A couple of years ago I had a craving for Swedish pancakes. The only time I can think of having them was at IHOP when Ryan ordered them. But I am so glad that I had that craving which made me look up recipes. The one I decided to try was courtesy of Emeril Lagasse on the Foodnetwork website, but I have since made changes to his recipe. And I can't tell you enough how much my family (and guests) have enjoyed these tasty little treats! We automatically make a double batch now and I would recommend tripling it if you have more than four in your family, have teenagers or are having guests. The only problem is that they may take awhile; since I use a crepe pan - I can only make them one at a time. Next time maybe I'll try making them in a skillet in addition to the crepe pan. But they are totally worth the wait! The other thing I'd like to try is cutting out the all-purpose flour altogether. I may have to do that when Ryan isn't around, not sure he will be happy with my experimentation. I'm thinking that spelt flour and white wheat flour might work out okay. If you decide to experiment with the flour choices, let me know how it goes.
The beauty of these is not only the pancake, but the accompaniments. The original recipe called for sour cream, but we use blended up cottage cheese with a bit of maple syrup. Cottage cheese may sound strange to some of you, but it is one of my favorite ways to get lowfat protein into our breakfasts! When I was nursing my second child I realized the importance of getting enough protein throughout the day and I swear cottage cheese is a miracle food. It comes in lowfat and it has TONS of protein compared to cream cheese or yogurt or sour cream. I just throw it in my food processor and blend it up until smooth and creamy. Then it is ready to be made into a dip, sour cream replacement on your tacos, filling for crepes, etc. If you are hesitant to try the cottage cheese, I beg you - try it, you will be pleasantly surprised. The other accompaniment is something that you likely do not have in your cupboards, but is so worth finding! Lingonberry jam. It is the perfect combination of sweet and tart for these delicious pancakes. Without further ado, here is the recipe.
Swedish Pancakes
Ingredients
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup +1 Tbsp all-purpose flour (I like to use half white wheat flour and half all purpose)
1 tablespoon sugar (this can be eliminated all together, we usually cut it in half and I use sucanat)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
Oil, for griddle
Blended cottage cheese, as accompaniment (1 cup cottage cheese + 1 Tblsp maple syrup)
Lingonberry jam, as accompaniment
Directions
Preheat a Swedish pancake pan (round, cast-iron pan with shallow 3-inch indentations for pancakes) over medium heat.
Since we do not have a Swedish pancake pan, and I'm guessing you don't either, I would recommend a 8 or 10 inch skillet with low sides for easier flipping. I use my cast iron crepe pan - a gift from Ryan our first Christmas. (Aww, how sweet he wants me to make crepes for him:) But seriously I love the pan and the recipe book he gave me with it - he knows I love to cook!
Beat the egg and milk in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the milk mixture, stirring to make a thin batter, being careful not to overmix. Fold in the melted butter.
In case you do have a Swedish pancake pan, follow these directions. Grease each round cup in the pan with oil. Pour about 2 tablespoons of batter into each of the greased cups and cook until bubbles form on the top, about 1 minute. Turn with a spatula and cook on the second side until golden, about 1 minute. Remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining batter.
If you don't have a Swedish pancake pan, still grease the pan with butter or oil - my cast iron skillet only needs this once after preheating, but a non-stick pan may need it after each pancake depending on how new or old or well cared for your non-stick pan is. Remember, never use Pam or spray oil in a can on your non-stick pots and pans (it will eat away the non-stick surface and contains ingredients that are not healthy for you) instead consider investing in an oil sprayer and fill with your choice of oil (I recently got a second one for Christmas so I could use them for two different oils) or put some oil on a cloth or paper towel and wipe the surface of your pan. I use a pourable batter bowl to pour enough of the batter to cover the pan in a thin layer, lift and tilt the pan to move the batter around the pan to the edges.
Serve hot with blended cottage cheese, and/or lingonberry jam. You can roll them or fold them or eat them flat with syrup if you prefer. But please, do try them and ENJOY!
Next week's recipe will be: Blueberry Stuffed French Toast. So, take advantage of the Roundy's blueberry sales going on right now and pick up two pints! And see if you can find some day old whole grain bread somewhere and I will give you another way to use more of that cottage cheese, hope you bought a large container of it!
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing. We've made these twice in Kigali and they worked well (no crepe pan, we used a skillet). The lingonberry sauce was a special treat! My aunt from Rockford sent us another jar in our Christmas package so we can enjoy these pancakes again this new year. Take care!
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