In my last post, I talked about a universal comfort food, but now I’m going to tell you about a comfort food that is a bit more personal to me– Swedish Pancakes (or “Roll-ups” if you’re in my house!). I am not Swedish in any shape or form, but somehow this recipe nuzzled its way into our family’s recipe traditions, and I’d be proud to pretend and call myself Swedish if it meant more of eating these delicious pancakes. The recipe came from a book that my grandma used all the time when my dad and uncle were growing up, called “Where’s Mom Now That I Need Her?”. Another classic family recipe that comes from the same section of this cookbook is German Pancakes. Those definitely deserve their own blog post too. I’ll get on that soon… Anyway, when my parents got married, my grandma gave the book to my family, and my dad has been making this recipe ever since. Aren’t the recipes that have been passed down always just a little more special? As a little kid, one of my favorite things in the world was that my dad made me breakfast every morning. There is no better feeling than waking up and walking into the kitchen to the sweet tune of a pan sliding on the stovetop and the delicious aroma of pancakes floating through the air. Although nowadays, I wake up much too early for my dad to make me breakfast, I still get them on the rare weekend morning, or in the most recent case, for the first day of school. I’m usually not much of a breakfast person, (that may have something to do with the fact that I have to wake up at the ungodly hour of 6:00 for school every morning?), but these pancakes are the type of breakfast that can make your day.

Swedish pancakes are slightly thicker than crepes, but much thinner than regular pancakes, and their buttery delicateness makes them the perfect texture. They are typically filled with jelly or preserves, rolled up, and topped with powdered sugar. In my family though, we have our own twist on the classic method. My dad often replaces usual filling with his own homemade concoction, consisting of whatever fruit we have in our house (usually apples, pears or peaches), sauteéd with cinnamon, honey, and lots and lots of butter. Have I mentioned butter yet? If there is one thing my dad loves more than anything, it is most certainly butter. And I can’t say that I disagree. It’s easy and to just fill these with your favorite jam as well, but it’s much more fun to think outside the box and to experiment with different fillings.  These pancakes are a great canvas for your creative and food-loving mind, so have fun with it! Creating your own twist on a traditional recipe is what having fun when cooking is all about. And who knows? You may just create your own family recipe to pass down to your kids someday!

Here’s the recipe:

Swedish Pancakes

3 eggs

1 ¼ cups milk

¾ cups sifted flour

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients, beat with wire whisk or electric mixer on medium speed until thoroughly mixed. Coat a medium-sized pan with butter. Pour a thin layer of the mixture and cook as thin pancakes on a medium heat setting. Lightly brown on both sides, roll, and serve with favorite topping.

Enjoy!  Love, The Perky Foodie