Saturday, January 31, 2009

Kiwianna Challenge- Pikelets


For Christmas I received many nice things.......I am very fortunate. My good friend, (that abandoned me and moved to NZ) sent me this lovely compilation on Kiwianna Cooking. Thank you Alison, you know I love cookbooks. I had thought I should make an effort to actually try some of the recipes on a regular schedule. I am an avid collector of cookbooks and magazines........and I read through them like a kid reads comic books......and now and again I'll try an new recipe. In the interest of breaking that habit.....I'm going to try to make at least one recipe per month from this book.....so here is my start.

This morning I've decided to try the Pikelets. I've heard of these for years.......always known that they were some type of small pancake......and now (I think) I understand what they are. According to Wikipedia they are a member of the pancake..also called a drop scone. They are (according to my attempt) quite a stiff pancake batter making for a thick moist pancake gem. My batter dropped by the tablespoon (actually pushed off the spoon) made 2 1/2 inch pancakes that were 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. The batter was slightly thinner than dumpling batter and I left it a little bit lumpy as you would a muffin batter since the recipe cautions not to over mix and make them tough. I know I probably made them a little on the smallish side since my recipe made more than that suggested by the recipe......but I cannot tell you exactly how many due to the repeated taste tests taking place in the kitchen at the time. They are really nice warm! I have no idea about how they taste cold:( I am told they are to be served with a bit of jam or butter but Ike chose this morning to have them dipped in a bit of Saskatoon berry syrup.

Well.....I really like them! And will definitely make them again. Maybe next time I'll get to try them when they are cold. As I was making them my mom called and I told her what I was making and she went off to have a try at them too.

From the Edmonds 100 Year Anniversary Cookery Book.....

Pikelets Makes 8-10

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk, approximately

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In another bowl beat egg and sugar until thick. Add with milk to the sifted ingredients. Mix until just combined. Drop tablespoonsful of the mixture from the point of spoon onto a hot, lightly greased griddle (actually the book says girdle....but I'm pretty sure they mean griddle.....but what do I know?) Turn Pikelets over when bubbles start to burst on the top surface. Cook second side until golden. I think my batter was a tiny bit too thick as I did not see bubbles breaking the surface on every one as you would on a pancake.

Extra foot note: Overmixing pikelet batter produces tough pikelets. If pikelets brown unevenly, wipe the cooking surface with a paper towel to remove excess butter.

All in all a very successful recipe! I will make them again....maybe even smaller to put into Ikes bento box for lunch one day. If you'd like to try the recipe and forward me a photo to add to this entry just leave a comment below and we'll set it up.

Hmmm learn something new every day! Ok ,I did a google search on Girdle vs. Griddle it appears they are the same....girdle being the Scottish terminology. Well I'm going to stick with griddle because cooking up a batch of pancakes on my grandmothers hot girdle doesn't sound very appetizing to me. So...girdle or griddle...use what you'd like.
Hope your having a great weekend:)

Feb 2/09 Note: I've already made the recipe two more times and have found that the thickness of the batter is a matter of personal preference. However, the thicker batter makes something more like crumpet and less like a pancake.......so for me I am liking them thicker and turning them when they are golden rather than waiting to see bubbles rising through the batter. Ike has taken them to school now with a little container of jam in his bento box. Yeah! a new bento snack....and he liked them too:)

3 comments:

Gecko said...

YUM-OH! I haven't had piklets in ages!!! Aww, my mouth is watering! Send some over here!

Anonymous said...

Looks great!! I got my 1st pikelet recipe & some delicious pikelets delivered to our house from a kiwi friend. They were very "yum" & I called to tell her how much we enjoyed the "pickelets" (rhymes with Chicklets (gum). Still haven't lived that one down & that is what they are now known as by all family members on both sides. I like your Canadian spin of having them with Saskatoon berry syrup. I'm glad you're enjoying the book (& delighted to see Ike likes his kiwi bird sculpturing toy)!

LittleRed said...

Ok that's funny because my immediate assumption on pronunciation matches your. It was not until today that I saw a utube clip of a New Entrants class making some that I actually heard it said and figured it out. Kind of sounds like a little fish.....I think. They would work well for a little bun to make pancake breakfast sandwiches like McDonalds I think. Ike really liked to eat them like a chicken nugget and dip them in the syrup:)