Banana-Filled Graham Cracker Pancakes

Can I just say.... A-M-A-Z-I-N-G? I clipped this recipe out of a William's Sonoma Catalog. We had it for breakfast this morning and it might be my new favorite breakfast. You make these in a "filled-pancake" pan, or some of you may know it as an abelskiver pan (NO idea if I spelled that correctly). Either way, it's a pan that you put on a burner and it has 7 little wells to put batter into. I would dare say that these are almost worth purchasing a pan. (They sell them at William's Sonoma!) If you live close to me and want to borrow my pan, let me know. I'm doing a bad job at remembering to take a picture of the actual food, so for now, here's just a picture of the pan.

4 oz graham crackers, broken into pieces (this is 7 whole graham crackers, or enough crumbs to fill a 1 cup measuring cup)

3/4 C all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

5 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

3 eggs, separated

1 3/4 C buttermilk

6 Tbs. (3/4 of a stick) of butter, melted

2 bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 cup heavy cream

maple syrup for serving

Put graham crackers in blender; blend on high until powdery. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, 3 Tbs. sugar, and salt; pulse to combine. In large bowl, whisk egg yolks and buttermilk. Whisk in flour mixture; batter will be lumpy.

Using electric mixer, beat egg whites on high speed until stiff (but not dry) peaks form, 1-2 min. Gently stir whites into batter in 2 additions.

Put 1/2 tsp. butter into each well of filled-pancake pan. Heat over medium heat (I kept it on medium-low to avoid burning them, and my pan is cast-iron). Pour 2 tsp. batter into each well. Place 3 banana pieces in center of each pancake; top with 1 tsp. batter. Cook 3-5 minutes. Using 2 skewers flip pancakes over; cook about 3 minutes more. (You know that they are ready to flip when you move it around with the skewer, and the whole pancake moves...if part of it sticks, they're not ready to turn yet.) Transfer pancakes to plate. Repeat with remaining batter.

In measuring cup, combine cream and 2 Tbs. sugar. Whip until firm. (I just served them with spray whip cream from a can because it was easier.) Serve pancakes warm with whipped cream and maple syrup. Makes about 35 pancakes.