Eggnog Pancakes with Eggnog Glaze

I can't believe Christmas is basically a week away and I haven't posted a single festive recipe on here yet.  I've been more focused on trying to get all my Christmas shopping done lately as I've had an extra hard time coming up with gift ideas this year and as it's looking now, I likely won't finish shopping until Christmas Eve.  Every year I tell myself I'm going to be more organized with everything Christmas-related but every year I end up with a TON of stuff to do last minute.  It's kind of part of the holiday rush and excitement though, and at least I usually get good deals by leaving my shopping so late!

I do regret not being more organized with holiday recipes though.  I had a lot of ideas floating around my head in November but so far I've mainly just been consuming treats that involve eggnog and Kahlua or Baileys, which you don't really need a recipe for!  Other than those soft molasses cookies I told you about earlier, these pancakes are the only other festive thing I've made this year.  And while I'm disappointed I haven't been doing more cooking/baking, I'm pretty happy that the one thing I made turned out so well!

These pancakes are light and fluffy with eggnog in the batter and a pinch of spices to give them a subtle eggnog flavour, but the glaze is what really kicks up the eggnog flavour so you're certain you're eating a festive (and slightly decadent, but not over-the-top) breakfast and not just regular pancakes.  So don't skip it!  

I already can't wait to make these again for breakfast this weekend, and to hopefully squeeze in some holiday baking before then!

Eggnog Pancakes with Eggnog Glaze

Recipe drew inspiration from several similar recipes, including Forkful of Comfort, Savory Simple, and SkinnyTaste

Serves about 4-6 (makes 16-18 pancakes)

Ingredients:

For the Pancakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups eggnog (I used low-fat eggnog)

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or substitute half rum extract if desired)

For the Glaze:*

1/2 cup icing sugar

2 tablespoons eggnog

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon rum extract

Directions:

First, prepare the pancake batter.  Whisk all the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon) in a large bowl.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (eggs, eggnog, oil, and vanilla extract).  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula until just combined (batter will be lumpy).

Heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle to medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray if necessary.  Pour pancake batter by 1/4 cup-fulls onto the pan.  Let cook until bubbles begin to form and pancake is browned on one side, a couple of minutes, then flip and cook until both sides are evenly browned.

While cooking pancakes, prepare the glaze by whisking all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Serve pancakes warm with a small amount of eggnog glaze on top.

*Note: The amount of glaze should be just enough for a small amount for each serving.  The glaze is quite sweet so you shouldn’t want too much, but feel free to double the amounts for the glaze if you like.

Eggnog Cake Cookies

Was anyone else as shocked as me to realize that as of this weekend, there are only two weeks left until Christmas? I've had my tree up and the Christmas tunes playing for about a month now, but it hasn't really sunk in yet that the big day is fast approaching. As a result, I have been completely neglecting my Christmas shopping and have only started shopping for two people so far (and haven't finished either one). I feel like I need a really big snowfall to happen to make me believe it's Christmas and kick me into gear. But since that isn't likely to happen anytime soon, my second option is to start baking a boatload of cookies; nothing says the holidays like pounds of butter and sugar, and even better, eggnog!

These eggnog cake cookies are just the thing to give you that warm, fuzzy, Christmassy feeling. I've had a lot of trouble in the past baking eggnog flavoured things that actually taste like eggnog, so I didn't have high hopes for these cookies. But much to my surprise and delight, both the cookie itself and the eggnog icing had a very distinguishable eggnog flavour with just the right hint of spice, and the two combined to create a deliciously soft and cakey cookie.

I sprinkled a little edible glitter on top of the icing to give them a festive sparkle, but you could easily leave them plain or add your own decorations! The original recipe didn't say how many cookies it made, so I cut the recipe in half and was glad I did because I still ended up with a lot of cookies. They are small though, which is good for sharing with lots of people, but bad for people with no impulse control like me, because it was so hard to stop eating them!

I brought these to my coworkers and to a cookie swap and everyone said they loved them - one girl even commented that she doesn't like eggnog but loved these cookies, so you don't have to be an eggnog lover to try them (though people who don't like eggnog baffle me)!

Eggnog Cake Cookies with Eggnog Icing

Adapted from The Family Kitchen

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

For the Cookies:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 a large egg (whisk one egg in a small bowl and use only half the liquid)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup eggnog

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Icing:

1 cup icing sugar

2 tablespoons eggnog

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Beat the butter and sugar with an elector mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Add the eggnog and beat until incorporated.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl with the mixer on low speed, and beat until everything is just combined.

Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for 9-11 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Whisk all icing ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Leave cookies on a wire rack but place a tray or parchment paper underneath to catch drippings. Spoon icing onto cookies and let drizzle down the sides. If adding sprinkles, glitter, or other decorations, do so while icing is still wet.

Gingerbread Crepes with Eggnog Whipped Cream

I’m excited to announce that the premiere issue of Eat in Eat Out, Canada’s first (and free!) digital magazine for people who love to cook in or dine out was released today, and I was lucky enough to be featured in it! I was asked to prepare two holiday recipes for the magazine - one will be featured on their homepage at a later time, and the other is featured on pages 48-49 of the current issue: these amazing gingerbread crepes with eggnog whipped cream!

It took more time than I expected to come up with two original holiday recipes that I hadn’t seen anywhere else. For my first recipe, I knew I wanted to incorporate gingerbread in some way, and since I love making crepes, I decided to create a gingerbread crepe. I found a couple of recipes online but none were quite what I was looking for, so I experimented a little and came up with what I thought was the best crepe I’ve ever made! The gingerbread flavour was spot-on and the addition of cocoa powder gave them that dark brown colour I was hoping for.

The crepes are so good on their own, but in keeping with the holiday spirit I wanted to add some sort of eggnog filling to pair them with. I considered making a cream cheese filling, but decided to keep the crepes a little lighter by making an eggnog whipped cream instead. I was a little worried that eggnog wouldn’t whip properly (or at all), but to my surprise and delight, it worked! I’m not sure if it's possible to get stiff peaks from eggnog, but I was able to get soft peaks just fine, which was perfect for filling the crepes. A pinch of nutmeg added to the whipped cream was the perfect addition to bring out the eggnog flavour, and a sprinkling of icing sugar and cinnamon on top of everything added an elegant wintery touch.

I think these would make a festive and crowd-pleasing holiday breakfast/brunch, but they could even work as a unique twist on dessert. Or you could just keep them in the fridge and eat them as a snack all to yourself like I did with all the practise crepes I made :)

To get the recipe, go to page 48 of Eat in Eat Out’s holiday issue. And be sure to check out the rest of the magazine while you’re there, it’s full of lots of amazing recipes, restaurant reviews, and contest links!

UPDATE: I've since added the recipe below to make it easier for viewing and printing.  Eat In Eat Out has also released several new issues, so be sure to check those out!

Gingerbread Crepes with Eggnog Whipped Cream

Recipe by Once Upon a Cutting Board

Makes 10 crepes (Serves 5 people with 2 crepes each, or 10 people with 1 crepe each)

Eggnog Whipped Cream:

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

3/4 cup egg nog (full fat)

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Chill a mixing bowl in the freezer until cold.  Pour chilled whipping cream and egg nog into the bowl and beat with the whisk attachment on high until the mixture begins to thicken.  Add granulated sugar and continue to beat until soft peaks form, above 5-10 minutes total.  Gently fold in nutmeg and refrigerate mixture until ready to use.

Gingerbread Crepes:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup skim milk

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

Whisk all crepe ingredients together in a large bowl.  Let sit for 30 minutes.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Pour batter by the 1/4 cup full onto the skillet and immediately swirl to cover the pan.  Let cook about one minute, until bubbles start to form in the middle of the crepe and the edges pull away from the pan.  Gently flip over and cook the other side for about 30 seconds to 1 minute until cooked through.  Remove from pan.  Repeat with remaining batter, spraying pan in between crepes and separating cooked crepes with layers of waxed paper.

To assemble crepes, fill each warm crepe with about 1/4 cup eggnog whipped cream, and wrap edges around filling.  Top crepes with extra whipped cream if desired, and sprinkle with icing sugar, cinnamon, and/or nutmeg.  Alternately, you could fold a couple of crepes into triangles then top them with the eggnog whipped cream instead of stuffing them - either works!