Pancakes with Roasted Strawberries

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If you like strawberry shortcakes, then you will love this short stack of buttermilk pancakes topped with caramelized strawberries and crunchy almonds and drizzles of butter and syrup. Add bacon or breakfast sausage links for the perfect combination of sweet and savory and serve them up for a spectacular brunch.

Makes Twelve 4-inch Pancakes

Ingredients:
For the roasted strawberries:
1 pound strawberries, hulled, halved, quartered if large
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

For the pancakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, plus more for pan and serving
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

Directions:
To Roast the strawberries:Preheat oven to 425°F. Place strawberries, sugar, and salt in a glass baking dish. Scrape in vanilla seeds, add pod, and stir to combine. Roast, stirring occasionally, until juices are bubbling, 15–18 minutes. Let cool slightly and discard pod.

To Make the pancakes:Whisk flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Beat eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and 3 Tbsp. melted butter in a medium bowl with a fork to incorporate eggs. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Batter will be slightly lumpy.

Heat a large griddle or 2 cast-iron or nonstick skillets over medium; brush with butter. Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto griddle. Cook until bubbles form on the surface and pop, and the underside is golden brown, 2 1/2–3 minutes. Flip and cook until lightly browned on the bottom, 2 1/2–3 minutes more. Transfer pancakes to plates or a platter and brush tops with butter. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing griddle with butter as needed.
Serve pancakes topped with roasted strawberries and sprinkled with almonds, if desired.

Cook’s Notes:
Roasted strawberries can be made up to 5 days ahead and leftovers can be enjoyed over biscuits, yogurt, or ice cream.

Pancakes can be kept warm on a wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet in a 250°F oven.

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Buttermilk Pancakes with Quince and Cherry Compote

This fruity compote can also be served with pancakes or waffles or even as a topping for a slice of pound cake. If quinces are unavailable, substitute crisp Bosc pears. They will make a fine alternative to quinces here, and they only need to cook for 20 minutes. Be sure to taste the compote before serving; you may need to stir in a little more sugar, depending on the ripeness of the fruit.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
For the Compote:
1 quince, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cinnamon stick
1/3 cup apple juice
2 Honey Crisp apples, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup fresh cherries
2 Tablespoons honey
Zest and the juice of 1/2 a lemon

For the Pancakes:
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter; more for serving
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
Vegetable oil
Pure maple syrup, for serving

Directions:
To make the compote:To a saucepan, add the quince, sugar, salt, cinnamon stick and apple juice. Bring to a simmer and cook over moderately low heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in the apples, cherries, cranberries, honey, the lemon zest and the lemon juice and cook, stirring until the fruit is tender, but not completely broken down. Cook for about 5 additional minutes and remove for the heat. Set the compote aside and let cool.

To make the pancakes: Heat the oven to 200°F. Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove and set aside to cool briefly.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk and eggs. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Whisk gently until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated; stop before the batter is evenly moistened. Add the cooled melted butter and mix just until the batter is evenly moistened. The batter will be lumpy Let the batter rest while you heat the griddle.

Heat a griddle or a large skillet over medium heat (or set an electric griddle to 375°F) until drops of water briefly dance on the surface before evaporating. Lightly oil the griddle. Working in batches, pour 1/4 cup of the batter onto the griddle for each pancake, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Let cook undisturbed until bubbles rise to the surface and the edges look dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Check the underside of each pancake to make sure it’s nicely browned; then flip. Cook until the second side is nicely browned, about 1 minute more. Transfer the pancakes to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while you repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve hot fruit compote and maple syrup.

Cook’s Notes:
Cooked pancakes will keep, sealed in freezer bags, for up to 2 days in the refrigerator and up to 1 month in the freezer. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Did you know that the hallmark of a great pancake is that it can be eaten without mounds of syrup?

The lemon and ricotta flavors meld together nicely and enhance each other’s delicate profiles so amazingly well. A fresh cheese with a slightly sweet flavor, ricotta is produced from whey drained off while making other cheeses, such as mozzarella and provolone. It lends a delicate texture to these melt-in-your-mouth pancakes.The ricotta also adds just enough moisture, giving these pancakes such a tender crumb that you will not be able to resist.Be sure to fold the ricotta into the batter very gently: that way, when you bite into the pancake, you get these pockets of pillowy ricotta.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
3/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of 2 lemons
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons coconut oil, plus more as needed
Powdered sugar, fresh  fruit, or  syrup, for serving (optional)

Directions:
Preheat cast iron skillet moderately-high heat.

In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt for 30 seconds. Make a well in center of flour mixture and set aside.

In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together milk, ricotta, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Then, whisk lemon zest with lemon juice and add to milk mixture along with melted butter and blend until combined.

Pour into flour mixture and whisk just to combined. The batter should appear to be slightly lumpy.

Add the coconut oil to the to the skillet. Pour about 1/4 – 1/3 cup batter onto the oiled skillet and cook the pancakes until bubbles begin to appear on surface and bottom is golden brown, then flip and cook opposite side until golden brown. When done, remove the pancakes from the skillet.

Serve warm dusted with powdered sugar if desired and drizzled with maple or  raspberry syrup.