Friday greetings, Darlings!
Coming to you a day early this week with recipes ideal for Christmas morning.
Whether you’re a parent, you’re hosting, or you’re in charge of making breakfast on Christmas morning—we all know it can be a little hectic. Balancing gift opening while putting both a festive and healthy breakfast on the table (sometimes with little people excitedly pulling on our sleeves) is not easy. From experience, I know that caffeine highs on an empty stomach and sugar crashes are around every turn on Christmas morning.
Enter Swedish Pancakes with Cranberry Compote.
I love Swedish pancakes. My own origin story and love of cooking can be traced back to making these pancakes on Christmas morning. Some of my family is of Swedish heritage, so when I was in middle school I was gifted a traditional cast iron pan designed for making Swedish pancakes—the cute little bite-sized ones.
Growing up with a hard-working, single momma, I tried to help out wherever I could. When I realized I could actually cook, one of the first things I started to make was Swedish pancakes. I loved being responsible for making breakfast on Christmas and these little morsels were the perfect recipe for the day. In fact, this is the recipe that truly birthed my love of cooking.
Traditionally, Swedish pancakes are made with wheat flour and lingonberry jam (which is generally full of sugar). But for my version, I make a grain-free pancake batter using cassava flour and non-dairy kefir to replicate the flavor of buttermilk and give it a tang. If your guests are okay with dairy, you can use goat milk kefir or a whole milk version.
The trick with these Swedish pancakes is to grease up the pan super well. I like to use ghee or coconut oil because they don’t burn quite as easily as butter. If you don’t have a special pan for Swedish pancakes you can make them on your skillet or cast iron pan.
One reason this is a great option for Christmas morning — this batter is better when it sits, so make it the night before and refrigerate until you’re ready to make your pancakes. It makes for less mess and more ease on the big morning.
Since lingonberries are difficult to access here in the States, the next best thing is cranberries. Tangy like lingonberries and typically accessible this time of year at most markets, fresh cranberries turn into a quick and lovely compote. I make mine with maple syrup for sweetness, a little salt, orange juice and orange zest to smooth out the tang. Very festive!
As always, please message me on Instagram @aubreeholmes and sign up for my newsletter at www.aubreeholmes.com for more recipe inspiration in 2023!
And for now, a very merry Christmas to you and yours!
Warmly,
Aubree
Swedish Pancakes
2 cups cassava flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups unsweetened non dairy kefir or drinkable yogurt
2 cups water
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or beans scraped from ½ vanilla bean
Ghee or coconut oil, for greasing
Cranberry Compote, for serving (recipe below)
Non-Dairy Sour Cream, for serving
TO MAKE:
Preheat a Swedish pancake pan or skillet to medium heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the kefir, water, eggs, and vanilla. Stir the flour mixture into the kefir mixture until very smooth.
Melt about 1 tablespoon of ghee on the skillet. Pour the batter onto the skillet to make silver dollar-sized pancakes. Cook until bubbles start to form on the edges, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and let cook for about 2 more minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Serve immediately with Cranberry Compote.
Cranberry Compote
1 cup fresh cranberries
½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup orange juice
Zest from 1 orange
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
TO MAKE
In a saucepan set over medium heat, stir together the cranberries, maple syrup, orange juice and orange zest. Let simmer until the liquid has reduced and the mixture has thickened. Turn off the heat. Stir in the salt.
Store in a sealed container refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
