Working in the Southern Living Test Kitchen, I was extremely fortunate to work with some very talented people. Of the 35,000+ recipes we tested in those 6 years, a number pop to mind as being outstanding and one of these is a milk and butter rich breakfast roll. A few weekends ago I was seriously craving these rolls and wanted to see if I could come up with something just as good without any of the milk or butter.
The other day when I was out walking the dogs I came across a yard sale. Not one to get suckered into buying someone's junk, I typically glance quickly around from the street looking for one thing: cast-iron cookware. I've gotten good at scanning piles of junk for my particular treasure and today I hit pay dirt. Sitting under a folding table next to an old humidifier was a rusted aebleskiver pan.
You know that feeling you get when you're happily minding your own business and suddenly realize you are the sole focus of everyone in the room and not in a good way? Imagine you're a shy 16-year-old 'Yankee' in the south for the very first time and sitting in a rural Arkansas diner at 6:00 AM.
If you want to make me happy, serve me pancakes. It doesn't matter what time of day it is, I'm always in the mood for a plate piled high and dripping with syrup.
One of the best pancakes I've ever had was made with half-and-half instead of milk. In the quest for a dairy-free version, I used plain soy creamer with just a little water. The result is a pancake that's a little more firm, which is just the way I like it when I'm adding blueberries.
If fresh blueberries are in season I shouldn't have to tell you to use those. Check out the local farmers markets for fresh wild blueberries; they are small in size yet big on flavor. However, unless you have access to blueberry bushes or know someone who does, I would save the wild berries for pancakes or to eat by the handful and save the larger berries for the syrup. If all you have available are frozen blueberries, go ahead and use those but be sure and defrost them first.
I always looked forward to the first cold day of fall. Not because of the leaves turning because that always meant hours of raking them after they fell. It was because mom almost always had an urge for gingerbread when the weather turned cold.
Well, the first cold of fall came this morning and I had that same urge. Instead of waiting until later in the day to make some I thought I might try it in pancake form.
This recipe isn't anywhere near as intensely spiced or heavy with molasses as mom's dessert. If you're looking for a more intense molasses flavor, try mixing 1 part molasses with 3 parts maple syrup and serve it on the side.
