Cinnamon Pecan Pancakes

First thing: I want to thank Stacey of Simply Tasty for presenting me with the Kreativ Blogger award! You gotta check out her blog, people. That girl doesn't mess around, it is mouthwatering Treats Treats Treats all the time over there.

And I'm passing it along too, to my favorite KC photography girls:

Audrey @ Kentiga Blog
Sarah @ Jagged Diary

Now, about those pancakes...


A few weekends ago, I was lucky enough to have a day all to myself (Hubs was out entertaining friends all day, and I punked out on him). Not like the man is a time hog, but when he happens to be at home I tend to put off certain tasks. So this day was a nice one to have. I wrote blog posts (that’s another problem, I love the man but HE HOGS THE COMPUTER ON THE WEEKENDS). I baked and fiddled around with some of my little projects, watched Lifetime movies in peace while I munched on fresh baked goods, called people I hadn’t talked to in awhile…

Most importantly, I did a lot of shopping. I rarely do that “spend a day bumming around shopping” without friends or family, so it was kinda nice to just go out and do on my own. Anyway, long story short: while at Target, I spied some dried pancake mix called “Cinnamon Roll Pancakes”. Yummy! Sounds fantastic, right? I wanted to make them but am kinda anti-boxed food (plus, it was pricey for pancake mix). So I read the box verrry carefully, and did my best to reproduce the pancakes from scratch the next morning. I think I did a fairly good job, if I do say so myself…

These pancakes are so so good – the cinnamon and pecans are a great flavor combo. The “strudel topping” is a smart call to sprinkle on the baking pancakes – yummy little crispy sugared chunks really add a lot to regular old pancakes. Give this recipe a try when you’re looking for something different to do with those morning pancakes.

Cinnamon Pecan Pancakes
(adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

Ingredients:
1/2 to 3/4 c. buttermilk
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. pecan pieces

For strudel topping:
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Beat the buttermilk, butter, vanilla, and egg lightly in a mixing bowl (start with 1/2 c. buttermilk, and add more as you’d like to get desired thickness. I like my batter on the thin side, the pancakes seem to puff better that way). Mix the flour, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon, and salt and add them all at once to the first mixture, stirring just enough to moisten the flour. Stir in pecan pieces.

In a separate bowl: combine the butter, sugar, flour, and cinnamon with a fork (to form crumbles). Set aside.

Lightly butter or grease a griddle or frying pan and set over moderate heat until a few drops of cold water sprinkled on the pan form skittering globules. Pour about 1/4 cup per pancake on the griddle; bake until the cakes are very bubbly on top and the undersides are lightly browned. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the “strudel” topping over pancake, and flip.

Turn with a spatula and brown the other side. Place finished cakes on a heated plate in a very slow (200 F) oven until ready to serve. Serve with butter, syrup, and a generous sprinkling of pecans.