Remember that post a while back about the Black Swan Diet? Forget all of that information.  It’s time to talk about…pancakes.

These aren’t just pancakes. They’re not just pancakes with a handful of blueberries, or a handful of chocolate chips, or a handful of anything “tossed in.”  These are premeditated, first-degree-murder-on-your-waistline pancakes.

AND THEY ARE AMAZING.

{all images courtesy of author’s personal collection}

These pancakes have pretzels.  They have a sweet topping and a salty crunchy bite.  They have a white chocolate and a caramel topping that swim together in a beautiful breast stroke of sugary goodness until they’ve melded in your mouth amidst a sea of saliva (gross.).  They are. AMAZING. I’ll say it again.

I’ve dubbed these “Match Day Pancakes.”  You see, medical students like Dr. Dave really get screwed.  Not only do they have to go through years of schooling, wear stupid-looking clothing, lose any semblance of a life, and tie their left ankle to a stack of heavy books for 4 years,  but there is also a fun little experience they like to call “The Match.”

Despite its sounding like a fun activity done by a woman named Yentl, “The Match” essentially is a way of determining the fate of our lives.  Dr. Dave first has to apply to dozens of programs. From there, the programs choose to interview select students who applied. Following the interview process, the programs rank all of the students in order of who they’d like to come to their program, and the students to the same for the programs.  Then some big, magical computer that knows what’s best for us and our future matches the program with the student.

Whatever the result is, it is a binding contract.  No waffling (mmm, waffles), no backing out.  So on Thursday, March 17, we will find out where we will live for the next 4 years.  It could be anywhere, from Seattle to Rochester, NY.  Needless to say, this is a slightly stressful situation…and if you ask me, there is no better way to cope, than with pancakes.

Pretzel Pancakes with White Chocolate & Caramel sauce
Recipe adapted from Cuisine at Home

Pancake Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. crushed pretzels, divided
• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 T sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 egg, separated
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1/4 c. buttermilk
• vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Whisk together first 5 ingredients in a bowl; set aside.
2. Using a hand mixer, whip egg white in a bowl to soft peaks (see photo below), set aside.
3. Whisk together egg yolk, milk, and buttermilk in a bowl until frothy.  Stir into dry ingredients only until moistened (small lumps are your friend).
4. Let batter stand for 10 minutes to get happy.
5. Fold in whipped egg white, stopping when thin, white streaks still remain in the batter.
6. Heat a griddle or nonstick over medium heat; brush with vegetable oil.  For each pancake, use 1/3 to 1/4 cup of batter; sprinkle each with some of remaining crushed pretzels.
7. Cook until bubbles form on surface of pancake, about 2 minutes.
8. Flip pancakes, cook until golden, about 2 minutes more.

Yum! And now for the sauces…

White Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 c. heavy cream
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 4 oz. white chocolate, chopped (or chips if you’re lazy, like me)

Directions:

1. Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat.
2. Whisk a little of the hot cream into the yolks, then return yolk mixture to simmering cream.  WHISK RIGHT AWAY or else you’ll have little chunks of scrambled yolk in your sauce. Not that I did that.
3. Continue cooking and whisking until sauce thickens and can coat the back of the spoon.
4. Lick the spoon.
5. Remove sauce from heat.
6. Stir in white chocolate until melted.
7. Lick spoon.
8. Set sauce aside, keep warm.

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
• 2 T water
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 1 T unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Boil brown sugar and water in a small saucepan 5 minutes, gently swirling occasionally to prevent scorching.
2. Whisk in cream. (mixture will bubble furiously and begin to harden like candy.  Freak out, keep whisking, and it will melt again.)
3. Boil mixture 2 more minutes, then whisk in butter until melted.
4. Set sauce aside; keep it warm.

To assemble the pancakes, stack a couple on a plate. Drizzle (or dump, if you’re me) caramel sauce on pancakes.  Then do the same with the white chocolate. Scatter remaining pretzel pieces on top.

Eat. Drool. Die.

If anyone needs me, I’ll be in a closet eating pancakes!