Food for thought: Why not dress up a breakfast staple with a few special additions? In this recipe, you'll take scratch-made pancakes and top them with toasted pecans and homemade maple butter. (We love this combo so much, we serve it at Magnolia Table!) We hope that this recipe starts your day on a high note. Stack ‘em tall, no judgment here!
You can find a copy of this recipe in Magnolia Table, Volume 2. Then, to help you get started in the kitchen...
Pecan Pancakes with Maple Butter
prep: under 15 minutes
cook: under 20 minutes
cool: none
ingredients
1 cup pecans
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 ½ cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Maple Butter (see recipe below), for serving
Pure maple syrup, for serving
instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 250°F. Set a wire rack on a sheet pan.
2. In a large dry skillet, toast the pecans over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely. Coarsely chop and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center. Pour the buttermilk and egg yolks into the well and whisk by hand until just incorporated (there will be lumps). Add the vanilla and melted butter and stir gently until incorporated. Do not overwhisk. (The batter can be refrigerated for up to 1 hour.)
4. Just before cooking the pancakes, in a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Fold gently into the batter.
5. Heat a large nonstick griddle to 300°F or a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes.
6. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, use a measuring cup to ladle 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle or skillet for each pancake. Cook until the pancakes begin to bubble in the middle and the bottom edges brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until the other side is slightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer each batch of pancakes to the wire rack and place them in the oven to keep warm until ready to serve.
7. Stack the pancakes, top with pats of butter, and sprinkle with the toasted pecans. Pour your favorite maple syrup over the top and serve.
8. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight.
Makes 12 pancakes
Maple Butter
prep: 10 minutes, plus 20 minutes chilling
cook: none
cool: none
ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon kosher salt
instructions
1. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the butter on high speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the speed to low and slowly pour in the syrup. Mix until well incorporated. Add the salt, turn the speed to high, and beat for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl halfway through.
2. Scrape the butter onto parchment paper and roll into a log. Twist the ends of the parchment paper to secure and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Unwrap the log and slice the butter into pats when ready to serve.
4. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Makes about 1 cup (sixteen 1-tablespoon servings)
