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.
Simple melt in your mouth raspberry preserves and dust with powdered sugar. Thanks for the chance at the giveaway.
Congratulations on the Foodbuzz awards nomination!
Bacon, cheese and chives. The best!
I’d fill it with things like pork adobo, or oxtail tomato ragu (I just made a giant pot of it) w/cheese. Or salted caramels.
…my mouth is watering.
I wonder if a muffin tin would work?. . . I would love to try a sun dried tomato and artichoke pesto recipe from Farmgirl Fare; sweet potato, cardamom and cream cheese sounds nice too. To celebrate local food, I might have to try something with dates and camel-milk cheese, hmmm, I’ll have to think about that one!
These look like so much fun! I would put in mushrooms, Gorgonzola cheese, prosciutto and sage. Yum!
I’d love to make Nutella ones!
I have not ventured much past the traditional ones. Can’t wait to try these! Apple strudel aebleskivers sound intriguing.
Your sentiments on the last garden bounty really struck a chord with me. I too am sad to think of buying rather than picking my dinner!
In light of this I would use my last tiny homegrown butternut squash, diced small and sauteed in brown butter and sage in my aebleskivers!
I used to work in a gourmet kitchen store and we sold these. They always intrigued me but I never purchased one. Being a pastry chef now and it’s fall I would try something sweet with apples or pumpkin or something spiced with ginger or cinnamon. The possibilities are endless!
Chocolate, or apple cinnamon?
Oh I am desperate to try making Russian Aebleskivers! I’m making my family’s recipe for borscht and piroshki for dinner tonight (as luck would have it) and I think the piroshki fillings of beef, cabbage or potato would be awesome.
Oooh, maybe Apple Strudel Aebleskivers for dessert…
Oh, now the ideas are flowing – Cuban – chopped cuban roast pork, chopped ham, shredded swiss cheese, yellow mustard and minced dill pickle. Or Stroganoff – beef, mushrooms, sour cream….
Cordon Bleu Aebleskivers! – chopped ham, chopped chicken, shredded swiss cheese and a little honey dijon mustard to bind it. Mmmmmm………
I’ve always loved the sweet ones! However I’ve never tried making them on my own. I would definitly try them with berry preserves and dusted with powdered sugar. Yum!
I saw you at BlogHer Food but didn’t find an opportunity to introduce myself. So, hello!
I had these in Solvang and always wanted to try them at home, but lack the equipment, so to speak. Besides all the wonderful jams I have on hand I’m intrigued by the savory option. I would like to try fig jam, goat Gouda and chopped almonds, a combination I hit on for filing puff pastry but I think would be much easier in these.
See you on Twitter!
@HeatherHAL
I’d love to make cornbread style ones with a black-eyed pea relish filling.
Can I come over & share them with you Zoe? Will do the dishes!! These are absolutely fab. Never heard of them, but they are right up my street! I would make roasted bell pepper, walnut & mozzarella ones. Love what you made..scrumptious!
I’ve never had aebleskivers but I imagine they would be perfect for breakfast with apples and cinnamon.
This just looks like a wonderful breakfast fun treat. Love bread-fast… he he he Definitely stuffed with some with honey hame, roasted vegie mixture and drizzled with honey. Then some stuffed with a little apricot preserves & sprinkled with toasted slivered almonds chopped finley with a drizzle of maple syrup. Please can I give it a go? I don’t own one yet? Excited to hear about the winner. That’s fun. Thanks for the opportunity.
AmyRuth
I would love to make a samosa type Aebleskiver with potatoes, peas, and spices. Of course I wouldn’t stop there, but it’s a good start!
Looks amazing. I love goat cheese and would likely make a combo of savory and sweet using some homemade chevre from my sister-in-law. Looks delish.
Never tried stuffing them before..how fun!
This has been a summer of trying out new things. So far, I’ve made cheese (fresh mozzarella), jams and pesto at home – all for the first time. This process looks incredible and I’d love to incorporate the other skills I’ve learned. So on the savory side, fresh mozzarella (some with fresh pesto – like yours) and some with jam. Whether I win or not, thanks for the exposure to a new technique. 🙂
I’d probably fill them with apples and cinnamon – YUM!
Maybe I’m boring but I love them with fruit filling so I’d probably use my jams to fill it, maybe green tomato jam