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.
for sweet, I’d stuff a piece of caramilk inside…
for savoury, I think carmalized onion with a sliver of blue cheese… yummmmm
I think that I would make them with different kinds of cheese inside…. And, then maybe serve them with a spicy marinara sauce! YUM!
Oh, where to start? Apples & cheddar; olives & feta; apples & cinnamon; Nutella….mmmm; I’m getting hungry!
My husband loves anything with figs so I might try some sort of fig filling. I, myself, am partial to anything with lemon, pecans or peanut butter (not all at the same time!)
I first tasted aebelskiver in Denmark *way* back in 1969. I never got around to trying to make them myself. I must admit it never occurred to me that you could put anything in them but apples. Silly me! The thought of savory aebleskiver makes my mouth water…yet I’d probably make apple first. Got to keep up the tradition [before you mess with it 🙂 ].
These are awesome! Yours look pretty good ~ hard for me to resist anything with melted cheese. I’d love to do these as a snack for the World Series or Super Bowl. So, thinking along those lines, I’d do a savory filling of pulled pork w/ green chili sauce and cheese. Sweet filling of jam and mascarpone or cream cheese. Yum!
Wow, how brilliant to make a savory recipe with an aebleskiver pan! I grew up eating these little yummies. My aunt used to make the typical sort with chunks of apples within and a dusting of powdered sugar. Wish I had a pan of my own!!
I’ve never made them myself but I was lucky enough to try some at a friends home. I would probably try bits of apple with cinnamon and then dust them with powered sugar. Or stuffed with spicy bits of chop meat and cheddar cheese. The possibilities are endless.
Ive never even heard of Aebleskivers, let alone made them! I’d certainly love to try though! I’d use up all the fresh apples I picked recently and do something with apples/cinnamon!
I’ve never had ’em, but they look delicious! I’d probably make something simple to start: chocolate filled.
Mango chutney, chopped up finer than it comes out of the jar, small cubes of brie, and perhaps a few toasted almond slices or slivers…
I’d definitely begin with the traditional kind, but I’d probably serve with a fruit compote.
I make jam with my friend 2-3 times a year that we sell at little craft fairs and boutigues. One of my favorite flavors that we make is Chocolate Strawberry. I think I would try that! We make several flavors of jam, so maybe one pan of ableskeivers may be a different one in each hole!
My family is loving everything fall and gingery!
So I would make a pumpkin ginger batter, and for my daughter I might put in a chocolate chip or two!!
Thanks for your wonderful site!
Oh yum!
I had these once in Chinatown. Their smell lured me down a narrow alley and I ate waaaay too many.
If I won I would make them stuffed with a piece of locally made mozzarella cheese and serve it with my homemade spicy white tomato jelly.
I’ve never had ableskiever, but they all sound great! I think goat cheese and fig jam sound really good.
No question about it – I would make a chestnut cream filling, perhaps enhanced with just a tich of nutty Frangelico, drizzled with a thin, intensely chocolatey glaze.
I like the ones filled with apples, but my kids are partial to ableskiever with chocolate chips. Who am I to argue 😉
Great to finally meet you in person at BlogHer Food. Sorry for acting like a star-struck groupie! 🙂
I would make plain ones first since I’ve never made them before, and then I’d like to try a chocolate-filled or cheese-filled recipe.
I would make a corn dog…cornbread batter; add hot dog chunk to center. Maybe a dab of mustard on the dog…
i’m loving the savory aeleskiver idea and will have to try them!
my husband make the swedish version, muncas (sp?) all the time with vt maple syrup. i loev them with berry compote too. we still use his swedish grandmother’s original recipe card when we make them.
hi, zoe! i am so excited to have “met” you through jen (urb) & helen’s (tartelette) blogs…a fellow minnesotan! i’ve caught up on most of your posts & have bookmarked you so i can stay in touch from now on. it’ll be wonderful to read your posts as our seasons & bounties change.
i have never had ableskivers before, but your posts & the comments here have piqued my tastebuds and interests! my mouth is watering to try the pesto-mozz recipe…and with orchards on the brain, apple or pumpkin-varieties sound delightful, too.
I am embrassed also to say,I have never heard of these wonderful looking dishes..
I Beleive I would try cinnamon
crunch with nuts ,butter,cinnamin,nutmeg and add a thick sugar glaze over them. Sounds like fall!!!
Hi Zoe-
Well, dear, I’m a traditionalist at heart…so while all the proposed concoctions sound yummy, I would go back to my grandmother’s recipe which is below. It’s a little more work than a mix, but they are the best I’ve ever had. For those of you wondering how to pronounce it
Mormor’s Æbleskivers
2 C. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 T. sugar
½ t. salt
1 T. ground cardamom (it’s hard to do too much, and it has to be freshly ground-no already ground stuff!)
3 eggs, separated
2 C. buttermilk
1 T. lemon zest (this is not from grandma’s recipe, but adds a nice touch).
cooking oil
knitting needles
Sift the dry ingredients together, set aside. Beat the egg whites stiff (until they hold a peak, but not dry), set aside. Blend the yolks with the buttermilk, add dry ingredients. Fold the egg whites gently into the batter. Heat pan until a drop of water sizzles when it is dropped into the pan. If the pan is too hot, the æbleskivers will be doughy. Fill cups about 1/3-way up the sides or so with oil and heat. Pour just enough batter into the cups to fill the cup, about 1/4 c., and cook for about 1 minute or until the bottom starts to turn golden brown. Turn pancake a 1/2 turn with knitting needles or a wooden skewer so the uncooked batter goes to the bottom of the ‘hole’. and cook til dark golden brown and cooked through.
Serve with powdered sugar, granulated sugar (and cinnamon, if desired), jam, or applesauce.
Let me know if you try the recipe….Enjoy!
Hmmm, I’m thinking filled with lemon curd…yum!