Aebleskiver

Danish Pancake Balls (Aebleskiver)

Cooks who collect tools―particularly Scandinavian cooks―probably have an aebleskiver (aw-bluh-skeever) pan, or monk’s pan. Easy to identify, it looks like the offspring of a marriage between a heavy frying pan and a muffin tin. It’s decorative enough to hang on the wall.

I first learned about the pan from a Danish friend, so I called the pancakes made in them “Danish.” But both the pancakes and the pan are at home anywhere in Scandinavia. When my daughter was small, she liked me to entertain her friends at breakfast by making these ball-shaped cakes.

Now I do the same for my grandsons, Henry and Jack―or for my weekend guests who linger in the kitchen to keep me company. Why make pancakes as balls? Just because you can, once you have an aebleskiver pan (easy to find at cookware stores).

Boxed aebleskiver

When sisters Janet Pendergrass and Linda Strand were growing up, their mother often treated the family to an aebleskiver breakfast. As adults, they decided this tradition shouldn’t be lost, so they created a kit containing the pan, a mix, and preserves. (They also sell the mix separately.)

Purchase at or order from Your NorthWest stores, 888/ 252-0699 or www.yournw.com; the kit costs $26.95, the mix is $4.95, plus shipping.