Aebleskeebies

 
or whatever they are called.

Chris' family introduced me to "aebleskivers" last Christmas. I have to say, I was quite shocked that it took them 5 years to introduce the doughy goodness to me.

Aebleskivers are little round filled pancakes. You make them in an aebleskiver pan like this:

You fill each well of the pan with batter and filling and let it cook much like a pancake. When the batter starts to bubble, you very carefully flip the half cooked dough ball over. In our house this involves a fork and a chopstick.

I *think* they are traditionally filled with apples or some sort of fruit filling, but we used a cinnamon sugar filling that is heavenly.  Adam and Kelsey introduced us to the recipe last Christmas and we have made them several times since, this morning included. I can see Aebleskeebies becoming a Christmas breakfast tradition in our house. Olive LOVED them. She would scarf one down and with her mouth still full say "more? more?"

The recipes calls for a cream cheese frosting, but honestly, we think that makes them too sweet. They were plenty sweet without it. But, to each their own!

Cinnamon Filled Aebleskivers

(adapted from Williams-Sonoma.com)

Ingredients:

For the cinnamon filling:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 Tbs. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes,
    at room temperature (we nuked it until very soft)
  
  

For the cream cheese frosting: (not necessary in our opinion)

• 3 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 to 4 Tbs. milk
  
  

For the pancakes:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbs. granulated sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 2 cups milk
• 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking

To make the cinnamon filling:
Stir together the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and, using the back of a spoon, mash the butter into the flour mixture until all of it is absorbed into the butter, forming a paste. Set aside.

To make the cream cheese frosting:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar, reduce the speed to low and beat until combined, 1 to 2 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add 3 Tbs. of the milk and beat until combined, about 1 minute. The frosting should be thick but still pourable; add more milk if needed to thin it. Transfer the frosting to a small bowl; set aside.

To make the pancakes:
 In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and granulated sugar. In another bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the milk and the 4 Tbs. melted butter. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture until well combined; the batter will be lumpy. Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter in two additions.

Put 1/8 tsp. melted butter in each well of a filled-pancake pan (or spray with cooking spray). Set over medium heat and heat until the butter begins to bubble. Pour 1 Tbs. batter into each well. Spoon 1/2 tsp. of the cinnamon filling into the center of each pancake and top with 1 Tbs. batter. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes. Using 2 skewers, flip the pancakes over and cook until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes more. Transfer the pancakes to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling.

Drizzle the pancakes with the frosting and serve immediately. Makes 35 to 40. (They freeze well!)

Enjoy!


(images from Williams-Sonoma.com)