Fluffy Orange Pancakes

 

Did you know that you deserve pancakes for breakfast every day? Because you do. And you deserve all your favorite flavors mixed into pancakes, plus all your favorite toppings. This should be your life. It really could be that easy.

Ok, so I’m dreaming for all of us. I know producing an exciting hot breakfast on a busy morning is likely to be completely out of the question. It totally is for me. But then there’s that snowy morning when I have all the need for comforting deliciousness and all the time I need to create it, and just the perfect person to share it with. That’s how these seasonally delicious orange-infused pancakes came to be on a Saturday morning.

This recipe came from an old (like 18 years old!) recipe clipping. (I’m an incurable hoarder.) I swapped out the lemon in the original recipe and made my pancakes with orange juice and zest. I also used some sour cream to increase their rich tanginess, and took out some of the butter. 

 

I kept the most important part of that old recipe: the puffy, beaten extra egg whites. They are the key to making a fluffy batch of griddle cakes with a bit of bounce and a souffle-like consistency. These pancakes do deflate as they stand, so are best eaten as soon as possible after getting them off the griddle. I recommend a pat of butter and real maple syrup for serving, but a fruity sauce would be good, too.

 

Pancakes or other delicious breakfasts that go beyond turning on a toaster or pouring some milk may be an unachievable dream most days of the week, but I think I’ll be happy to dream of these Fluffy Orange Pancakes until I get a chance to make them again.

Fluffy Orange Pancakes

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon fine salt

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

2 tablespoons unsated butter, melted and cooled

1 egg yolk

½ cup sour cream

½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice

3 egg whites

1. In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Whisk together to combine well. Add the orange zest and whisk or stir in to distribute evenly. Set aside.

2. In another medium-size bowl, combine the melted butter, egg yolk, sour cream, and orange juice. Whisk together until smooth. Pour into the flour mixture. Stir together just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

3. In another medium-size bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until they are glossy and form stiff peaks. Spoon a small amount of the beaten whites into the batter mixture. Mix together somewhat briskly to lighten the thick batter. Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites, a little at a time, to make a light, fluffy batter.

4. Preheat an electric frying pan or griddle to 350 F, or heat a skillet over medium heat. Drop the batter in about ¼-cup scoops. Gently smooth out each pancake into a relatively round shape, but without deflating the batter. Each pancake will not spread out much, but should stay puffy as it cooks. Cook until golden brown. Flip each pancake and cook until the other side is golden brown. Keep the pancakes in a warm oven until ready to serve. These are best served just after they are made.

Makes about 10 4-inch pancakes.

Other recipes like this one: Barley Pancakes with Orange Juice and Vanilla, Orange Millet Waffles

One year ago: Carrot Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Orange and White Chocolate Cookies

 

I’m always skeptical of claims that something “tastes just like” something it is not. That’s why I wasn’t sure what recipes that called themselves “Creamsicle Cookies” could do for me. When I read through a couple of these recipes, however, I liked where they were going. I picked the most straightforward one and the rest of the story is delicious.

These basic drop cookies are flavored with plenty of freshly-grated orange zest and white chocolate chips.  Orange zest is particularly effective at punching up the orange in just about anything and it really goes a long way in that role here. I love the white chocolate chips with that orange flavor, too. Maybe there aren’t popsicles in my mind when I bite into one of these, but that orange and cream flavor is wonderful nonetheless.

This recipe is as simple to put together as any other drop cookie. I like to make such cookie doughs the day before I’m going to bake them. I find that at least a little refrigeration time makes my cookies come out a little nicer, perhaps because the flour can absorb a bit more of the butter and moisture. Whatever the reason, I liked the way my Orange and White Chocolate Cookies came out slightly crisp on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. Their crispness does soften as they sit covered in a container for a day or two, but their flavor doesn’t suffer for it.

An orange zest and white chocolate flavored cookie may not “taste just like” an icy creamsicle, especially on a hot summer day, but if you love those iconic creamsicle flavors and you love cookies, this might just be the recipe for you. And you and I can definitely be friends!

Orange and White Chocolate Cookies

Adapted from Oh, Sweet Basil

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips

1. In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk or sift together. Add the orange zest and whisk in to distribute well. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or another medium bowl if mixing by hand), combine the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Beat together with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed until light and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the egg until well combined. Beat in the vanilla.

3. Beat in the flour mixture on low speed a little at a time. Continue beating until well combined. Stir in the white chocolate.

4. Cover and chill the cookie dough for two hours or up to 24 hours. (You can also wrap the dough well and freeze for up to 3 months.) When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375 F.

5. Lightly grease cookie sheets with cooking spray, or by your preferred method. Scoop balls of dough about 2 tablespoons each and arrange them on the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.

6. Bake at 375 F for 9-11minutes, or until just browned around the edges. Cool on the pans for about 2 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Other recipes like this one: Apricot and Almond Cookies with White Chocolate, Orange Butter Cookies

One year ago: Baked Pasta with Cheese and Spring Vegetables

Orange Pound Cake

Just about the time I made, and was greatly enjoying, this orange pound cake, I was also perusing some really great baking books. You know the kind I mean: the ones written by meticulous genius bakers who seem to have figured out some sort of Platonic ideal of cake-making. And then took it up one more level. The ones picturing beautiful confections with perfect crumb and impossibly creamy and daringly photogenic frostings, fillings, glazes and ganaches. The ones we humbler bakers are almost afraid to even leaf through lest we smudge the glossy pages with our greasy, floury fingers.

My orange pound cake threatened to develop an inferiority complex in the shadow of these confectionary giants. I, very briefly, wondered if it would look silly to post such delicious simplicity. I take it as a sign of my own personal growth, however, that I got over that right quick. Delicious wins every time. As does anything I can actually get done in the time I have.

The beauty of most desserts that call themselves “pound cake” is that they really aren’t fussy. They go together quickly, feature basic ingredients, and hold up well. Often, like this one, they are baked in a loaf pan, which allows you to slice them like bread into slabs or slivers as you choose.

The orange-ness in this particular cake does demand a little bit of extra work in the form of zesting and juicing oranges. In fact all of the liquid in this cake is freshly-squeezed orange juice. The zest, however, is what really gives a satisfying kick of orange flavor to the cake. You need lots of it to accomplish this, and I recommend using a microplane grater to remove the zest from the oranges in fine, fine shreds, leaving the white pith behind. I think you could make this cake with other citrus fruits, too, and hope to test it (some day) with lemons and limes.

This cake is really, really delicious, a true celebration of citrus season. It is glazed while still warm with more orange juice and powdered sugar, a concoction that soaks into the cake a bit, but also forms kind of a protective barrier around it, keeping it moist if well-wrapped for several days.

I may not be quite ready for big, fancy creations or multi-step processes leading to confectionary perfection. I’m pretty much always ready for cake, however, and I’m really happy this one is in my winter baking repertoire. Be it ever so humble, there’s no cake like (relatively quick and easy) pound cake!

Glazed Orange Pound Cake

Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine

I highly recommend removing the zest from the oranges before juicing them. It’s sooooo much easier!

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon, plus a pinch fine salt, divided

6 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from 3-4 medium-size oranges), divided

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest (from 3-4 medium-size oranges)

1 ¼ cups sifted powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Trace the bottom of a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan onto parchment  paper. Cut out the shape and set aside. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray or grease it with butter. Place the parchment cut-out on the bottom of the pan and spray or grease that as well.

2. Set aside ¼ cup of the orange juice. Combine the flour, baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt. Whisk together to combine. Set aside.

3. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. (Or in another large bowl if using a hand-held mixer.) Add the sugar and beat on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula.

5. Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat at medium speed until well combined. Add ½ of the ¾ cup orange juice and beat until well-combined. Repeat this procedure, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the remaining 1/3 flour mixture. Beat in the vanilla extract and orange zest.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 F for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out free of wet batter.

7. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and place upright on the cooling rack. Place the cooling rack in a rimmed baking sheet or on a sheet of parchment paper (something to catch the glaze that might drip off the cake.)

8. To make the glaze, place the powdered sugar and pinch of salt in a small bowl. Whisk the remaining ¼ cup orange juice into the powdered sugar mixture until completely smooth. Poke the top of the warm cake all over with a toothpick. Brush the glaze over the top and sides of the cake, giving it a little time to soak in if it seems to be pooling too much on top of the cake. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

Makes 8-10 servings. The cake keeps for a few days at room temperature if well-wrapped.

Other recipes like this one: White Cake with Berries and Lemon Glaze, Simple Vanilla Yogurt Cake

One year ago: Pasta with Mushroom Sauce