My love of pancakes runs deep. If you’ve followed my other posts you know I love breakfast food, and apparently pancakes of all nationalities. I’ll just keep adding to the total.
Since they’re delicious, nothing to complain about here. This post contains affiliate links to items I use and love. If you purchase from one of my links I get a small percentage that goes to supporting This Homemade Home – at no additional cost to you. Win win. 😊
Ebelskiver Recipes
The recipe for Ebelskivers traditionally comes in two ways, those made with baking powder and those made with yeast.I’ve used a variety of recipes. Recently I tried this recipe a baking powder version from seriouseats.Com. I loved their whole site from recipes to techniques to the best cooking products to use. I’m not even being paid to say that 😊. But check it out, I think you’ll like what you see.The yeast Ebelskivers recipe is a little harder to set the batter, but you get a slightly higher rise in your pancake.
The Dutch pronounce æbleskiver as [ˈɛːpləˌskiːwɐ], the English language spelling is usually aebleskiver or ebelskiver (ee ble skeever). My daughter pronounces it evil skier – just because 😂.
The word æbleskiver literally means Apple slice, though there are no apples in Ebelskivers. I’m guessing it’s because it’s round like an apple. There’s my two cents.
Aebleskiver History
A fun little pancake, æbleskiver are solid like a pancake but light and fluffy like a popover.They are served often rolled in powdered sugar, with whipped topping, butter, maple syrup or fruit preserves. Usually as a set of three. Which I totally didn’t do, I filled that bowl right up!
As the story goes, a band vikings had gone to battle. After being hard hit and needing to regain their strength they retreated to eat and rest. Not having proper cooking wear they turned their hammered helmets upside down and cooked batter over a fire.
So the story goes.
They’re often served during the holidays as a special treat and for good reason, they are a bit time consuming, but delicious. To learn more, visit aebleskiver.com and Wikipedia.
The Best Aebleskiver Pan
Or ebelskivers pan (as the English would say). The best pan? Hands down cast iron. It’s heavy and distributes the heat evenly for a perfect crisp outside. The cast iron also provides a natural stick-resistant surface.
The first Ebelskiver pans going back 300 years ago, were made out of hammered copper. They didn’t cook as evenly, but are probably beautiful. So if you see one snatch it up because it’s rare and old.
The next best and more common, is the aluminum with non stick coating. I still have to coat quickly with a stick of butter for my Ebelskivers to turn easily.
As you can see this pan works well with gas stove tops. The key is to keep it cooking on medium – low. Otherwise it cooks too quickly to be able to turn and get a nice round, ball shaped pancake.
How to Cook Ebelskivers
One of my favorite experiences was to have the opportunity to watch my friend’s Danish grandma turning these little pancakes.There are a few tricks to the trade (which I am still perfecting), but this is seriously so fun I don’t mind.
First you need the ebelskiver pan, which has a set of 7 half spheres set in a circle.
I’ve found that my cookie dough scoop is the perfect size to fill each space. Almost to the top, but not overflowing.
A bamboo skewer or stick of some sort with a sharp end is the best for turning. My son helped take a few of these pictures where it required two hands for cooking – some are a bit blurry so I apologize.
You want to begin turning immediately after pouring the batter. The idea is to use the skewer to pull the cooked batter half way up to let the liquid batter run down into the pan.
Continue to pull the cooked portion up and let the liquid batter run down. Moving and turning the pancake until you finally turn it completely over and ends with a ball shaped pancake.
They aren’t all spherical, but I’m getting there. 😉 I don’t make these as an every day food, but they are fun to make and the kids get excited when I suggest them.
Non-Traditional Ebelskiver Toppings
I do like traditional Ebelskivers, but sometimes it’s fun to mix it up. My children love Nutella on top. I love Greek yogurt and honey. It also taste good with peanut butter and jam.
For more breakfast pancake ideas (because apparently that’s one of my favorite things to eat) also check out my healthy-kids-love-it Blueberry Blender Pancakes and
I was a grown woman before I heard the term Hootenanny. My husband with his southern roots had grown up eating it. Once I discovered it, hootenanny quickly became a favorite.
What is Hootenanny?
The Googled meaning of the word is different than what I expected. I fully expecting it to say ‘a southern pancake.’ But this is the official definition. noun
INFORMAL•US an informal gathering with folk music and sometimes dancing.
“we invited friends to a hootenanny in our backyard”
So my historical take on how this delicious oven pancake got its name?
People took it as a side for a potluck style meal during the party.
The first time I made this, I didn’t know about my husband’s childhood favorite – hootenanny. I found the recipe in the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook under, “Puffed Oven Pancakes” and decided to give it a try.
When I set it on the table my husband was extatic, I had made one of his favorite meals (by mistake 😅). I now only refer to it as hootenanny because let’s be honest, that’s much more exciting than puffed oven pancake.
My Favorite Reasons to Eat Hootenanny
It’s high in protein
Low in flour
Can easily be served sugar free
Can easily have 100% whole grain
It bakes in the oven so I can pop it in and get other things done while it’s baking.
If you want sugar you can always serve it with syrup. Which is how I serve it for my kids, but since too much sugar makes me sick I’ve started searching for great sugar free options that still taste good.
This is not so much a substitute for sugar as a different dish all together.
First top it with plain Greek yogurt (packed full of 5 strains of probiotics). Then sweeten it with honey and blueberries.
It tastes amazing!
It could be that I’ve been going without sugar for so long that it only taste good to me, but really it taste so good, it would taste good to the average sugar eater as well.
What a Sugar-free Diet Tastes Like
When you go off of sugar, food actually starts tasting better. Especially Vegitables, fruit and honey. By cutting out the highly processed sugar your taste buds adjusts and actually taste other foods better.
If you’ve already gone off of sugar, you’ll absolutely love this. If you’re thinking of taking the first step, this is a great dish to start with.
Hootenanny bakes in a large casserole dish – at least mine does – I’ve adjusted the recipe (details below) to make enough for a family of 6.
It gets all these beautiful, golden hills and valleys from the large amount of eggs. They’re is actually more egg than there is flower so making this sugar free, makes it a really great source of protein.
Sometimes I even add chia and flax seeds which are a great source of fiber, iron, calcium, fatty acids and antioxidants.
Without further adieu
Sugar Free Hootenanny
This will make two 8×11″ size casserole dish sizes. It is quite light and fluffy, my family of 6 leaves no left overs.
Hootenanny Ingredients for two 8×11″ Casseroles
2 Tbl butter
9 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups milk (you can use almonds milk, but it doesn’t rise as high)
1/2 tsp salt
Heat oven to 400 °
Butter the entire bottom of each casserole dish. Leave one TBS of butter in each dish and let melt in the oven while you mix the other ingredients.
Mix the rest of the ingredients with a hand held mixer until smooth.
Pull the hot casserole dishes out of the oven. Pour half the batter into the furst hot dish and the other half batter in the second dish.
Bake for 25 minutes or until puffy and golden brown.
A few years ago I created a Bouquet Dinner for my family on Valentine’s. It was an immediate hit. Our kids now look forward to it as soon as they see the Valentine’s decorations go up in the stores (which is like right after Christmas 😅).
The thing I love about Valentine’s Day is we don’t have to spend huge amounts of money to show others how important they are to us.
Of course businesses are often trying to convince us that a diamond bracelet or luxury cruise is the only way to show your love. We all know better. 😊 While those things are nice, real love is expressed in less complex ways.
When I feel truly loved it is because someone remembered me. My husband gives me a music mix of the very best songs from the previous year. I love it because whenever I listen to it I think of him. The CD also introduces me to the latest hits which I have to admit is needed. I quickly get behind on what’s up and coming.
Children are natural Valentine masters. They are so incredibly loving and forgiving and their cards and presents are truly from the heart.
A few of the homemade Valentine’s I’ve gotten over the years. ❤️
Last year my son was struggling with keeping his cool. His teacher used a little post it note to track expected and unexpected behavior and send it to me at the end of the day. This is probably the most beautiful way he could show his love for me at the time. All smiles and no frowns ❤️❤️.
It seemed only natural for me to make a fun, creative dinner to show my affection for my family. I make notes and everything, but this way I can feed their bellies and souls. They also never forget this tradition, their eyes light up when they see Valentine’s Dinner.
It’s exciting to “pick” what you want to eat. With such a unique way of serving dinner the whole room is jumping with excitement.
A few needed items
Flower vases to hold your bouquets
Cooking skewers
Your choice of meat, fruit /Vegitables and bread
Our Bouquet Versions
Each year we try something a little different. One year we had meatballs, smokies and bacon alternating on a skewer. Another year I tried my hand at bacon roses which I thought would be an especially tasty way to my husband’s heart.
Chocolate Covered Bacon
You could also try chocolate covered bacon – which is actually amazing. Here is the recipe and how-to here. Or make bacon roses and then dip in chocolate! I will likely be trying that this year.
Inside-out Chocolate Strawberries
If you look closely, you’ll see these chocolate strawberries have the chocolate on the inside. I found that chocolate covered strawberries were a little messy to eat. The chocolate shell would break and fall off before you could eat it with the strawberry. You’re using two hands, one to eat and one to catch the chocolate falling off.
This version you simply pour the chocolate inside the strawberry. There is often a hole inside so it makes it easy. It’s perfect to eat for little ones and I actually like it better with a chocolate core.
Pigs-in-a-Blanket
Pigs-in-a-blanket are easy to do on a stick as well. To mix it up a little, try one of these versions Cheesy Ranch or a puff pastry crust.
I also just discovered this completely easy to make Soft Pretzel recipe, which I’ll probably do this year for the Bouquet as well.
I was surprised that the Oreo’s on a stick were not a hit. I think the kids had already had so much sugar from school Valentine’s that they were ready for real food by dinner.
My amazing Valentine. He makes it easy to want to make Valentine’s Day special.
There are endless ideas to create a Bouquet meal. What would you put in an edible bouquet?
P. S.
You may be wondering if we get alone time – for an actual romantic dinner? The answer is yes, we will be going out just the two of us on the weekend.😊
Happy baking, until next time – which will likely be a home DIY!
With the holidays over and sugar rushing through our veins you may be looking for a few healthier options.
The Blended Blueberry Pancakes were created for this exact reason. With all the ‘Superfood’ ingredients you’ll be amazed at how good they are for you. Even better – my kids beg for them. They taste amazing straight from the skillet or later from the freezer for an easy snack. (my kids actually love them frozen – don’t judge ’til you’ve tried it 😉).
We use a Blendtec Home blender. It gets ingredients very smooth and comes with like a great warranty. In fact at the very end of the warranty the ball bearings began to stick and they shipped out a new container. It’s still going strong, I think we’ve had it 9 years now. Check out their company if you want (not a sponsored post, just an avid fan).
These pancakes are awesome. They taste great and are packed with nutrients, protein and antioxidants. Follow the links below for health benefits.
Wet ingredients to blend, milk, oil, eggs, blueberries, spinach. I forgot to put the flax and chia seeds in the picture. Oops
Blueberries and Spinach
My kids never liked whole blueberries in their pancakes, but blended up it becomes a treat.
The blueberry juice also hides other super foods like spinach – no one will ever know it’s there. The berries and leafy greens turn the pancakes a nice deep blue color which makes it all the more enticing.
Blueberries are packed with antioxidants and phytoflavinoids – that act as an anti-inflammatory and help fight heart disease and cancer.
Fun fact here, by heating spinach it unlocks even more of the superfood nutrients, making it easier for your body to absorb – pancakes are a tasty way to cook spinach and still have it look and taste delicious.
Flax Seeds
I also add flax seed for omega-3 fatty acids and fiber which help with digestion and lowers blood pressure and bad cholesterol. These need to be blended up to access the nutrients inside the seed, so adding them to blended pancakes and smoothies is great.
Chia Seeds
Chia Seedsare a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants, iron, and calcium.A 28 gram serving contains 5.6 grams of protein. It’s a super power food wrapped in a tiny seed. These are best served in some sort of liquid so pancakes fit the bill.
Vitamins
I also add a few chewable vitamins. I bought this huge bottle because it was a great deal on Amazon and then my kids hated them. I just started throwing a few into smoothies and blended pancakes. They still love the pancakes and little do they know – all the vitamins too… 😁
Whole Ground Wheat
Wheat has quite a bit of nutrients, if you grind it yourself you are able to eat it before the flour loses the nutrients. I grind mine about 10 cups at a time and store it in the fridge. I like my Blentec wheat grinder because it easily stores out of the way. I also like hard white wheat because it is lighter and still full of whole wheat fiber.
Some recipes blend all the ingredients together. I like to blend just the wet ingredients and fold into the dry.
There is more fruit and vegetables than flour so it makes a wetter batter. To cook it evenly inside, spread out into thinner cakes. I am ok with thinner cakes because I want more fruit and veggies going in my kids.
If you want fluffy pancakes you can easily add 1/2 cup to 1 cup more flour, till the batter is a thickness you like.
Blueberry Blender Pancakes
Mix in a large bowl
3 cups flour
2 TBS sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Combine in blender
2 eggs
2 cups milk or almond milk
4 TBS oil
1 1/2 cups frozen berries
1 cup fresh or frozen spinach
1 TBS flax seed (optional)
1 TBS chia seed (optional)
Pour wet ingredients from the blender into the bowl with dry ingredients and gently fold in until just combined.
Cook on a medium high skillet until light brown on both sides. I like to make mine small, 3″ in diameter, and use as an after school snack.
Freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. The flavors crystallize and taste great as a frozen snack.
Caramel making is a science and an art. With these three easy tips you will have success every time. If you’ve ever had a batch of caramel not work out, or turn back into a block of sugar instead of a chewy consistency you know what I’m talking about, but there is a simple way to caramel bliss.
Tip #1 Substitute the cream
use sweetened condensed milk in place of cream – this makes it so you will be done in 15 minutes instead of 45 min.
Tip #2 Mix on low heat
Mix your butter, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk together on low heat. This is important because the ingredients need to be mixed well before you increase the temperature. If you get the mixture on the sides of the pan while the heat is turned up for boiling it will change the chemical reaction in the caramel.
Mix first on low.
Tip #3 Clean the sides of the pan
Before you turn up the heat to medium high, wipe down the sides of the pan with a damp cloth. This will clean off any bits of sugar that may have splattered on the sides and keep all your caramel cooking at the same speed. You know how I said this was a science? What happens is the caramel on the sides of the pan will cook at a higher rate than the caramel in the the mixture, as you stir your caramel the cooked caramel bits on the sides will come off into the mixture and start cooking your caramel at a faster rate and actually cause your caramel to overcook without you realizing it.
Set yourself up for feeling awesome and wipe down the sides of the pan before you turn up the heat.
Homemade Caramels
You will need a candy thermometer
1 cup butter
1 16-ounce pkg (1 1/2 cups) packed brown sugar
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup corn syrup (light colored)
1 tsp vanilla (or desired flavoring)
1) Prepare:
if you want to pour into a pan and cut into caramels, line the pan with tinfoil and spray with butter
If you are carameling apples, let it cool slightly in the pan (5-10 min) then dip the apples right in the pot.
When dipping pretzel rods I also dip from the pot. Then I pour the rest onto buttered tinfoil.
2) Combine ingredients
In a heavy 3-quart pot, on low heat, melt butter, add brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk and corn syrup. Mix well, wipe down the sides of the pot and turn to medium high. Cook and stir till the mixture boils being careful to not get any splashing on the sides of the pot. You don’t have to mix fast, just constant.
3) Cook
Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot and reduce heat to medium. Continue boiling at a moderate rate. Stirring frequently and controlled (to avoid splashing caramel up the sides.
Cook till the thermometer registers 248°, firm-ball stage (test by dripping some in a cup of cold water, it should hold shape, but remain pliable). This takes about 15 minutes.
4) Remove from heat
Remove from heat as soon as it reaches 248° degrees. Remove thermometer and stir in vanilla (or flavor of your choice)
Now you can dip food in or pour into prepared pan. After it cools, cut into rectangles and wrap into cut pieces of wax paper about 3X the size of the caramel piece and twist the end closed.
I love Halloween and Fall. The crisp smell of crunchy leaves, baking apples and happy kids makes my world complete. Today I am sharing three quick and easy ideas to inspire you for the upcoming Halloween festivities. While I do enjoy the occasional, detail minded cooking, I purposely chose recipes that are quick and easy to get you out the door and off to your party.
There is a little bit of everything, a recipe that only requires kitchen staples – still very cute, one that requires no talent at all – but looks amazing ha ha and the middle ground recipe that takes hardly anytime, but very tasty. Have fun and enjoy the fall festivities.
First off the cute, but easy, no need to buy additional ingredients…
Peanut Butter Candy Pumpkins – You will likely find all of these ingredients in your cupboard, which makes this easy in all ways possible. They are cute and get you right in the mood for fall.
I loved peanut butter candy growing up, be sure to check that the party you will be bringing them to is free of peanut allergies. I labeled mine just to make sure no one took it by mistake if they did have a peanut allergy.
Next up, when you want to bring a fun treat for your gathering, but are self proclaimed not creative (which I don’t buy)…
Monster Cupcakes – while these do require a little forethought, they are really easy to make. So if you feel like you aren’t too crafty, you can still do these and have all the kids excited when you arrive. They are fun, but not too scary and you get a pair of monster teeth for the rest of the party. Total win! 😊
Materials/ Ingredients Needed
Plastic monster teeth easily found at the dollar store etc.
Googly Eyes also easily found at the dollar store or candy eyes if you can find them.
Cupcakes bought or baked at home
Frosting in any color, because monsters are that way 😉
Frost the cupcakes with a simple layer on top or you can use this guideline by Mommy Like Woah frosting tips to get a variety of “hairy” monsters. Again, this is up to you – they will look awesome either way and you will easily be the coolest treat maker. 😉
Place monster teeth on top and googly eyes.
Voila! you are ready for a party!
Last, but not least a balance between easy and tasty…
Bat Cupcakes – Quick, cute and tasty, what’s not to love? These cupcakes get kids and their parents excited, (because Oreos are awesome). It will look like you slaved away in the kitchen, but only minutes to assemble. If you make your own cupcakes, it will take a bit longer, still easily accomplished in an afternoon.
Ingredients Needed
Cupcakes
Vanilla Frosting
Oreos – regular size
Oreos – mini
Mini Marshmallows
Cinnamon and Sugar
Mini Chocolate chips
Use a large round frosting tip and fill the whole cupcake. You can swirl around or get the affect above by holding in one spot and letting the frosting pile up. I sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar to give a fall like texture. Next cut a large Oreo in half for the wings and use a small Oreo for the head. Then cut a small marshmallow in half and stick to the small Oreo. Finish off the look with Mini Chocolate Chips adhered with frosting.
Have a wonderful Fall season, be safe and enjoy all that fall baking and Halloween fun. Stay tuned for other Halloween fun coming your way.
Hi, I’m Natalie. I’m a mother of four, an artist, and a DIYer that loves to reuse, recycle, and refurbish. I like power tools and teaching others how to save money while improving their home.
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