I grew up outside of cranberry country in Wisconsin. Many children of cranberry growers from Cranmoore and Babcock were in my school district, Port Edwards. My next door neighbors owned a cranberry marsh in that area and it is one of the oldest family-run cranberry marshes in the world, Whittlesey Cranberry. For me, cranberries were just a part of life and I can’t wait to share the recipes of my childhood with you.
I am working on some pieces about Whittlesey cranberry for some publications and last Fall, I was able to spend a day on the marsh during harvesting.
They even let me do some of the hand harvesting!
Needless to say, I am planning tons of cranberry recipes for this month and am so excited to see what my co-hosts are going to create. If you are writing about any cranberry recipes, please join our blog hop below. We are always looking for new members to share the cranberrylove.
My kickoff post is a recipe near and dear to my heart: pancakes. Pancakes and I have always had a tense relationship. I love them, but most mixes contain some kind of dried dairy product and many times, I am just not ready to kick the day off with dairy (due to my lactose intolerance). The problem is that I really do love eating them. Pancakes + real maple syrup + chicken apple sausage = a dream on a plate for me. So, what’s a girl to do? Make them from scratch, of course.
I found a recipe in Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarborough’s Ultimate Cookbook. With a few little tweaks and some experimentation with the berries, I came up with the recipe below. I was a little nervous about the cranberries being too tart, but paired with some syrup or butter & sugar, they are the perfect blend of sweet with a refreshing jolt of cranberry flavor.
Cranberry Pancakes
adapted from the Ultimate Cookbook
Wet ingredients:
3 large eggs
2 [1/4] cups unsweetened almond or soy milk
6 tablespoons butter (or Earth Balance), melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dry ingredients:
1 cup spelt flour*
1 cup all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
[1/2] teaspoon salt
[1/2] teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon oil
[1/2] tablespoon butter
1 cup fresh cranberries, cut in half
*Spelt flour is my new favorite whole grain flour. It has more protein than whole wheat pastry flour, and acts more similarly to all-purpose. If you can’t find spelt flour, then sub in with your favorite flour and bonus points if it’s whole grain!
1. In a medium bowl, sift together dry ingredients (I use a fine mesh strainer over the bowl to sift).
2. In a small bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
3. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
4. Heat a large frying pan or electric griddle to medium heat. Using a paper towel, rub oil onto pan. Add butter, melt, and spread over the pan.
5. Using a [1/4] to [1/3] cup, pour batter in small circles onto the pan. Press 6-8 cranberry halves into the batter.
As you can see, these pancakes were part of a bigger berry pancake experiment.
6. Don’t flip pancakes, until bubbles have appeared over the surface of the pancake, approximately 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes, until both sides are golden brown and set.
7. Serve immediately with your favorite pancake toppings: butter and real maple syrup, butter and sugar, peanut butter, whatever your heart desires. 🙂
Recipe Review:
These pancakes hit the spot. Light, fluffy, with a hint of cinnamon. The cranberries added a refreshing burst of flavor and I wish I had put more berries in each pancake.
On my new round, I would try throwing in a [1/4] to [1/2] teaspoon of orange zest and maybe even some toasted walnuts, but at the same time, I hate to mess with a good thing. This is a great way to use up extra berries or just put a new twist on the average pancake.
The recipe made about a dozen pancakes. Since there were just two of us working on them, we stored extras in the fridge and they were just as good the day after (and the day after after). This would be a great breakfast to make on the weekend and then have some leftovers for a few special weekdays.
While I wouldn’t premix the batter, I would keep a bag of the dry ingredients in the pantry. This really wasn’t any harder than making a pancake mix and it was much better tasting. This will be a new breakfast in the Badger Girl repertoire, and I can’t wait to make it for my family over the holidays.
*****
What do you like to put on your pancakes?
*****
Love BlogHop:
November is #cranberrylove month!
Please join in on the #cranberrylove fun by linking up any cranberry recipe from the month of November 2012. Don’t forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #cranberrylove event! The twitter hashtag is #cranberrylove. We should have a Pinterest board up and running in the next few days.
Check out my fellow hosts and their amazing cranberry recipes:
Deanna @ Teaspoon of Spice | @tspbasil
Evelyne @ Cheap Ethic Eatz | @cethniceatz
EA @ The Spicy RD | @thespicyrd
Sheila @ Pippi’s In the Kitchen Again | @shlylais
T.R. @ No One Likes Crumbley Cookies | @TRCrumbley
Shulie @ Food Wanderings | @foodwanderings
Becky @ Baking and Cooking: The Tale of Two Loves
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