The First Pancake
Just like the first month of the year, it is always terrible.
We are exactly two weeks into 2026, in Sweden it is still dark, cold and dumping ice rain on top of three feet of snow, quickly turning a winter wonderland into a flooded, brown, ice river, which will soon refreeze into a a mountain of ice. And the term dumpster fire keeps popping into my head when I see the daily, hourly, non-stop terrible news from my home country. All my friends are dealing with acutely ill, if not terminally ill, parents, friends and sick kids. The phrase “January is the Monday of months” just seems to be hitting harder this year. So what do I do when I am feeling anxious, stressed out, overwhelmed? I make pancakes. One of the best things about living in Sweden is you and your kids can have pancakes for breakfast, lunch or dinner, any day of the week, at home, or in a restaurant, no questions asked or even a side eye given. Pancakes are like cinnamon rolls, good for you and your soul and best consumed daily. How’s that for a new food pyramid?
I grew up eating banana or blueberry pancakes made for me every weekend by my dad. But it wasn’t a ritual I carried into my adult life, and I honestly don’t think I ever made them myself until I had kids. I have since tested and tweaked and memorized an easy go-to recipe I use multiple times a week. It is a mashed-up Frankenstein of a recipe from the people I listen to the most when it comes to food, and almost everything else, Alison Roman, Samin Nosrat, Mark Bittman and Anja Tyson. Yes, if you want the absolute fluffiest pancakes in the history of the world, you can separate the eggs and whip the whites and fold them in at the end à la Samin, but I never, ever do that. Except the one time I did and they were heavenly. The pancakes I make are American of course, and not Swedish, but I will give you the world’s simplest example of a Scandi pancake recipe below from my best friend and other life advisor Ole Sondresen, aka Norge, aka Sondreamy, my favorite architect and chef, and you can try that one too.
The thing to remember about pancakes, which brings me back to January, is that the first batch of pancakes is always terrible. Like throw in the trash bin (food recycling bin) terrible. There are many reasons this can happen. The pan is not hot enough, the pan is too hot, you are impatient like me and you always turn the pancakes too soon and make a runny mess, or you forget to turn them over and burn them because you get distracted by your phone and your kids because you aren’t in your pancake rhythm yet etc etc. No matter, no pressure, just get them over with and move on to round two which will be fluffy and delicious. I would advise the same approach to life the next couple of weeks. It is awful out there, but at the very least, the days are getting longer, almost an hour more by the end of the month in NYC, and almost TWO hours more here in Sweden, and despite everything else happening in the world, that is a good direction to be heading. So for the rest of this shitty month, please hold your loved ones close, light candles, stay cozy and eat as many pancakes as you damn well please.
American Pancakes makes 10-12
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
dash of sugar
2 eggs
1 cup filmjölk (a traditional Swedish fermented milk, similar to yogurt, but with a milder, slightly sour, buttery taste, and a texture between milk and yogurt.)
Ok, ok I know there is no filmjölk in America, or anywhere not in Scandinavia, so please use non-greek whole fat plain yogurt with a splash of milk, or buttermilk, or milk with an added tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice, and let is sit for 5 minutes if you have time. You can just use plain whole fat milk, but they are not as good. I’ll let someone else explain the science of the added acid to you.
2 eggs
2-3 T melted butter
1/4 cup shredded coconut (optional)
coconut oil for pan
Heat heavy-bottomed frying pan or griddle pan over medium heat, I prefer using a black ironed skilled.
Melt a few tablespoons of butter over low heat in a small pan. My favorite is this Dansk Kobenstyle one from Food 52/Schoolhouse that I use everyday.
Mix together dry ingredients in a medium bowl: flour, baking powder, salt, sugar
Mix together wet ingredients in a small bowl: eggs and milk/yogurt
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well, but don’t go crazy. Lumps are how you get air pockets and extra fluff.
Stir in melted butter and shredded coconut if using.
Melt a tablespoon of coconut oil in the hot pan.
Ladle roughly 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake (or whatever size you want and as many as can comfortably fit in the pan) and wait 3-4 minutes until a lot of bubbles have risen to the surface and the bottoms have browned.
Flip and cook until the second side is lightly browned.
Serve with more butter and maple syrup, or Swedish style with raspberry jam and whipped cream.
Scandi Pancakes
3 eggs
2 cups whole fat milk
1 cup all purpose flour
dash of sugar
dash of salt
1-2 T melted butter or a glug of olive oil
Heat heavy-bottomed frying pan or griddle pan over medium heat, I prefer using a black ironed skilled.
Whisk eggs and milk until very fluffy, using an electric mixer if you are so inclined.
Add flour, sugar, salt and melted butter or olive oil and mix well.
Ladle approximately 1/4 cup of batter into pan and immediately tilt the pan around to allow batter to spread into a large thin circle.
Cook for approximately 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
Flip and cook another 30 seconds to a minute.
Keep pancakes warm stacked between two plates (the top one inverted) or keep warm on an oven proof plate in a 200 degree oven until you have a giant stack of them because they can be eaten way faster than you can cook them!
Serve rolled up or folded with maple syrup, or Swedish style with raspberry jam and whipped cream.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading, I am glad you are here.
Onwards!
Jen