet, a bit chewy, but tender. I thought it was good, but my son thought it tasted too eggy. It was an interesting breakfast experiment to make once, though.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Okay, so these sounded so good in theory...not so much in practice. My son loves pumpkin pancakes, but unfortunately, my pumpkin crop was a big fat fail this year. So I thought I'd make sweet potato pancakes instead. You can imagine my excitement when I found a recipe that even said, "If you like pumpkin pancakes, you'll love these." WRONG!

Don't let these fool you...these are the 'after' pics. See below for the horror story.

While I don't blame the sweet potatoes for the failure, I will definitely NOT be making this recipe ever again. When I put all the ingredients together, the batter turned into a blob of frothy, foaming gelatinous goo. Every pancake, no matter how long I cooked it, was raw in the middle. Even when I left it in the pan so long it was burnt on the outside. It was very reminiscent of the snickerdoodle pancake fiasco I had last year. Remembering that particular pancake disaster, I added a lot of milk to these...about half a cup. And stirred it for quite a while, to get all the foaming bubbles out. Then, the batter was the right consistency (a bit thicker than cream) and the last few turned out okay. The buttermilk made them super sour, though. If I add buttermilk again, I'd probably only use 1/2 c. and 1 c. regular milk, which might make them less foamy and more liquid.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 sweet potato, cooked, peeled and mashed

creepy foamy batter cooking

Creepy foamy pancakes rising way too high while remaining raw inside.

This was the best looking of a dozen, most of which were burned on the outside and raw inside.

Creepy over-risen pancakes with butter and syrup...still creepy.

Directions:

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
2. Add egg, buttermilk, and mashed sweet potato. Stir in but do not over mix; the batter should have small lumps.
3. Heat a cast iron skillet and drop a dallop of butter into it. 
4. When butter begins to bubble, pour in a bit of batter to the size pancake you want. 
5. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2½ minutes, flip over. 
6. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.
7. Serve warm with a drizzle of pure maple syrup.

After beating some of the foam away and adding more liquid, they approached normal.

Oatmeal Pancakes

Here's another breakfast recipe I made this weekend. My son didn't like these quite as much, and I didn't either, mostly because they were very hard to flip. They kind of fell apart, even though I added twice the flour in the recipe. I'm guessing it's because I didn't use quick-oats, but regular oatmeal. While it did soften as it soaked, I don't think it soaked up as much milk as the quick cooking variety would. They tasted okay, but not special enough to make these instead of regular or buttermilk pancakes.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. whole milk
1/2 c. oatmeal (quick cooking or rolled...rolled will be a bit chewier)
1 egg
2 tbsp. flour
2 tsp. baking powder

1. Heat the milk, then add the oatmeal and let sit 10 mins for quick oats, 20 for rolled
2. Add the beaten egg, flour, and baking powder and mix batter. I had to add a bit more flour at this point because my batter was too thin.
3. Cook in hot buttered skillet until golden on each side.
4. Serve with butter and syrup or honey.

Coconut Waffles

I've been running through Fannie's pancake and waffle recipes at breakneck speed. I didn't realize I made breakfast so often until I started this challenge. But pretty much every weekend I make breakfast at least once, sometimes twice. Instead of making the same old recipe every time like I used to, I've been trying to work my way through Fannie's recipes. Unfortunately, she doesn't have that many, so I've used up most of them already!

Here's the recipe for Coconut Waffles:

Mix in bowl:
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. white flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tbsp. coconut (finely shredded)

 Using a large-mouth jar, mix together:
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. milk/buttermilk/sour milk/or yogurt

Pour dry ingredients into jar and shake until just mixed, about 10 seconds. Pour about 1/4 c. batter into each section of hot waffle iron, sprinkle each with 1-2 tbsp. finely shredded coconut and cook until golden.
 
These turned out really well. The coconut is barely discernible in the cooked waffles, but it gave them a bit of a unique texture. If you like a bit of crispiness in your waffles and like coconut, these are pretty good and really no more work than regular waffles. Top with butter and syrup or topping of choice.

Buttermilk Pancakes

These come with a whole buttermilk story. But that's a story for another day.

Anyhoo, to make the cream cheese, I bought buttermilk culture. I made the buttermilk, which made a quart. The cheese took 2 tbsp. of it. Then I had a whole quart (minus 2 tbsp) of buttermilk left over! So, I made buttermilk pancakes, which is the only recipe I could think of that used buttermilk, since my mom used to make them when I was a kid. I wanted to share the memory with my son, and since he loves any and all pancakes, it was a good chance to make them.

Hence, buttermilk pancakes.

For these, I used:
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 c. white flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda

• Beat milk & eggs in a bowl. 
• Mix flour and baking soda and add to milk mixture.
• Mix until just moistened.
• Butter a cast iron skillet and heat.
• Pour batter into pan in pan in the size you want for pancakes.
• Cook until just set around edges and flip quickly, browning on each side.

 When I was a kid, I remember these having a very distinctive taste, almost like sourdough bread. But now, they just tasted like regular pancakes but a little more tender. I usually use yogurt along with the milk, so maybe that's why these weren't much different. They were good though, and everyone ate them up without a complaint.

A basic pancake recipe, but a good one.

Apple Pancakes

This is a recipe that's part Fannie Farmer, part my own creation. I've been making apple pancakes with apple topping for a few years now, using by my idea of how they should taste instead of any recipe. I've never had a recipe before, so this one wasn't exactly how mine usually are. And I guess I'd have to say, I like my no-recipe version better.

But this time, I went with Fannie's instructions. So here's her version, as I adapted it.

This made 8 medium pancakes.

1/2-3/4 c. milk or  yogurt (I used about half of each)
1 egg
1 c. flour--I usually use half whole wheat, but I was out so I had to use all white :(
2 tbsp. flax flour (throw some flax seeds in a blender if you don't have flax flour)
dash of cinnamon (optional)
1 tsp. molasses
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 apple, diced in small pieces

Beat milk & egg in a mixing bowl.
Mix flour, flax, cinnamon and baking soda
Dump flour mixture into milk mixture and stir until just moistened
Gently mix in chopped apples
If your batter is too thick (it should be a bit thicker than cream), add a dash of milk and stir gently

Heat a cast iron skillet and drop in a bit of butter
When butter begins to bubble, add batter to make whatever size pancakes you want.
Flip when the surface of the pancake is bubbly and the edges are solidifying.
When both sides are browned, set on a plate, top with butter and apple topping, or syrup, or both.

Zucchini Pancakes

Oh, look, it's another breakfast recipe! It might seem like those make up half my recipes, but the truth is, I rarely make anything more fancy than oatmeal for breakfast. During the school year, we eat a lot of oatmeal. But during the summer, I like to take advantage of those mornings at home, when I can make something my son really loves or get creative and make something like zucchini pancakes. As summer draws to a close and school approaches, I've been cramming in as many breakfasts together as possible. Hence, the numerous breakfast recipes of late.

But this will probably be the last one for a while, so enjoy.

You will need:
2 c. coarsely grated or chopped zucchini (I used a food processor and it came out perfect).
2 eggs

1/2 c. grated cheese
1/4 c. flour
1-4 tsp. fresh or dried parsley
butter or coconut oil for cooking
salt & pepper to taste

Trim and remove stem from medium or small zucchini.

Coarsely chop or grate 2 c. zucchini and add parsley.

Add cheese.

Add flour, salt and pepper.

Mix all ingredients.

Beat the eggs and add to mixture, mixing thoroughly.

Heat and oil a cast iron skillet and spread the batter into roughly pancake shaped masses.

Cook until golden brown on each side and top with parmesan or sour cream.

These turned out really, really good. I ate about five of them, and I didn't even feel guilty. My son, however, did not like them so much. He did eat one, after saying they looked disgusting. I thought they were quite pretty. They reminded me of potato pancakes, but a bit more tender because the zucchini is softer than potatoes. They had a bit of crunch, a bit of saltiness. The only problem is, I never know what to put on savory pancakes. But these were so good, they really didn't need anything. I may try making them again without flour and see if they turn out as good. These were amazing!

Special Waffles: Not So Special After All

With peach topping.

So....as you may recall, my son loved the regular waffles I made. So of course he wanted them again the next day. Thinking I'd get in another recipe, I went to Fannie Farmer in search of an alternative waffle recipe. I found the so-called "Special Waffles" and decided to make them.

At first, all went well.

I used:
1/2 c. white flour
1/2 c. wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs, separated
about 3/4 c. milk, plus 1/4 c. yogurt
1 tbsp. sugar

Combined the flour and baking soda as directed. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks well, then added milk and yogurt. I use yogurt to activate baking soda, although I've never had anything fail to rise when I use only milk. I just like the tenderness yogurt adds, plus it does make things a bit fluffier when using baking soda. I'm not sure if this was the problem.

Anyway, I then beat the egg whites until stiff, adding sugar and continuing to beat for another minute. Then added flour mixture to yolk/milk and stirred until smooth. Then, as directed, I mixed in about 1/3 of the beaten whites, then gently folded in the rest. It looked all light and fluffy as I assume it should.

Frothy from egg whites.

Fannie says to spread 1/2 c batter into hot waffle iron, but that really depends on your waffle iron. Ours overflows if it's too full, so I usually err on the side of under filling, because I'd rather have holey waffles than a huge mess to clean off the side of the waffle iron.

In the waffle iron and ready to bake to golden perfection.

Anyhoo, I did as told and followed the directions. The book doesn't say anything about oiling the waffle iron, and the traditional waffles specifically said NOT to oil it It's nonstick, after all. The traditional waffles turned out great.  So, I slathered on the frothy batter and closed it up, waiting for it to "bake until golden," as Fannie says. 

DOES THIS LOOK GOLDEN TO YOU?

THIS is what happened when I opened it. If you think this is funny, you should try cleaning a waffle iron of this glue! It was well cooked, and a little crumbled edge piece tasted okay. But it was completely destroyed. After about 20 minutes of picking off bits and pieces from between those little squares, I gave in and ran it under the water, even though I know it's bad. But I had no other choice. After wetting the cooked waffle bits, they came off pretty easily, only leaving a few remnants. I needed a toothbrush to scrub it off well enough to use again. This time, I practically doused the thing in butter between every square, top and bottom, before warily trying again.

I may have lost my mind if it had done the same thing again, but luckily, it only stuck in a few spots and I could pry them loose. I did have to butter it again between each waffle, and even then, a few places stuck each time. So my big advice is, butter up!

Definitely a delicate texture to these. They were a bit hard to handle, as they were very soft.

After this huge fiasco, I will never ever make these again. Especially since my son said they weren't as good as the traditional ones anyway! This is what I get for trying to make fancy food!

To be fair, they did taste good, but the waffle-iron trauma scarred me for life. If you are making these, spray, grease and butter well. It makes 6 "square toaster waffle"-sized waffles.

Traditional Waffles

Still haven't perfected the amount to add to each section of waffle iron.

I love breakfast. You know how they say it's the most important meal of the day? Well, it's also the most delicious. Breakfast is why I can't go gluten-free. Breakfast is why bacon was invented. And how can you argue with bacon?

Can't argue with waffles, either.

Luckily for me, my son also loves breakfast. I can hardly get him to take one bite of dinner, even if he's never even heard of the meal I've made. But breakfast, that's a different story.

Dark spots are flax seeds.

I let him pick this morning, and he wanted waffles.

Here's our recipe, loosely based on Fannie Farmer:
Mix in bowl:

2/3 c. whole wheat flour

1/3 c. white flour
2 tbsp. flax seeds (obviously not in Fannie's recipe)
1 tsp. baking soda

Using a large-mouth jar, mix together:
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. milk/buttermilk/sour milk/or yogurt (I use mostly milk, with a bit of yogurt to activate the baking soda)

Pour dry ingredients into jar and shake until just mixed, about 10 seconds. Lumps are okay and normal here.

Pure goodness.

Pour a bit into each section of waffle iron and cook until brown. 

You can't overdo it with butter.

Top with butter and syrup. We were out of maple syrup, which I didn't realize until I'd already made the waffles, so we had to use strawberry syrup, but they still tasted pretty good.

I usually add half whole wheat to my recipes, but this time, I used 2/3 and it was still incredibly light and fluffy. You would never know I'd used any whole wheat at all. I don't know what it is about this recipe, but it's always light as air. I credit the jar.

Rice Pancakes (griddlecakes)

 

When I was a kid, my mom made rice pancakes and I remember loving them. So when I found this recipe, and I had some cooked rice that needed using, the choice was obvious. My son adamantly proclaimed that he hated rice and would not eat them, but I went ahead with them anyway. I'm pretty sure this isn't the recipe my mom made, as she'd never make something so fancy as pancakes that call for meringue folded in.

The batter.

I did this one by the book.

Here's how Fannie does it.

Mix 1 c. milk
1 c. cooked rice
1/2 tsp. salt (of course I left this out)

Stir in 2 egg yolks, beaten until thick
1 tbsp. melted butter
7/8 c. flour

Fold in 2 egg whites, beaten stiff.

Cook in butter until edges are firm, then turn and cook until lightly browned. 

Look, it's almost heart shaped!

Top with butter, syrup, apple sauce, or anything else...

We used apple sauce and syrup because that's what we had. And guess what? My son ate his whole pancake with not a complaint to be heard, and later admitted they were "pretty good."

Potato Pancakes (Latkes)

This recipe is a staple in our house. Growing up, potato pancakes were a treat to look forward to, usually slathered in apple sauce and a dash of cinnamon.

The recipe:

The 'batter'

Grate and drain 3 medium raw potatoes
Add:
 1 tbsp. flour (we left this out and went gluten free)
1 tbsp. cream or sour cream (we also left this out)
1 egg (we used 3)
1 tsp. salt
Grated onion (we used one small chopped onion)

(We also added some ground black pepper)

Crispy edges...oh yes.

Cooking in the cast iron.

Cook in a hot skillet (cast iron always preferable) over medium/low heat. You can use any kind of cooking oil--I always use coconut, which can withstand high temperatures. Cook until edges are getting firm (check to see if it's getting brown under the edge with a metal spatula if unsure), then flip and cook until both sides are golden brown and edges are crispy (see above).

Top with applesauce, cranberry sauce, or sour cream.

These are a winter staple in our house. They are always delicious, though I don't love them without applesauce. My son didn't want to eat them more than once in a summer. Usually I wouldn't call that a success, but since I love them so much and they turned out perfect, I'm going to say they are winners. Make this recipe if you've never had latkes. If you want to go gluten-free, use the notes I put on the recipe.