The Netherlands: Pannenkoeken Met Appelstroop

Name: The Netherlands: Pannenkoeken Met Appelstroop
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: The Netherlands
Ingredients: flour: 1 cup; milk: 2 cups; egg: 1 egg; vanilla extract: 1/2 tsp; Kosher Salt: 1/8 tsp; powdered sugar: 1 Tbsp; butter; apple: 1 medium; apple cider: 1 1/2 cup; brown sugar: 1/2 cup; blackstrap molasses: 2 Tbsp

Features:

Cuisine:

The Netherlands

45 minutes
Serves 2
Hard

Ingredients

For the Pancakes
1 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 egg egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp powdered sugar
butter
1 medium apple
thinly sliced
Stroop
1 1/2 cup apple cider
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp blackstrap molasses

Directions

Going Dutch today with Pannenkoeken met appelstroop! A favorite among kiddos in the Netherlands, pannenkoeken are commonly served at birthday parties and other special events. While pancakes in America are largely a breakfast staple, the Dutch often eat them for dinner. Many pannenkoekenhuisjes (pancake houses!) serve only these traditional pancakes, which may be made with all sorts of filling, both sweet and savory (think ham and cheese). Pannenkoeken are thinner than an American pancake but thicker than crepes, and may be served flat taking up the entire plate or rolled up and drizzled with syrup. I went the traditional route: apple pancakes drizzled with a homemade cider molasses or “stroop.”

These were really yummy, but a totally pain in the butt to make. To be fair I’ve always struggled with pancakes, but these ones were particularly difficult to flip even in a well-buttered pan.

I did find that they were easier to flip when there weren’t slices of apple in the batter, so frying up the apples and rolling them inside the pannenkoeken might be the way to go.

One other interesting tidbit I learned when researching pannenkoeken is that Indonesia – a former Dutch colony – inherited this dish, which may explain the classic banana pancakes that we enjoyed in Bali and which are famous along Southeast Asia’s “Banana Pancake Trail!”

Recipe Source: The Dutch Table and Today’s Parent

Steps

1 Done	Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, milk and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. The batter will be very runny, not what you expect pancake batter to be.
2 Done	Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add a small pat of butter and use a pastry brush to coat pan evenly (alternatively, you can use cooking spray). Pour in about 1/2 cup of batter lifting up and turning pan so the batter coats the surface in a thin, even layer. Add the thin slices of apple. As I noted above, I found the apple slices made the pancakes harder to flip. To avoid frustration, you can cook the apples separately with a bit of butter and add them to the pancakes later.
3 Done	Cook for 1 to 2 min or until the edges of the pancake are golden. Use a spatula to loosen the pancake, then turn over and cook 1 min longer or until bottom is also lightly browned. Repeat with remaining pancakes. You can keep the ones you're making in the oven at 200 F so they all stay warm until you're ready to serve.
4 Done	For the stroop Heat the cider in a small sauce pan. Stir in the brown sugar and molasses. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes until reduced by half and about the consistency of maple syrup.
5 Done	To serve: You can either lay the pancakes flat and top with apples and drizzle with syrup, or roll the crepes (around the fried apples if you went that route) and drizzle with syrup. Enjoy!