Eggnog Pancakes: A Tutorial

Things are feeling a little more festive around here lately. Still no tree or decorations up, but after Andy and I spent a good portion of yesterday reclaiming the kitchen, living room, and bathroom from the ever encroaching clutter and filth, I'm actually able to envision how a tree just might fit into the cabin.

I realized one reason it's been hard to think of Christmas as being just around the corner is the fact that we've been firmly rooted in "deer season" for so very long now. On Thursday night, we finally finished making venison sausage - a double batch of chorizo and like a quadruple batch of wild rice sausage, which I think is this year's winner in the sausage taste test. Now that the chest freezer is filled with 60+ lbs of processed venison, I can officially take off my butcher hat and pull on my Santa hat.

So we're making little steps towards the holiday season. One giant leap towards downright festiveness came when I made a batch of these yesterday morning:

That's right, eggnog pancakes. Mmmm, noggy goodness. I've mentioned these pancakes before, back in the blog's infancy, but good things are worth repeating and this time I'm actually going to show you how to make them.

Before you all go eggnog hating on me, let me say,  I'm not a huge eggnog fan either. A small glass of it once a year is plenty for me. However, I really enjoy the faint eggnogy, nutmegy flavor the eggnog gives these pancakes. Of course, adding eggnog to pancakes makes these probably the most ridiculously fattening holiday treat you could cook up. (But see, I used light eggnog - health food!)

Eggnog Pancakes

1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 cup eggnog (you can use light)
1/4 - 1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp melted butter

Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, eggnog, 1/4 cup milk, and butter. Combine dry and wet ingredients until just blended. Be carefully not to overmix: some lumps may remain- don't worry about them!  If batter seems too thick, add more milk until desired consistency is achieved. (I prefer my pancakes quite thin, so I end up adding the whole 1/2 cup of milk.) Drop batter in large spoonfuls on heated, grease griddle. Cook until bubbles form and bottom is golden brown, then flip. Cook on other side until golden brown. Serve warm with real maple syrup. Merry Christmas!