This recipe is another morning staple at our home.  A few years ago, Aunt Suzan gave us an aebelskiver pan with her Danish grandfather’s recipe. her family makes

These are stuffed with banana, but you can't tell! You can tell where I've pricked them with the skewer when I flipped them, though.

this recipe at Christmas, but after my kids tasted them the first time, they decided we should have them regularly. My Lucy prefers the aebelskivers (which is a spherical Danish pancake) stuffed with a few chocolate chips, and Henry and I like them best with a slice of banana in the middle. I’ve tried placing jam and jelly in the middle, which is great, but a little messier. I know these pans are available online and Williams-Sonoma has them (usually, I think). There’s also many variations–you can be creative–but another one I’ve loved included placing a sage leaf in the pan first (so it was baked onto the surface of the pancake), and then stuffing them with goat cheese. Beautiful.

Aunt Suzan’s Grandpa Ruel’s Aebelskivers

3 eggs
3 c. buttermilk
6 T. melted butter (for taste) or oil (for convenience–and a little crisper, I believe)
3 c. level flour (or 2 c. all-purpose +1 c. whole wheat)
1 t. salt
2 T. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking soda (I usually cut this down by 1/4 t.)
1 t. baking powder (and I cut this one down by 1/4 t. too)
1 t. vanilla

Preheat the aebelskiver pan on medium-high heat.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, powder, and soda well with a whisk. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and add the wet ones, whisking until just combined. (Grandpa Ruel separated the egg whites, beat them until frothy, and folded them in after mixing the wet and the dry ingredients together. I always omit this step, because of the morning rush, but it’s worth it for the lightness in texture, if you have time!)

Spray the aebelskiver pan with a cooking spray or wipe with oil. When the pan is hot, place about 2 T. batter into each hole. When the pancake has started to firm up on the sides, insert a filling, if desired (chocolate chips, banana slice, jam). Push the filling into the center of the pancake with a skewer tip. Once the pancake releases air bubbles to the surface, about 2 minutes, flip the pancake using the tip of a skewer or a knitting needle or chopstick, so it can cook on the other side for another 2 minutes. Decrease the pan heat, if necessary, to prevent scorching. Continue to bake the rest of the batter. Serve with powdered sugar, syrup, jam, or Nutella, etc.

Makes about 40 aebelskivers.

I didn't fill the whole pan because this was the end of the batter. You can get a good sense for what the pan is--a cast-iron skillet with spherical grooves for the pancake.