Prep. Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 6 to 8 minutes per pan

A beloved treat in Denmark, Aebleskiver (singular::Aebleskive) are puffy Danish pancake balls most often served during the Christmas season.

In Danish, the word Aebleskive means Apple Slices because traditionally these were made by putting a small slice of apple in the center while cooking them.

You can enjoy them year-round as a delicious breakfast treat filled with fruit, chocolate, jam or cheese or just plain with jam.

Aebleskiver are made in a special Aebleskiver cast-iron frying pan with rounded indents or half-spherical hollows (usually seven or nine of them), about 5 cm (2 inches) wide and 2 to 3 cm (1 inch) deep. You can buy them at specialty kitchen stores or online from Amazon.

Batter

1. Separate the egg whites and yolks into separate bowls. Whisk the sugar and egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside. 
2. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt and vanilla sugar. Stir well.
3. Using a hand mixer, gradually add the buttermilk egg yolks and melted butter. Mix just until combined.
4. Gently fold the beaten eggs whites into the batter with a spatula.

Cooking

1. Heat the Aebleskiver pan over medium heat. Brush each cup with melted butter. Fill the cups 3/4 full with batter.
2. As soon as the aebleskivers begin to bubble around the edges and you can turn them over without cracking, flip them over a quarter turn with a knitting needle (the traditional tool used by Danes for turning aebleskiver), a wooden skewer or a toothpick and let the batter flow into the pan.
3. Continue cooking, turning the aebleskivers again to let the batter fill in the remainder of the sphere and continuing to turn until golden brown all the way around and cooked through.
4. Transfer to a serving plate and dust with powdered sugar.