Engagement Banana Pancakes

I'm sorry I haven't posted a recipe yet...

We have been SO busy with our engagement :)

Therefore, I declare it "Wordless Wednesday"...

So enjoy these Engagement Banana Pancakes with someone you love :)

Here ya go, folks: Fluffy, Spiced Brown Butter-Banana-Buttermilk Pancakes, Homemade Cinnamon-Pecan Compound Butter, Honey Fried Bananas, + Bourbon Maple Syrup.

someone stole my bacon...

For the Cinnamon-Pecan Compound Butter:

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Extremely Soft

3T Brown Sugar

½t Vanilla

1T Cinnamon

¼C Toasted Pecans, Finely Chopped

 

For the Fried Bananas:

2-3 Bananas, Sliced into Thick Rounds

Canola Oil, For Frying

2-3T Honey

Cinnamon

1-2T Rum

For the Fluffy, Spiced Brown Butter Buttermilk Pancakes:

2C AP Flour + ½C Whole Wheat Flour, Sifted

¼C Light Brown Sugar

1T Baking Powder + 2t Baking Soda

½t Fleur de Sel & Cinnamon

Pinch of Nutmeg, Allspice, & Cardamom

3C Buttermilk, Well Shaken

2 Large Bananas, Mashed with a Fork

2 Large Eggs

4T Brown Butter, Melted & Slightly Cooled

1T Bourbon

1 Vanilla Bean, Split & Scraped for Seeds

Pancake Toppings:

Toasted Pecans, Finely Minced

Fried Banana Rounds

Homemade Bourbon Maple Syrup, Warmed

Homemade Cinnamon-Pecan Compound Butter, Room Temperature

Directions:

1. For the Compound Butter: In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until the mixture is smooth, then slowly add in the cinnamon and toasted pecans, and beat until just combined. Chill until ready to serve, and then let it warm to room temperature for easy pancake spreading.

2. For the Fried Bananas: Lightly drizzle the oil in a skillet and heat over medium heat. Place the bananas in an even layer and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side until golden brown & starting to crisp. Meanwhile, whisk together the honey, 2-3T water, cinnamon, and a pinch of cardamom & salt. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the honey mixture over the banana, followed by the rum. Remove them from the pan onto a plate until you are ready to layer them between the pancakes.

3. For the Banana Pancakes: Preheat a griddle or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Whisk together the AP flour, WW flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and spices in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, mashed bananas, brown butter, bourbon, and vanilla bean. In the bowl of the dry ingredients, create a well using your heads or a spoon. Pour the wet mixture into the center of a well, and using a rubber spatula or a fork, gently whisk the two together to form a batter. This should be a relatively smooth, thick batter, but with small lumps still remaining. Set the batter aside to rest for 30 minutes before using. Next, using a ½C measure, pour the patter in to pools on the heated griddle. When the pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around the edges, about 2-3 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on the bottom, about 1-2 minutes. While you finish cooking the other pancakes, keep the finished pancakes warm in the oven until serving.

4. For Serving: Stack the banana pancakes on to a plate, making sure to layer rounds of fried honey bananas, toasted pecans, and compound butter between the pancake layers. Garnish the top with more fried bananas, pecans, butter, & a generous drizzling of homemade bourbon maple syrup. Enjoy with your honey, for breakfast in bed, on a rainy Sunday morning.

source: fried honey bananas.

Cinnamon-Sugar Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Pretzels with a Drizzle of Honey

I'm obviously not a big fan of chains. I just don't like the whole "mass-produced" idea. I prefer quality not quantity. But, there are those times where you have no choice and a chain is all you got. One of those chains that I don't mind to frequent is Mellow Mushroom. I happen to love their unique pizza toppings, but what I love the most, are their pizza dough pretzels. You can get them savory or sweet, and for me, it just depends on my mood. However, I made some whole wheat pizza dough the other night and I thought that it would be perfect for recreating their cinnamon-sugar pretzels. I rolled the homemade dough into pretzel shapes, brushed them with butter, and dunked them into a cinnamon-sugar mixture. After they bake up, you hav'ta drizzle them with some honey... because that's the best part. Lots & lots of honey!! Enjoy :)

Cinnamon-Sugar Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Pretzels

Don't forget the drizzle of honey :)

For the Whole Wheat Pizza Dough:

1t Active Dry Yeast

2 ½C AP Flour

1 ½C Whole Wheat Flour

½t Salt & Sugar

1/3C Olive Oil

For the Cinnamon-Sugar Pretzels:

½C Sugar

2T Cinnamon

Unsalted Butter, Melted

Honey, For Drizzling

Directions:

1. For the Whole Wheat Pizza Dough: Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. In a mixer, combine flour, whole-wheat flour, salt, and sugar. With the mixer running on low speed, drizzle in the olive oil or until just combined with the flour. Next, pour in the yeast mixture and mix until just combined. Coat a separate bowl with a light drizzle of oil and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat the dough, and then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for at least 1 day, but preferably 3-4 days.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with a Silpat.

3. Remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator and cut the dough into 8 equal portions. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place the pretzels onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush on some of the melted butter.

4. Bake the pretzels for 10-12 minutes depending on your oven until they are lightly golden brown and cooked through completely. Remove them from your oven and directly dunk them into the melted butter, making sure that they are completely covered. Next, dip them into the cinnamon sugar mixture until they are coated. Place them onto a serving plate; sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar, and then drizzle the tops with honey. 

5. Enjoy immediately!