Snickerdoodle Pancake

Last Minute Celebrating

This morning, just out of the shower, I got a text from my husband:

Shrove Pancake Tuesday!

Yikes!  How could I forget? Every year it seems this occasion sneaks up on me....

Really though, a large part of the charm of Shrove Tuesday is that, well, that’s okay. After all, it’s the “sneaking up on you” that it’s really all about.  Life gets busy and complicated and when it does we need to be reminded to be open to the essence to what’s really important, and let the rest go…or at least loosen our grip on it a little.   We need to clean up and sweep out and make a space that encourages us to be mindful of what matters, to listen for that Still Small Voice (1 Kings 19:12).

Originally Shrove Tuesday was a day to clear rich foods from our pantries in preparation for the observance of Lent. These days those rich foods, butter, eggs, milk,  are staples and can be found in most every kitchen making a pancake dinner one that can easily be prepared on short notice. 

A Gift from the Girls

In my own kitchen I have some beautiful eggs 

left from a recent visit to “the girls” 

at For the Love of Chicken Poop.  I have a little butter, flour and spices.  What I find that I don’t have as I look in the refrigerator is milk!  I do however have some half and half for some forgotten reason and that seems like an appropriate substitution for the occasion.

All that’s left is to decide what kind of pancakes to make this year.  I have already posted about Overnight Pancakes, Swedish Pancakes, A Dutch Baby, Wheat Germ Griddle Cakes and several other variations. This year, with Valentine’s Day later this week, I find myself thinking about Snickerdoodles.  As I begin to pull together the basic ingredients for pancakes I realize they are much the same as the basic ingredients for Snickerdoodles.  Only the proportions and a few pinches of spice hang in the balance.  So why not make a Snickerdoodle Pancake? Topped with a cinnamon-y Snickerdoodle Syrup/Sauce it makes a tempting Shrove Tuesday treat.

Snickerdoodle Pancake

¾ cup flour

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

a pinch of nutmeg

3 Tablespoons sugar (use vanilla sugar if you have it)

3 eggs

¾ cup milk (or half and half)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ Tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix together the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk the eggs until frothy. Add the milk, vanilla and dry ingredients. Whisk until smooth.

Place the butter in a 10 or 12-inch oven proof skillet (preferably cast iron). Set the skillet in the oven for a few minutes until it is hot and the butter has melted.

Remove the skillet from the oven. Swirl it to cover the bottom of the skillet evenly with the hot butter. Immediately pour the batter into the pan and return it to the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes or until puffed and turning golden.

Remove from oven. Quickly dust with powdered sugar and Snickerdoodle Sauce (recipe below) if desired.

Slice and serve.

Snickerdoodle Sauce

Adapted from a recipe at foodnetwork.com

1 cup water

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

2 Tablespoons heavy cream or butter

Combine water, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small saucepan.

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. 

Continue to boil, stirring occasionally until mixture is reduced and begins to thicken, approximately 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the cream or butter.

Enjoy!