Cranberry Pink Butter Pancakes [RECIPE]

Cranberry Pink Butter Pancakes

Makes 2 big pancakes

Ingredients

Pancakes

• 1¼ cups buttermilk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 packet (2¼ tsp) active dry yeast
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• A little neutral oil, for the pan

Pink Butter

• ¼ (14-oz) can Ocean Spray Whole Cranberry Sauce (don’t worry too much about making it exact; you can eyeball it)
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp salt

Cranberry Maple Syrup

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
• ¾ (14-oz) can Ocean Spray Whole Cranberry Sauce (the leftovers from the pink butter)
• ½ cup maple syrup
• ½ tsp salt
• A splash of water, if needed

Equipment

• Food processor or electric hand mixer
• Small nonstick skillet with a lid
• Small saucepan
• Mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Rubber spatula
• Wire rack and baking sheet
• Paper towels

Instructions

Start the Pancake Batter

1. Warm the buttermilk. Gently warm the buttermilk to hot-tub temperature. When you dunk your finger in, it should feel like a nice soak in a hot tub, but not so hot that it would burn if you left your finger in there.
2. Wake up the yeast. Stir 1 cup of the flour, the yeast, and the sugar into the warm buttermilk. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for about an hour so the yeast can activate and start getting a little funky.
3. Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of flour, the baking soda, and the salt. Set aside.

Make the Pink Butter (While the Yeast Rests)

1. Add the softened butter, Ocean Spray Whole Cranberry Sauce, and salt to a food processor and blend until smooth and combined into a beautiful, bright pink butter. If using an electric hand mixer instead, beat the ingredients together in a mixing bowl until well combined. You might have a few little cranberry pieces in there, and that’s perfectly fine.

Make the Cranberry Maple Syrup

1. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt together the butter, the remaining Ocean Spray Whole Cranberry Sauce, the maple syrup, and the salt. Whisk until everything comes together into a nice, thick, syrupy consistency. Add a splash of water if you need to loosen it up.

Finish and Cook the Pancakes

1. Finish the batter. Once the yeast mixture has rested, whisk the eggs and melted butter into it until smooth. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. A few little clumps are welcome (we like little clumps), as long as everything looks wet.
2. Prep the pan and oven. Set your oven to its lowest setting with a wire rack on a baking sheet inside to keep the pancakes warm. Heat a small nonstick pan over low heat, add a little oil, and wipe away the excess with a paper towel, leaving just a thin, even film on the surface. That’s the secret to a beautifully uniform golden-brown pancake, if you like that sorta thing.
3. Cook the first side. Ladle in about half the batter, cover with a lid, and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes.
4. Check if it’s ready. The pancake is ready to flip when the edges have set and the top no longer looks liquidy. It should turn a little more opaque. Slide a small rubber spatula along the side and gently lift. The bottom should be an even golden brown, and the top should jiggle a little without running.
5. Flip and finish. Carefully slip a spatula underneath the pancake, flip it over, and cook uncovered for another 2 minutes, or until the pancake cooks through and the bottom turns golden brown.
6. Keep warm and repeat. Move the first pancake to the wire rack in the warm oven. Add another little bit of oil to the pan, wipe away the excess, and repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve

1. Plate the pancakes. Top each pancake with a generous dollop of pink butter and finish with a drizzle of cranberry maple syrup.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by foodbeast (@foodbeast)