Palatschinken, Austrian Pancakes

Generally, standard German uses "Pfannkuchen" as the word for "pancake" (the relationship between the German and the English words is clear), and "Eierkuchen" (literally, "egg cake") is another common word, but there are some other regional terms in German, like "Plinse" in Saxony (in eastern Germany), "Flädle" in Swabia (southwestern Germany), "Flädli" in Switzerland and "Palatschinke" in Austria. The fact that these terms exist and continue to be used is not uncommon in German, as dialect terms for specific dishes tend to show regional pride, and to be quite honest, there is no strong desire or societal pressure to change them. They are a part of the food history of these various regions."Palatschinken" are thinner crepe-like pancakes (but not super thin), spread with fruit jam (or sometimes with cheese) and then almost always rolled up, rather than folded over or folded into angles. The word is of Latin derivation, but came into German by way of Hungarian "palacsinta," likely with strong reinforcement from Czech "palačinka." The Habsburg family ruled Hungary, as well as Bohemia (heavily Czech populated, with a German minority in those times, but since the end of  World War Two "almost" exclusively Czech), for quite some time, and Vienna became a very cosmopolitan city from the extensive reach of the Habsburgs. 

Ingredients (4 to 6 Palatschinken, depending upon size):

1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
pinch of salt
1 or 2 tablespoons sugar (optional) 
butter for cooking (about 4 tablespoons)
apricot preserves
powdered sugar for dusting

Beat the eggs. Mix the flour and milk well, then add the eggs and salt. Mix well. Drizzle in the melted butter, stirring to mix it in. I used 1/3 cup of batter per pancake, making sure to spread the batter around, so that each pancake will not be too thick (but they shouldn't be super thin, either). You can make the Palatschinken as big around as you like. Brown each pancake lightly on both sides. Spread some apricot preserves over each palatschinke, leaving a good border around the entire pancake. Roll up the pancakes and sprinkle on a little powdered sugar.

WORD HISTORY:
Pan-This word's ultimate origin is unknown. It comes from Germanic, perhaps the more specific West Germanic branch of Germanic (there "seem" to be no forms in the North Germanic or East Germanic branches long ago), but whether Germanic had a form from its parent language, Indo European (or even borrowed it from another language family), or whether Germanic borrowed the word into the West Germanic branch long ago (perhaps circa 400 AD?) from Latin, is the question. Latin had "patina," other forms of which were, "patna" and "panna," which meant, "dish, bowl, cooking dish, pan," a word that it had borrowed from Greek "patánē," which meant, "bowl, dish." Again, where Greek got the word is unknown. "A 'hollowed out' utensil or dish for serving or preparing food" seems to be the connecting meaning. Anyway, Old Germanic or West Germanic had "panna/panno," which meant, "pan." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "panne" (the ending 'e' would have been pronounced back then as "eh/ah"), and this later was shortened to just "pan." The other Germanic languages have: German "Pfanne," Low German Saxon "Pann," West Frisian "panne" (?), Dutch "pan." Swedish has "panna," meaning, "pan, kettle," but this is a borrowing from Low German a few hundred years ago.