Cranberry Orange Pancakes with Cranberry Maple Syrup

When we’re home and I’m not training for a marathon that requires me to spend the majority of my Saturday mornings out on a long run, our typical Saturday routine is to sleep in, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, and then waste the day away with football games [Ben] and a good book [me] until we drag ourselves out the door to go workout, unless it is summertime, in which case we workout first thing to avoid the heat. Whoa. Run-on sentence. Sorry. All that to say, our leisurely breakfasts are the best. Except figuring out what to make. I’m a weekend breakfast snob, pretty much always insisting on some form of pancakes or waffles or egg casserole or french toast or or or… anything but boring toast or cold cereal. Not on the weekend…LAME!

Most men would delight in that. 1950s ideals and all. You know what the kicker is? 99% of the time, Ben would be just fine with eating dry Cheerios out of the box. Seriously. He uses a bowl, because of me, but how lame is that? So every week, our conversation is: what do you want for breakfast? Oh, cereal is fine. Really? Well if you really want to make something, I’d eat it… blah blah blah. But THIS SATURDAY!! This Saturday was different! When I asked Ben what he wanted for breakfast and said I was in a pancake mood, he immediately asked if there was a recipe somewhere for cranberry pancakes.

Cranberry pancakes? Well, I wasn’t sure, but a little Googling later led me to this awesome fare.

Yup, that’s definitely a big ‘ole stack of Cranberry Orange Pancakes with a bowl of Cranberry Maple Syrup! Can it get any better?

These pancakes were fluffy and sweet, slightly scented with a faint flavor of orange, while also having the unmistakable tartness of cranberries in each bite. So so so good! And the syrup! It was the star of the show, almost like a mixture of jam and syrup together… thick and sticky, as any good syrup is. It goes without saying that the cranberries in the syrup are tart…but a good tart, like cranberry sauce tart. Mmmm! A little vanilla in the syrup sophisticates this syrup. SO GOOD!

Wait! It does get better because it was the boring breakfast eater who inspired me to find this recipe. Except now that I look at the photos, I realize it couldn’t have been Saturday morning when these photos were taken because it was obviously dark out so I took them indoors. Sigh. That means my story is slightly invalid… but the principle still remains! And these pancakes are incredible. I think we must have made these Friday night. Exciting lives we lead…haha. They are sure to become a Christimastime favorite in your house too. Enjoy! 🙂

Cranberry Orange Pancakes [from Coastal Living]
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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons melted butter $
• zest of 1/2 an orange
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh cranberries, thawed if previously frozen

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. In a large measuring cup, whisk together buttermilk, egg, butter, orange zest, and vanilla extract.

Fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then add cranberries and mix gently until incorporated. Let batter rest while skillet heats up.

Meanwhile, heat canola oil on a large griddle or skillet set over medium-high heat. When hot, reduce heat to medium and add batter, 1/4 cup for each pancake, then cook for 2-4 minutes or until edges cook and top is bubbly. Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until lightly browned.

Time: 20 minutes.

Yield: ~16 pancakes.

Cranberry Maple Syrup [from Coastal Living]

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cup fresh cranberries, divided [thawed if frozen]
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:

Bring maple syrup and 3/4 cup cranberries to a boil in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat.

Reduce heat to low, then simmer for 3-4 minutes until cranberries begin to pop. Crush cranberries with a potato masher, then add remaining cranberries. Simmer for another 2 minutes, then stir in vanilla and butter.

Time: 10 minutes.

Yield: 1 cup.