Buttermilk Biscoff Pancakes

Buttermilk Biscoff Pancakes - made May 17, 2015, adapted from The Biscoff Cookie & Spread Cookbook by Katrina Bahl

Continuing the cookie butter recipes. For a change of pace, let’s turn to breakfast food. I had high hopes for these pancakes because you know it goes without saying that it was another excuse to spread cookie butter onto something warm and let it melt before consuming. I do draw the line with my cookie butter obsession that I don’t eat it straight out of the jar. But that doesn’t mean I don’t look for something for the cookie butter to sit on while I consume it.

Unfortunately, these pancakes didn’t turn out the way I had expected. The first sign of trouble was how thick the batter was after I had mixed it. It had the density of a brownie batter. Not even the more fluid cake batter or the more liquid hallmark of a good pancake batter. Brownie batter. I knew it would come out too thick but I fried a pancake “as is” with how the recipe was listed even though I knew I should add more buttermilk to get a less dense pancake.

Turns out I was right. The pancake not only wasn’t thick because I couldn’t spread it thinly enough in the hot frying pan but it also cracked dry in the cooking. A thin layer of cookie butter hid those sins but because the batter was so dense and the pancake was so thick, I had to cook it awhile and it was a bit dry. Who the heck makes dry pancakes? Me.

2nd attempt

For the next try, I added more buttermilk to the remaining batter so I would guess I had doubled the buttermilk from the original recipe. The batter was still thick but not so dense. This one turned out more pancake-like but it was still pretty thick and came out more like a flat cake than a fluffy pancake. But the texture was still good. It just made for a generous portion and I couldn’t finish it all. The taste was good (c’mon, it’s cookie butter) though so this recipe is worth salvaging. I’d start with the buttermilk I’ve listed which is double the original recipe, then keep adding more until the batter is the consistency you want. Depending on how much you add, you might want to increase the baking soda by a ¼ to a ½ teaspoon as well to neutralize the acidity of the buttermilk and give the pancake a lighter texture.

I didn’t make the cookie butter syrup since I was good with just spreading a knife-ful of cookie butter over the pancake and letting it melt into gooey goodness. Either way, I think it’s a good complement to the pancake.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup creamy Biscoff spread
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

1. Whisk together dry ingrediens.
2. Beat buttermilk, Biscoff spread, oil, vanilla extract and eggs until just combined.
3. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
4. Heat frying pan or griddle over medium heat and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Pour 1/2 cup of batter (more or less depending on the size of pancakes you want) into circle and let cook until edges are brown and bubbles form in the middle, 2-3 minutes,on one side before flipping over. If pancake is getting too brown, lower heat.
5. Spread with cookie butter and serve warm.