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.
How about roasted garlic, Brie and chive! Yummy! I love savory snacks.
I love to make these with my daughter. She likes hers plan on the inside, with syrup poured over them. I would like to try them with fresh blueberries inside. I love your blog!
I have a sweet tooth so I think I would first try some Cinnamon-bun filled pancakes. There is a great Recipe for them on the William Sonoma site. I was also thinking that Num Kroot Nung with pork or shrimp sounded fabulous since I do love Asian food! I have wanted one of these for years but it always seems like there is no $ left once the necesaties are taken care of. The possibilities are endless….
My roommate grew up in Africa and has me hooked on the traditional curry chicken her family serves, this usually includes the chicken in a curry sauce and then toppings that include bananas, tomatoes, peanuts, coconut, raisins and probably something I’m forgetting, on top of rice. I think I would probably try a shredded curry chicken and rice inside with a tad of extra curry chicken and toppings around.
On the other hand, I also am a big fan of spiced drinks such as chai, or spiced apple cider or spiced cranberry juice. I grew up with my mom serving the aebleskivers with powdered sugar and maple syrup or lemon juice, but to go with bit more of a spiced fall-ish feel I would probably try for a cinnamon spiced vanilla creme (like they put in vanilla filled chocolates) with light powdered sugar on the outside.
I love aebleskivers! A friend introduced them to me a few years ago, but never with filling. With this particular group of friend he is the only one that makes them and they are a special birthday (or other special occasion) breakfast.
Let’s see, stuffing them I would probably start with cranberry, walnut and brie, like a brie en croute, but different.
Or carmalized onions,spinach and feta.
Maybe even use up some leftover roasted garlic potatoes as a stuffing, with a small amount of cheddar, or other sharp cheese.
On the sweet side, spiced pecans with a little bit of brown sugar.
Something basic like strawberry preserves. Oooh, or since holiday baking is coming up, use up the dry ends trimmed from fudge to fill the middle.
I am thinking a filling of spicy sweet potatoes or yams, roasted with garam masala, ground cayenne and maple syrup. Then pop them open warm and adorn with a dollop of fresh whipped cream and a mint sprig.
I am all about ebelskivers right now! It was tradition in our house to make them on Christmas, and I am searching for a good pan to continue that tradition w/ my family! I love the traditional applesauce/powered sugar combo. I hadn’t even considered all these other amazing recipes! Wow! Thanks for the chance to win!
I’d make them sausage & mozzarella pizza stuffed.
However, our family loves the good old fashioned plain version with a touch of cinnamon & extra sugar. With a delicious apple syrup to dip in. YUM!
I want to try making them stuffed with pumpkin butter or some type of a pumpkin filling and then dip them in a warm maple syrup that has been spiced.
oh my gosh, the possibilities are endless! maybe a pizza combination with mozzarella, tomato sauce, herbs and veggies? or goat cheese. or maybe ricotta with honey and orange zest? yum!
I would love to win this, my Mother in law’s family has made these for years. They are a family favorite but of course I cannot have the pan, only to borrow it on a rare occasion. So for my little guys I would have to start off with our traditional apple filled, then if they have room left there is always chocolate mousse filled too. Mmmmm, cannot wait!
My husband just bought me a pan in Solvang over the weekend. I can’t wait to start making my way through the list of ideas above!! I might have to have an aebleskiver party!! I love your site! Thanks!
Zoe,
Thank you ever so much for your prompt reply. By the way, I bought your Artisan Book several months ago and love it. You rock!
Susan
Hi Susan,
It is a cast iron pan from Aunt Else’s that had not been seasoned yet.
I’ve never used an aluminum pan for aebleskiver.
Thanks, Zoë
Hello,
Could someone help me out? Is a cast iron aebleskiver pan better than a cast aluminum non-stick pan such as the one sold at williams Sonoma? What kind of pan does Zoe show in the photo give away? It appars different from the one that Zoe uses in the cooking pictures? Thank you so much! I LOVE your site.
Having tasted a Japanese snack food called takoyaki, led to look for a takoyaki pan. Searching on the internet led me to this multi-tasker/multi name pan. I can’t find it here in Canada, so here is hoping I win. If I win, I would make a pumpkin spiced aebleskiver and nutella filled aebleskiver.
I would make brie with apple and crushed pecans to celebrate autumn! I am so excited I found your blog thru your book and can’t wait to try all the new inspirations!
So many great ideas! We will definitely be referencing this list for inspiration! Thank you all and congrats to Jaime!
I didn’t look through all the comments, but did someone say this pan would be great to make uppo (appo)? They are rice cakes that are pan fried instead of steamed. The batter is rice and dal…I need to look for the recipe…
I am thinking brie with roasted garlic, or perhaps a black rasberry jam with the brie.
I would make a pumpkin batter filled with sweet, cinnamon pecans. Or perhaps a corn batter filled with pepper jack cheese or sharp cheddar!
I don’t believe I’ve even heard of an aebleskiver before. The concept looks delectable though. Several of the ideas that others have posted sound wonderful, too. During the fall and winter months, we get a great deal of squash in our CSA box. I wonder if a roasted squash filling would work. Chard, caramelized onion and feta sounds interesting too, but maybe that’s just me looking for ways to use the chard. 🙂
I would have to consider myself a traditionalist as well. I have only had them at a friends house as a traditional Easter breakfast treat. Easter morning we would make fresh aebleskivers and serve them with some powdered sugar or jelly. I am getting hungry just thinking about them. Glad to see some recipes in the comments. I will have to give them a try.
maybe dark chocolate and coconut?? or perhaps cream cheese and crab or shrimp (kind of a savory cheese cake mixture)
I have a pan but would love to give one to my boys so they can make these, great for snacks,breakfast…sweet or savory!