‘Cause you were.
Pfffffft.
I was never one to serve “kid food” to my kids.
I mean, they’re kids and all, & I’m cool with that. But I wanted them to be as user-friendly as possible, you know? I wanted to be able to tell them this, credibly
‘When you go to someone else’s house and have a meal, you eat whatever they give you and smile. Compliment the chef. If it’s poison, you may call me afterward.’
I have been historically, and to this day remain, easily bothered by parents who stuff their kids full of snacks all day long and then wonder why their kids won’t sit. down. to. eat. a. meal. Seriously? Cool it with the snacks!
My kids eat food. And they don’t like to be cut short on the experience of a meal.
Case in point: My son is so happy that his baseball game tonight is at 7:00 pm, rather than the usual 5:30 pm, “so that we can at least sit and enjoy our dinner.”
He’s 7.
Are you thinking that that’s kind of a pain in the a$$? ‘Cause, admittedly, I can see your point. I’m soaking it all in. I’m thinking, wondering if I regret raising miniature Europeans right here in suburban New York.
Nah. I’m still pleased with my choice to treat my children like short adults when it comes to dining. Supping. Breaking {gluten-free} bread. I like their user-friendliness. I can ship them out, and not worry they’re going to shame us at someone else’s table.
So this particular varietal of finger-type food? This one’s for me. Nobody taught me nothin’.
You honestly don’t need an ebelskiver pan to make these, but they do cook up so nice & crusty. If you don’t have the ebelskiver pan, the best substitute I have been able to dream up is scooping out mounds of the batter & placing them an inch or two apart in a nonstick skillet or medium heat. I have thought about using pancake molds, too. I dunno.
We need to put our heads together on this one. All hands on deck. How could you simulate a stove-top multiple-well ebelskiver pan?
Today, we have a Buy One Get One sale on blog recipes. Except they’re both free. ‘Cause that’s how I roll. One lightly sweet, one savory. Each a crispy, light little Danish treat. Enjoy!
| Out of My Aebelskivin’ Mind |
- 2 extra-large eggs, separated {carefully}
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter {melted and cooled} or {non-hydrogenated} vegetable shortening plus more for greasing the pan
- 3/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour {I use Better Batter}
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum {omit if using Better Batter}
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil {or 1 tablespoon dried}
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk, at room temperature {low-fat is fine, nonfat is not, nondairy substitute is fine}
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- In the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until stiff {but not dry} peaks form. With a silicone spatula, scrape the egg whites into another clean bowl, and set the bowl aside.
- Switch out the whisk attachment on your mixer for the paddle attachment. To the mixer bowl, add the egg yolks and unsalted butter {or vegetable shortening} and beat until combined. Add the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt, and mix to combine well. Add the Parmesan cheese, basil, and oregano {first rubbing the oregano with your fingers to release the oils}, and mix to combine.
- In a slow but steady stream, with the mixer on medium speed, pour in the milk. Beat until well-combined.
- Remove the mixer bowl from the mixer, and add about one-half of the egg whites to the batter. Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter until few white streaks remain. Add the remaining egg whites, and fold again until no white streaks remain.
- Grease the wells of the ebelskiver pan with either unsalted butter or shortening. Heat the pan over medium heat until warm but not too hot or they will cook too quickly. The standard pan has 7 wells.
- Fill each of the wells about halfway with the batter, being gentle as a lamb. You don’t want to deflate the egg whites. Beginning with the first well you filled by half, add about 1 teaspoon grated mozzarella cheese, and top with more batter until the cup is slightly over-full.
- Allow the ebelskivers to cook until the bottoms have set enough to withstand some handling and are nicely brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Using something pointy and made of either silicone or wood {I bought the official issue ebelskiver turners, ‘cause they’re pretty – but maybe try knitting needles or chopsticks}, coax them to flip over. They will be slightly unset on the top, in the center. Cook the other side for another minute or so until set and crusty brown. Remove from the pan.
- Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve warm, with a side of tomato sauce for dipping.
For Sweet Aebelskivers:
Add 3 to 4 teaspoons sugar to the batter when adding the flour.
Skip the Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, & mozzarella cheese.
During cooking, fill the wells full, rather than halfway full. Don’t serve with tomato sauce, ’cause that would be gross.
Serve with powdered sugar {unless that doesn’t appeal to you, which seems crazy to me but diff’rent strokes, diff’rent folks}.
So what do you have planned for the long Memorial Day {U.S.} weekend coming up?
I have a long weekend filled with trying to distract the children so I can finish my Book Proposal. It’s due June 1. *yikes* And perhaps a spin around the block walking the children while the dogs bike ride. And a lovely Monday afternoon with lovely friends of ours who were gracious enough to invite us over {& try try try to accommodate my son}.
Love you. Mean it. CUB4UDK.
xoxo
Nicole
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Looks yummy! OK, I agree about the kid snack thing, but hey, if we were neighbors I’d take the kids for ice cream cones so you can work on the book thing. Happy Memorial Weekend! xoLinda
Hi, Linda!
No I wish we were neighbors so you could ruin my kids’ appetites! I’d make you struggle through dinner with them, then. :) I’m giddy at the impossible thought of it all. I want you to know something, Linda. I look forward to reading your comments, and I’d miss them if they weren’t here. :) Have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Nicole
Is the pan large enough to do baked eggs in each cup with some extras thrown in?
Hi, Tracy,
The “pizza” ebelskiver recipe as written above has cheese in the center. They are commonly made with ‘fillings.’ You just make the total volume, with the filling, equal to the volume of the cup.
I hope that’s helpful.
xoxo
Nicole
I just discovered your website; after looking at your cookbook! Ebelskivers are one of my family’s favorite breakfast treats. But after recently giving up Gluten, I didn’t think that I would make these again. Thanks for the recipe, I will definitely give it a try.
Hi, Cheryl,
It’s nice to hear from you. I dare say that there is nothing you can’t have any longer – except gluten itself. I love a challenge, & find it keeps me inspired. What else did you assume that you could no longer have since you are now gluten-free?
Thanks for posting!
xoxo
Nicole
I know, I just have to readjust a couple recipes so that I could enjoy them. I so enjoy Greek food for instance and wonder how I could enjoy certain dishes by with a twist. For instance, I LOVE, LOVE Tabouli but will need to sub out the bulgar wheat for ????? perhaps quinoa? What do recommend instead of pita bread to enjoy hummus and baba ganoush? Thank you so much for your ideas.
Yay, just went back in your archives and saw your entry for pita bread in April! Thank you!
Hi, Cheryl,
For tabbouleh, I would say quinoa is your best bet. I have never tried it, but I would start with a tried & true recipe for bulgur wheat tabbouleh, sub in quinoa for the wheat and season to taste. Quinoa is more bitter than bulgur wheat, so try adding some sweetness (maybe from honey) to counteract that. Good luck!
xoxo
Nicole
Nicole I have a proposal after you manage to make your second book pitch. It will go over like frosting so dont sweat it :) I actually have a giant pear tree in my back yard. we are at odds with each other. I love it but we get sooo many pears. Everyone says they will come and get them and then never do. So im looking at what to make besides pear butter. could you do a pear dumpling recipe? have to try these! they look really yummy plus a quick pizza fix to boot!
Hi, Miranda,
This looks like a really nice recipe for Pear Dumplings: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4238/baked-pear-dumplings. For the pastry crust, there is a recipe for basic Sweet Pastry Crust on page 39. I hope that’s helpful! I know how you feel about your pears. My husband has a long history of growing zucchinis like a drunken farmer, and there are only so many zucchinis one family can eat, in only so many ways!
xoxo
Nicole
My MiL just gave me your book and I am excited about the recipes! I don’t use a GF flour mix, though – I have embraced the Gluten Free Girl’s baking by weight, and I am still unsure how to convert recipes that use cups. I’m OK if they are non GF recipes, (easy to weigh a cup of regular flour and then convert,) but harder when the original recipe is GF because all the mixes out there weigh differently depending on the flours they’re using. Would it be possible to weigh a cup of the Better Batter flour you are using and let us know the weight? I am dying to make abelskivers – my pan has been sitting around since we went GF and I look at it longingly. :)
Hi, Margo,
One cup of Better Batter weighs, on average, 165 grams. I hope that’s helpful!
Enjoy the return of aebelskivers — just be sure to give that pan a really good wash before pressing it into GF service!
xoxo
Nicole
thank you so much! I am excited… washing the pan now. :)
You’re very welcome. Let us know how it turns out!
xoxo
Nicole
We are so on the same page here. We love these at our house, we don’t even have kids! We just use a normal pancake recipe and pop in whatever we have on hand, cheese, ham, jam, a bit of orange liqueur (with orange or berry jam), lemon curd, sausage, chocolate.
Good luck with the book proposal!
Hi, Alix,
Seriously, I wish I could just eat out of this pan. I think it might help with portion control. :)
I love lemon curd. Great idea!
Thanks for the post!
xoxo
Nicole
Thanks Nicole!! have I told you this week your the best? well you are.
Aw, shucks. Thanks, Miranda!
xoxo
Nicole
I bought an ebelskiver pan today, plus wooden tongs for flipping them over. When I originally mentioned ebelskivers and the need for a pan, he asked,” How often are we going to make ebelskivers?” My reply: NONE, if we don’t have a pan. Fine, he said, but you have to figure out a place to store it. When I asked someone at the cookshop about ebelskiver pans, he showed me the one he used, and told me about all of the different kinds of ebelskivers he made. I realized that if I could successfully make a savory mushroom ebelskiver, my daughter might not miss the Trader Joe’s mushroom turnovers.
It’s a good thing I bought stuff at the cookshop today. I inadvertently dropped a bottle of ginger syrup on the floor. The cookshop people cleaned it up and refused to let me pay for it. Kind, kind people!
xo,
Farida
Hi, Farida,
Of Course you could make a mushroom turnover ebelskiver! I am jealous that you have a daughter who misses mushroom turnovers! I have a son who would miss mushroom turnovers. My daughters … would not. :)
Nice salespeople should be the norm, but they’re not, so I also appreciate them when I encounter them!
xoxo
Nicole
Hi Nicole:
After nattering on about ebelskivers all day long, my husband made the premiere batch tonight (the sweet version). The short story: he is sold on ebelskivers. Yum, yum, YUM. Thank you. I will let you know how mushroom ebelskivers turn out.
xo,
Farida
Hi, Farida,
So not only is your family enjoying ebelskivers now, but your husband made them for you? Home run! I’m interested to hear how those mushroom ones are.
xoxo
Nicole
First, you are hilarious. This post’s title! How could I resist?! My mom just gave me an ebelskiver pan for my birthday (along with a pressure cooker, woohoo!) and although lately we’ve fallen off the GF wagon, I am wanting to get back on, and in a way that everyone actually *likes*. I am totally psyched to try your pizza-skivers later today! Now to poke around here and see if you ever work with coconut flour… texture can be weird but the nutritional content is worth the learning curve… I think…
Hi, Julia,
I’m so glad you’re going to give the pizza-skivers (like that) a whirl. I can save you some time on the coconut flour, though. I don’t touch the stuff. I make everything with an all-purpose gluten-free flour, and I don’t blend it myself. I rely upon Better Batter to do that for me. I used to blend my own flours, years and years ago, when I had no choice, but I find that it’s too expensive, and for me, not really worth the trouble. There is a whole cookbook out there using coconut flour, I think, isn’t there? That would sure help! Sorry I couldn’t be more useful. :(
xoxo Nicole
I think I may have just fallen a little in love with you :) Ebelskivers go back in my family to the great-great-great+ grandparents. I grew up with cousins having “who can eat the most without puking” contests (38 set by my brother). With autism and aspergers and the gf diets, I’ve been sad that they wouldn’t have them. Cant wait to try this improv. By the way, best way to eat them is to tear them open on the plate, pour hot, melted butter on them and then hot, homemade maple syrup.
Hi, Denise,
Just a little? ;) I just finished a big dinner, yet I feel like I could still put away a few ebelskivers if you served ‘em up torn open, with hot melted butter and warm homemade maple syrup. I can just smell it! So glad you now know that you can still enjoy a childhood favorite – and maybe even beat your brother’s record. Or set a new one in a brand new category — most GF ebelskivers!
xoxo Nicole
I asked for an ebelskiver pan last Christmas and since then have only made one batch…reading this post has inspired me to break it out again! I love the idea of the savory ebelskivers, especially since I always seem to have an extra cup or so of pasta/pizza sauce lying around that I’m trying to sneak into a meal haha!
I must confess though, I won’t be making these right away. I have an agenda, oh yes, a large thought out list of things I will be making since you have inspired me so. Last week it was the pumpkin carrot cakes (YUM!), last night the yeast-free pita (YUM!), in a few days it will be the table water crackers. I can’t wait to have a cracker that, given your current recipe reputation in my book, will be delicious in the taste and texture departments. Those store bought crackers just don’t cut it. But anyway, back to the agenda, next week it will be pizza rolls made using the won ton wrappers (who doesn’t miss Totinos?) and finally both sweet and savory ebelskivers. AND since I have 7.5oz of leftover pumpkin from the carrot cakes I will be making the sweet ebelskivers pumpkin style!
Long story short, thanks for inspiring me to actually USE flour again. A combination of flour hoarding (hey this stuff can be expensive!) and low gluten free baking self esteem prevented me from doing as much baking as I would like. However, now that I know I can buy Better Batter in 25lb quantities and it comes out to about $2.60 a pound, who cares if I have a flop every now and then…I’ll just make up for it by try, trying again. :)
Hi, Emma,
You are so inspired! You have kitchen confidence! That is awesome!
Pizza rolls sound great. May I suggest making them with pizza dough instead of won ton wrappers? I think they’d be more to your liking that way. Just a suggestion.
I know what you mean about flour hoarding. When I have lots and lots of Better Batter (which I try to always have), I feel a tremendous sense of possibility and optimism that I just don’t feel otherwise.
I hope you will stick around. There’s more good stuff to come!
xoxo Nicole
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