Mini Sausage Pancake Skewers with Spicy Syrup

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Melt butter over medium-low heat in a small saucepan. Stir in maple syrup, red pepper flakes, and salt. Bring to a boil and cook, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove syrup from heat and set aside, stirring occasionally, for at least 30 minutes for flavor to fully develop.

3. Meanwhile, prepare pancakes: whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk buttermilk, egg, sour cream, melted butter, and maple syrup together in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Stir gently until just combined but slightly lumpy; do not overmix. Let sit for 10 minutes.

4. Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Drop teaspoonfuls of batter onto the hot skillet to form 1-inch diameter pancakes. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes, flip, and continue cooking until golden brown, about 1 more minute. Transfer cooked pancakes to a plate and repeat with remaining batter.

5. Heat olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Form tablespoonfuls of sausage into 1-inch patties, the same size as the mini pancakes. Cook until patties are cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

6. Thread 3 pancakes and 2 sausage patties onto each skewer, starting and ending with a pancake.

7. Repeat to make remaining skewers. Serve drizzled with spicy syrup.

Tips

Cook's Notes:

The number of skewers could vary depending on the size of your pancakes and sausage patties. The pancakes should be about 1-inch, the size of a half dollar. If you prefer, you also can pipe the batter onto the pan.

Feel free to use any pork sausage flavor that you like. I've used regular, maple, and sage with good results. A drizzle of syrup really is all you need, no need to soak the skewers. If preferred, give the syrup a quick reheat in the microwave right before serving.