Banana Macadamia Pancakes with Orange Butter

Now here is a great pancake recipe. Different but not outrageous. Sophisticated but subtle. The bananas are soft and sweet, the nuts are buttery and gently crunchy, and the orange butter lends just enough flavor that you enjoy an essence as you exhale through your nose. And these are not a lot of work to make (though workwise, I prefer mashing bananas to cutting them into bits - they get a bit slippery.)

My girls informed me they wouldn't like these because there were nuts in them. They often tell me this, then eat whatever I was making without complaint. This was no exception, and in fact I think the mild flavor of macadamias was appealing to them. Ginger even asked for a handful on the side to eat with her pancakes.

Banana Macadamia Pancakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 T sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

3 T unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 ripe large banana

1/2 cup salted roasted macadamia nuts, chopped (plus more for garnish if desired)

Orange Butter

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 tsp finely grated fresh orange zest

1 1/2 tsp fresh orange juice

1/8 tsp salt

1. To make orange butter, stir ingredients together in small bowl until well combined.

2. To make pancakes, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, 2 T melted butter, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined. Cut banana into bits and fold into batter along with the nuts. Batter will be thick.

3. Brush a 12-inch nonstick or cast iron skillet with remaining tablespoon of melted butter and heat over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. (*Careful - I didn't think about my cheap brush having synthetic bristles and the ends all melted and got frayed and tangly.) Working in batches of 3, pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake into hot skillet and cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip pancakes with a spatula and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a large plate and loosely cover with foil to keep warm, then make more pancakes, brushing skillet with butter for each batch. Serve with orange butter and maple syrup. Garnish with chopped macadamia nuts if desired.

Recipe from Gourmet, December 2002