Dulce de Leche Dessert Pancakes with Toasted Pecan-Cookie Streusel

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Pancakes rebuilt as a real dessert: tender vanilla buttermilk cakes stacked with a warm, pourable dulce de leche made from a can plus a splash of cream, then buried under a buttery streusel of crushed vanilla cookies and toasted pecans. Flaky salt on top keeps it from tipping into cloying. It comes together in about 35 minutes with pantry staples and eats like something you'd pay for at brunch.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pecan halves, roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup crushed vanilla wafers or Maria cookies (about 16 cookies)
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

• 1 cup canned dulce de leche (about 11 oz)
• 3 tbsp heavy cream, plus more as needed
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch flaky sea salt

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/3 cups buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• neutral oil or butter, for the pan

• 1 cup cold heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks (or store-bought whipped cream)
• 1 pinch flaky sea salt

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Spread the chopped pecans on a small sheet pan and toast 6–8 minutes, until fragrant and one shade darker. Let cool 5 minutes. Keep the oven on and set a second sheet pan or heatproof plate inside, turned down to 200°F, to hold finished pancakes.
2. Make the streusel: in a bowl, toss the toasted pecans with the crushed cookies, melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt until the crumbs are evenly damp and clumpy. Set aside at room temperature — it will crisp as it sits.
3. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. In a second bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg, 3 tablespoons melted butter and vanilla until smooth.
4. Pour the wet into the dry and stir with a spatula just until no dry flour remains — 10 to 12 strokes. The batter should be thick and lumpy. Let it rest 10 minutes while you warm the dulce de leche; this hydrates the flour and gives you taller pancakes.
5. Warm the drizzle: combine the dulce de leche and 3 tablespoons heavy cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk constantly for 2–3 minutes until smooth and loose enough to ribbon off the whisk; add cream 1 teaspoon at a time if it's still too thick. Off the heat, stir in the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and a pinch of flaky salt. Keep warm over the lowest heat, stirring occasionally.
6. Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat for 2 minutes, then lightly oil it and wipe out the excess with a paper towel. Pour scant 1/4-cup pools of batter, spacing them well apart.
7. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles break the surface, the edges look dry and set, and the underside is deep golden. Flip once and cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes more. Move finished pancakes to the warm oven and repeat with the remaining batter, re-oiling and wiping the pan between batches. You should get about 12 pancakes.
8. Stack 3 pancakes per plate. Spoon warm dulce de leche generously over each stack so it runs down the sides, then pile on a heavy handful of the pecan-cookie streusel. Finish with a spoonful of softly whipped cream and a final pinch of flaky salt. Serve immediately, while the sauce is still flowing and the streusel is crunchy.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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