German Pancakes

In addition to the charities which we will continue to blog about, we wanted to branch out to other topics. If you don't already know this about Dan, he loves to cook and is always looking for recipes that are both nutritious and full of flavor. Our friend, Mary Abbott Hess, shared the following recipe with us after making it for us while we were visiting her at her SW Michigan cottage. Mary is a nationally recognized speaker and authority on food and nutrition and has authored a number of books on making healthful food choices, including "Essentials of Healthful Cooking" which was originally distributed by Williams-Sonoma stores.

Here's the official recipe for one pancake that serves 2. (*See notes below as to Dan's variations and changes.)

½ cup flour
½ cup milk
¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice plus 1 lemon, cut in wedges
¼ cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Make batter of flour, milk and eggs. Mix with whisk.

Put 9" Pyrex pie plate or heatproof pan in oven to get hot. Melt butter in the hot pan and slosh around to go up the sides so all inside surfaces are buttered.

Pour batter into hot pan and bake 20 minutes or until pancake is puffed and lightly brown.

Squeeze on lemon juice and sprinkle with powdered sugar and extra lemon wedges.

* Add grated lemon peel on the pancakes in addition to the lemon juice.
* Substitute fresh orange juice and peel for the lemon.
* Double the recipe to feed four – makes two pancakes.
* Use half of the butter to reduce fat content – i.e., ½ stick for my doubled-recipe to coat two pie pans
* This recipe can also be used as a dessert if you top with fresh fruit, ice cream or whipped cream and chocolate syrup

We hope you enjoy this recipe and others that we will be adding to our blog on a weekly basis. Comments are always welcome!