Let me just say up front that this isn't a post I'm particularly proud of. It certainly doesn't make my family look like healthy eaters. But I'm doing this for the practical reason of sharing a recipe for using up eggnog that's left over from the holidays.
My 13-year-old had been after me to let him make eggnog pancakes for dinner because he's crazy about eggnog. (I, personally, don't like the stuff). So on a busy night, he made the pancakes and I completed the meal by making bacon and putting bananas and maple syrup on the table.
I topped my pancakes simply with maple syrup. And that's everyone else would have done, until my husband got up from the table, fished around in the fridge, and returned with...
a can of whipped cream. I swear, I didn't even know the stuff was in there. I don't recall buying it or what I used it for. But in any case, my husband ate his pancakes with whipped cream, and my sons ate theirs with maple syrup AND whipped cream. To add a modicum of health to this dessert disguised as a meal, I suggested slicing bananas on top. That fell on deaf ears. And then my 15-year-old son took the decadence to another level.
He put some bacon on his pancake, drizzled it with maple syrup, topped it all with whipped cream and...
... ate it like a taco.Now, THIS got him scolded by his Dad. Huh? The meal, which was never a model of nutrition, deteriorated precariously toward junk food when Dad entered the canned whipped cream into the equation. I wouldn't want my son to do this if he were visiting a girlfriend's house for dinner, but the recipe developer in me thought it was kind of clever. What do you think?
Eggnog Pancakes
Adapted from Allrecipes.com
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional - we didn't use)
2 eggs
1 1/2 - 2 cups eggnog* (The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups. My son increased to 2 cups for extra eggnog flavor. I thought this made them a little dense but they weren't bad.)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
Maple syrup, whipped cream, bacon and/or sliced bananas -- all optional, for topping or rolling into a taco of sorts
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg if desired. In another bowl, beat eggs, eggnog and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle. (If you have an electric griddle, set it to 350 degrees.) Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until second side is golden brown. (Because of the high sugar content, these brown quickly. Keep an eye on them. You may even want to turn your griddle to 325 degrees.)