Nearly a year ago I made my first aebleskiver, thanks to the good folks at Aunt Else’s who introduced me to this fabulous culinary orb at the Mill City Farmer’s Market. They gave me a pan and a package of their mix and off I went. Now I make them with my sons on a regular basis. The boys love the process of cooking them almost as much as eating them. We’ve tried stuffing just about everything but the kitchen sink in the centers. Sometimes sweet, sometimes savory. Seriously, if you cook anything in the shape of a sphere my kids will eat anything at all. Although I don’t always stick to the Aunt Else’s mix, I have to say it is better than any of the batters I’ve come up with so far. It is made with local, organic, whole grain ingredients so I can’t feel too guilty about using it on occasion. I’m still looking for the perfect recipe.
Last night was the threat of our first frost, which means winter is on its way and my garden is seeing its final days. Stefan came over to do a big harvest, which was bittersweet. I got such a gorgeous bounty, but it was one of the last. I will miss picking fresh veggies from my backyard farm. I dread going to the grocery store to buy things that I have picked for myself all summer. One of the plants in grave danger of being destroyed by the cold was the basil. I have LOTS of basil and in one cold snap it could all die. That was the inspiration for my pesto and mozzarella stuffed aebleskivers. Not exactly traditional, but a match made in heaven!
Pesto from one of my most used cookbooks How to Eat Supper:
1 large garlic clove
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 tight-packed cup fresh young basil leaves
2 heaping tablespoons pine nuts
1/4 cup grated Fiore Sardo sheep cheese or American Stella Fontinella: or 3 tablespoons fresh grated Locatelli Romano
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup Fresh Mozzerella, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
Pasta sauce for dipping (optional) – although the Country-Style Ragu from The Splendid Table will change your life.
Aebleskiver recipe: Aunt Else’s Mix or this one that I found on the LA Times Website (not whole grain)
To make the pesto:
In a mortar & pestle
Heat your seasoned pan over medium heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil.
Fill the wells about 3/4 full, not too much or they will overflow when you add the filling.
Let them cook for about 2 minutes and then give them a turn, about 1/3 of the way around.
Quickly toss together the chunks of cheese with about 2 tablespoons of the pesto. Put in about a 1/2 teaspoon of the filling. make sure that the filling is poked down into the batter so that the cheese doesn’t end up sticking to the pan.
Complete the turns. To do this without burning your fingers or poking too many holes in the aebleskivers I use a pair of tongs to help. I discovered this because my young sons like to flip them all by themselves and I was afraid they’d burn their fingers. It works like a charm.
I served these with a salad from the tomatoes and basil in my garden, along with the fresh mozzarella.
We split the aebleskivers open and filled it with the Country-Style Ragu.
wow I never had one but they look yummy I like sweet I would put chocolate chips or ever a hersy kiss in it maybe fill it will a sugar- free pudding by injuction or for savory i would make with herbs mix in the mixture ans cheese for the filling or even maybe with some rosewater some way or another
but they sure do look good oh maybe with lavnder too oh I got to get one of these ideas are popping in my brain!!!
These look amazing! It’s a tough call, making sweet or savory aebleskivers, but I’d go with sweet: lemon curd with thyme and blueberries.
I love Chevre in everything, so a good helping of that, plus maybe some finely diced golden beets and tarragon?
lovage/italian sausage/mozzerella?
Homemade Red Pepper Jam, goat cheese and cilantro. Yummie
I would make caramel apple ones. Or caramel pear. Mmm.
I have never had these, But they look wonderful. I would try Carmelized Mixed Mushrooms with some kind of cheese,garlic and onions.
Mmmm, I’m suddenly inspired to fill them with my yummy curried cranberry-walnut relish, and some goat chevre!
I would do sweet and savory. I love the pesto filling with cheese. Maybe spinach ricotta? For sweet I have to go with nutella!
Definitly something non-traditional… Maybe peanut butter cup, or pumpkin with maple-cinnamon cream cheese, or chocolate raspberry, or… 🙂
Great recipe! I would love to make them with pizza fillings or breakfast fillings.
I love Julie’s peach crisp idea and brie and granny smith apple also sounds lovely. But I think my absolute aebleskiver nirvana would be- don’t judge me- peanut butter, bacon and banana.
I have never made or tasted these but they call out to me as sweet rather than savory.
Maybe a cannoli type filling with ricotta and dried fruit.
Yum!
As a savory filling, I would go for a sausage and sun-dried tomato filling. For a sweet treat, I am thinking peanut butter and nutella mixed together. Maybe some banana in there, too. Yum!
Definitely a sweet filling, apples with dulce de leche, some sort of custard!!!
God, too many choices! Goat cheese and chive? Sweetened cream cheese and sour cherry? Yum!
Gorgeous!!! I would definitely be trying your mozzarella and pesto combo with some freshly mixed pesto. But I know I’d also try a peach crisp filling — peaches, brown sugar, and oats. It’s been my favorite flavor lately!
I’ve wanted to try making aebleskivers for a long time — they’re such sweet little packages. Here’s hoping 😀
My favorite, so far, is the traditional served with lingonberries. Yum! Sweet seems to win out over savory lately.
I’ve actually been wanting to make this ever since I saw a demonstration on Williams-Sonoma’s website for filled mini pancake holes. I know I’d make bunches of raspberry filled pancake holes and freeze them so it’s easier for my family to have quick breakfasts that are not so time consuming to make.
For the savory, I’ve GOT to do a small pizza mixture of chopped pepperoni (cooked to drain fat), chopped canadian bacon, and a few small chunks of cheese. My idea is this, have pizza balls and dip them in marinara sauce or pizza sauce for party appetizers.
Yummy!
So many ideas, so many wonderful fillings. Smoked salmon comes to mind. Maybe a dollop of smoked salmon combined with some cream cheese to make a nice rich filling and with a glass of Prosecco, it would be perfect.
That looks ridiculously good! The way the filling strings as you tear the aaebleskiver apart. I haven’t had a chance to try these yet, though I’ve seen a few around on the interwebs. I guess I’d have to go with something cheesy to begin with, if and when I get a chance to make them. Then something along the lines of dessert will surely follow 🙂
The ableskiver pan is exactly the same we use to make a popular snack called Unniappam in Kerala.
Can add a filling of jaggery, cooked with grated coconuts and powdered jeera and a dash of ginger powder (optional)..the boys might like it.
Like quite a few of the people above, I had never heard of these until I read this post. I’d like to try an all-aebleskivers menu: first course, filled with a tasty cheese and maybe some bacon; for mains, chicken and spinach in a creamy sauce; and for dessert, a batch filled with my current favorite fruit combination–rhubarb and peaches.
i’ve been obsessed with aebleskivers since i first saw them many moons ago. i can’t believe i’ve never seen a savory version–yours look AMAZING!
i’d have to go with a jam filling, for my first batch at least. or maybe peanut butter, since that’s what i always slather on my pancakes. mmm. 🙂
I have never had aebleskivers, but have wanted to try them for a LONG LONG time (one of my best friends in the States was Danish and raved about them).
Anyways, I recently saw a tutorial about making aebleskivers with Nutella. How could you go wrong?
I would definitely make sweet ones–nutella, honey, and powdered sugar all come to mind (not all at once, though!).