Pancakes with Date Syrup

Ah, Ramadan is finally here! It is time to cut back on our consumption and cleanse our heart from hate and judgment. I'm sorry that I'm posting this at night and a day later than usual, but I have been super swamped the past few weeks that I hadn't had the chance to roam the kitchen in a while. In fact, this is a very lazy recipe idea—as opposed to an actual recipe. Since it's Ramadan, I thought it would be nice to try out something with dates—although, as you may recall, I don't really enjoy them. A couple weeks ago, my parents came back from grocery shopping with this strange liquid in a jar. When I looked at the label, it turns out to be date syrup, which I'd never known existed before. As it looks similar to maple syrup, I thought I'd use it for pancakes, so here it is. The recipe will only be a quick recipe of a regular pancake—cooked american-style—that you can practically find anywhere, really. Nevertheless, I hope you at least enjoy the idea and will try it out at home yourself.

Ingredients 

(original recipe via allrecipes.com, makes 6)

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 tbsp. date syrup (or to taste)
• butter for the topping

1. In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients
2. Make a well in the centre and pour in the wet ingredients
3. Mix with a whisk until smooth
4. Heat a lightly oiled/buttered frying pan over medium high heat
5. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter onto the pan for each pancake
6. Let it sit on the pan until you see bubbles on the surface and flip
7. Let it sit for a while until it browns
8. Stack them all up
9. Plop a stick of butter on top and pour with date syrup
10. Dig in! 

Tips: Let all the ingredients sit at room temperature before you start mixing them all together, especially the egg and milk. When cooking the pancake, make sure you use a bended spatula—not a wooden one—to make it easier to flip. Date syrup is thicker than maple, so if you don't like the consistency, you may add a little bit of water. If you're fasting, I would recommend devouring this for iftar, not suhoor. If you're not fasting, this might be the perfect choice for breakfast or brunch, especially with a freshly squeezed glass of OJ. Adding berries or citrus might also be a good idea. Obviously, if there is a pancake recipe you like better, feel free to use that one then add date syrup on top. Lass es euch schmecken!