Cornmeal Cream Cheese Pancakes with Cranberry and Apricot Maple Syrup

November 12th – 18th: Monthly Featured Ingredient/Dish Challenge- Cranberries!
Make a recipe from any of our past or present IHCC chefs featuring cranberries in any way. Also, feel free to share any of your past favorite cranberry recipes from IHCC chefs in your post!

I honestly didn’t thoroughly read the above announcement when it appeared on the IHCC page.  I just immediately jumped into looking through my old Gourmet magazines.   I just assumed this cranberry challenge had to be from Ruth Reichl (or her old magazine).   Boy, am I glad I stayed with our current IHCC chef.  And, I’m glad I found this delicious recipe in an October 2000 Gourmet.

photo from Gourmet, October 2000

Reichl and her editorial expertise came through again.  I found the perfect holiday breakfast recipe in those vintage pages (and it comes from NM—my favorite place in the world)!  It was a win-win.  (See, sometimes I don’t have to read the directions soooo carefully.)

My version.

Cornmeal Cream Cheese Pancakes with Dried Cranberries and Apricots in Maple Syrup

From Gourmet, October 2000

“We got the idea for these pancakes from The Compound Restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where hot polenta-mascarpone pancakes were the perfect finale to a delicious dinner. They also make a terrific breakfast.”

Ingredients

For syrup

  • 1 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

For pancakes

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup regular cream cheese spread (in tub; not whipped or block cream cheese)*
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup milk**
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

Make syrup:

  1. Simmer maple syrup and dried fruits in a saucepan, uncovered, until fruits are plumped, about 5 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in juice.

Make pancakes:

  1. Preheat oven to 250°F.
  2. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and soda, sugar, and salt.
  3. Whisk together cream cheese and eggs in a large bowl and gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
  4. Heat a large griddle over moderate heat until hot enough to make drops of water scatter over its surface, then brush with some butter.
  5. Spoon tablespoons of batter onto griddle, without crowding, to form 2 1/2-inch cakes. Cook pancakes 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until golden and puffed. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in oven. Make more pancakes in same manner, brushing griddle with butter for each batch.***
  6. Serve pancakes in stacks with syrup.

Yield: Makes 4 (breakfast) or 6 (dessert) servings

Prep Time/Cook Time: 20 mins.

*I forgot to buy cream cheese in a tub so I just used the block kind.
**I used almond milk.
***I made bigger, regular breakfast-sized pancakes.

These are delicious.   I will not buy the tub cream cheese to make these in the future.   Softened regular cream cheese seemed to work just fine.   I will certainly serve these to my upcoming Thanksgiving guests!

I know this is the October edition, but I just had to share the cover.  It looks very bountiful and reminds me of Thanksgiving.   (I hate to think that the year 2000 is retro, but you be the judge.)

Isn’t this beautiful and bountiful?

For all my cranberry posts, click here.   You might, however, be most interested in these seasonal recipes for the upcoming Thanksgiving feast:

Cranberry-Orange Relish with Jalapeno

Cranberry-Apple Relish with Honey

Cranberry Muffins

Apple Cranberry Chutney

Kale Salad with Pear, Shallots and Cranberries

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

 

 

 

 

Next week’s I Heart Cooking Club theme is bread.

(Pass the Bread Basket because we LOVE bread at IHCC. Make any Ruth Reichl bread recipe and/or make any Ruth Reichl recipe with bread).
Whip up some rolls for your Thanksgiving table and share the love with IHCC.

15 comments to Cornmeal Cream Cheese Pancakes with Cranberry and Apricot Maple Syrup