BANANA MACADAMIA PANCAKES WITH ORANGE BUTTER

Banana Macadamia Pancakes with Orange Butter image

Yield Makes 15 (4-inch) pancakes

Number Of Ingredients 18

For orange butter
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh orange juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
For pancakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ripe large banana
1/2 cup salted roasted macadamia nuts (2 1/2 oz), chopped
Accompaniment: maple syrup

Steps:

Make orange butter:
Stir together all orange butter ingredients in a small bowl until combined well.
Make pancakes:
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, 2 tablespoons melted butter, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined. Cut banana into bits and fold into batter along with nuts. (Batter will be very thick.)
Brush a 12-inch nonstick skillet with some of remaining tablespoon melted butter and heat over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches of 3, pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake into hot skillet and cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip pancakes with a spatula and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a large plate and loosely cover with foil to keep warm, then make more pancakes, brushing skillet with butter for each batch. Serve with orange butter.