Gingerbread Pancakes for the Holidays

Oh, holidays, holidays, you passed in a flash.

I’ve been quiet over here—not much writing, emailing, even talking. It’s been cozy and quiet and just what I needed. After months and months of running around and work and late nights, a little winter hibernation suits me fine. It was what I was looking for.

But there has been some baking going on. In the evenings, when it got dark early, there were sugar cookie stars and gingerbread people. There were tiny silver balls to stick on wee little Christmas trees, and colored sprinkles.



My favorite new recipe this year was pepparkakor, a Swedish ginger cookie that bakes up thin and crunchy. I'm calling these the cookies that went around the world—the blog world at least. Camilla Engman mentioned them on her blog, which got Mav interested. Nicky picked them up from there and inspired me.



I played around with my version a bit, adding fragrant Balinese long pepper to the dough to bring out the spicy undertones, and topping them with demera sugar and flakes of Maldon salt (a la salted caramel). Yes, I put salt and pepper in my cookies, and it was delicious. In fact, the ones I baked without topping are getting a quick sprinkle of salt before I eat them.



My KitchenAid mixer earned its stripes this year—two stripes of molasses on the right side of the base. I was amazed by how fast and easy it was to whip up a batch of cookie dough in this racing car of a kitchen appliance, and each time I used it I remembered the dear friend who gave it to me last year.



Then there was Chanukah and Christmas, and the squeals of little kids with new presents. There was family and a big dinner cooked by my brother and me—stuffing and cranberry chutney and my brother’s pumpkin soup that I love. There was champagne and candles and fires in the fireplace. There were walks in the cold, and mugs of tea and cocoa when we came home.

And, my friends, there were pancakes—gingerbread pancakes.



I’ve often expressed my tenuous relationship with pancakes: I don’t always love them, rarely in fact. That said, I can’t imagine a better breakfast for Christmas morning than the gingerbread pancakes we made this year. Once the initial rounds of stockings and presents were opened, I headed into the kitchen. The batter had been mixed up the night before, and soon a happy pile of pancakes filled a baking dish. We served them as they do at my favorite brunch place in San Francisco, with lemon curd and poached pears. As the morning went by and people grew hungry, they wandered over and make themselves a plate of pancakes.

I can’t imagine a better, sweeter, way to enjoy the warmth and coziness of the holidays—in front of the fire with those I love.

I hope the end of your year was sweet as well.



GINGERBREAD PANCAKES

Because this was for the holidays and for family, I did some recipe testing before to find the gingerbread pancake I liked the best. Of the three I tried, this was my favorite. I've adapted it a bit to get it exactly where I want it, but the original is apparently the gingerbread pancake recipe served at La Note, a Provencal restaurant in Berkeley.

While these are lovely with maple syrup, I'd recommend giving the lemon curd and poached pears a try. The curd melts with the heat of the pancakes, becoming syrupy, and the high sweet/tart flavor sets off the deeper spice notes of the gingerbread in a lovely way. Poached pears—or the recent recipe for roasted pears—provide a juicy fresh note. If I were you, I wouldn't wait until next Christmas to try these. There's still a lot of winter to get cozy in.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brewed coffee, cold or at room temperature
4 large eggs
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Vegetable oil for brushing griddle

Whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl. Whisk together water, coffee, eggs, butter, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined. Let stand 15 minutes (batter will thicken).

Brush a griddle or 12-inch nonstick skillet with oil and heat over moderate heat until hot but not smoking.

Working in batches of 3 or 4, pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto hot griddle and cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip pancakes with a spatula and cook until cooked through and edges are lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a platter and loosely cover with foil to keep warm. Brush griddle with oil between batches.