There is just something so comforting about Apple Cinnamon Pancakes. The warm spices and tender apples folded right in the batter give all the fall feels!
Honeycrisp apples are Uncka's favorites, he fell in love with them when he lived in the Pacific Northwest where he went to culinary school. He would get them at the farmers market where they were hours off the tree. Little G is starting to love them too and they work so well in this pancake recipe.
If you love apple pancakes as much as Greyson and I try these Cinnamon Apple Pancakes sometime! They have a lush, butter apple topping that we also love.
And as always be sure to serve your pancakes with WARM maple syrup, the real kind!
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Ingredients
This ingredient list may look a little bit on the longer side, but the majority of the items are basics. Plus we are essentially making two things here, so that is why there are a few extra things.
The one ingredient that you may find a little unusual depending on what area of the country you live in is the apple cider reduction. It is very popular in New England and is used to make things like apple cider donuts and other baked goods.
You can buy it, but it is just as easy to make, simply boil down real apple cider till it reduces by half and has become dark and syrupy. You may also find it labeled boiled cider.
What you need:
- Honeycrisp Apples
- Brown Sugar
- Unsalted Butter
- Vanilla Extract
- Cinnamon
- Unsalted Butter
- Whole Milk
- Apple Cider Reduction
- Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Apple Pie Spice
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Kosher Salt
- Eggs
- Whipped Irish Butter
- Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup
See the recipe card for full quantities.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe card with ingredient measurements and instructions.
Method
First, dice the apple and toss it in a medium saute pan and cook until the butter and sugar melt and the apples get glossy. Remove them from the heat and let them cool while you prepare the pancake batter.
Start by melting the butter in a saucepan over low heat on the stove. Add the milk to the pan and just continue warming until no lumps of butter remain.
You do not want the milk to simmer or boil. When adding cold milk it can make the butter lump up, just warm it enough that the butter becomes liquid again.
In a large bowl, stir the dry ingredients together with the milk/butter mixture until well combined. Then fold the eggs into the mix just until fully incorporated. Lastly, fold in the cooked apples.
Let the batter rest for 10 minutes before you begin cooking the pancakes. This is the secret to extra fluffy, cloud-like pancakes.
To cook the pancakes, heat a griddle over medium heat on the stove, and be patient. Heat it for at least 5 minutes to get fully warm.
Then drop 2-ounce ladles of batter on the hot griddle and cook till it gets very bubbly and the bubbles begin to pop. Flip and cook 30-45 seconds longer till fully cooked.
Uncka's Chef Tip
Stack the cooked pancakes up to ensure they finish cooking, the same way you'd stack tortillas and put them in a warmer or cloth to finish. Pancakes finish cooking all the way through in the same way as well as keeping the first cakes warm as you cook the rest. This ensures not wet or soggy middles.
To serve, stack the Apple Cinnamon Pancakes high and top with a large pat of salted butter, a light dusting of cinnamon, and finish with a hearty drizzle of REAL maple syrup as desired!
Substitutions
Let's chat about how to make these pancakes gluten, or dairy-free if you or someone you love needs to follow those dietary guidelines for their health.
- Flour - If you need to make these pancakes gluten-free, use a quality cup-for-cup flour swap. The one I linked here is really high quality and has great results.
- Milk - If you are dairy-free, you can use almond milk, but my suggestion is cashew for its higher fat content. Pancakes may stick a bit when using almond milk, and you may need to grease the griddle or pan more often during the cooking of your pancakes.
- Butter - You can use a vegan butter substitute or plant-based butter. A bit of a more economical swap is vegetable or canola oil.
- Apple Cider Reduction - If you are unable to find boiled apple cider for purchase, you can make your own by reducing it yourself. If you can find it, use real, pressed apple cider, but pasteurized works too. Place your cider in a saucepan and reduce it by half, I usually make one large batch, but for this recipe, you simply need 1 cup of cider reduced to ½ cup. If you reduce it too far, add just enough water to bring it back to ½ cup.
- Honeycrisp Apple - While Honeycrisp is our favorite apple to use for this recipe, any firm and tart apple will work. I would steer away from red delicious or golden apples, they may break down and get mushy when cooked.
Equipment
These are my favorite little skillets for making pancake toppings and syrups in. You can also toast nuts for use in them too.
My number one, most favorite tool for perfect pancakes is a Cast-Iron griddle. They build up a strong, natural, non-stick coating over time and make for BEAUTIFUL pancakes.
Be sure to season a new griddle, every time you use and wash it (with soap) with this cast-iron oil to build THE BEST non-stick surface.
I like a really sturdy, metal spatula for flipping pancakes. It helps them not stick to it, and makes for a perfect flip, no floppy half-turned pancakes, It's got to be THIS spatula for me!
The use of a 2-ounce ladle makes THE perfect-sized pancakes, in my opinion. They are just the right size and easy to flip.
Storage
While pancakes won't spoil if left on the counter overnight, they are just like a cake, biscuit, or cookie in this way. I prefer to place them in a zip-top bag or air-tight container in the fridge.
You can also freeze pancakes. To do so, lay them flat on a tray, not stacked, then once frozen place them in a freezer bag and store for up to 3 months.
Reheat leftover Apple Cinnamon Pancakes, from the fridge or freezer, in a toaster, or toaster oven for best results.
Top Tips
When making the pancake batter, ensuring it rests for 10 minutes is a HUGE gateway to SUPER FLUFFY pancakes. This allows the leavening agent to fully develop and lets the gluten strands in the flour relax.
Exercise patience and let the griddle get really warm before you start cooking. A griddle that is too cool will cause the pancakes to stick to it. I use a really Well-Seasoned cast iron griddle that requires no buttering due to the amount in the actual pancakes.
If you can, use a small amount of high-heat oil like vegetable or grapeseed to grease your griddle if needed. You should only need to do this once before you start cooking. Use a paper towel to spread an even and thin layer over your griddle.
I prefer to cook on medium, to just under medium heat so my pancakes can cook quickly. I also prefer only to cook 2 pancakes at a time so I have plenty of room to flip.
Because of the extra sugar content in these pancakes, both from the brown sugar and the applesauce, take care when cooking that your heat doesn't get too hot, they can burn more quickly from the extra sugar.
Be sure to stack your pancakes after cooking. This allows them to stay soft as well as allowing the middles to finish cooking while also staying a little JAMMY SOFT. That's what I call it anyway. It helps create super tender pancakes.
FAQ
Adding butter to the pan when cooking the pancakes will give extra rich flavor, but using a high smoke point oil like avocado or coconut will give the pancakes more even browning. If using a well-seasoned or nonstick skillet, no fat is really needed with this recipe, because it is made with so much real butter in the batter.
Do you use baking powder or soda for fluffy pancakes?
A combination of the two is what gives these pancakes great lift. When they interact with the acid that the milk has in it, they create air bubbles and that is what makes the pancakes ultra fluffy.
YES! Allowing it to rest lets all of the leveners become active giving them such amazing lift. It also allows the flour to fully absorb the liquid and tighten up the batter which also helps make them fluffy.
More of our Favorite Blueberry Pancakes
If you LOVE pancakes like Greyson and I, take a look at these blueberry recipes:
More great Apple recipes to LOVE!
If you like to go the extra mile, here is a great recipe from Uncka on How to make Homemade Applesauce. Of course, he likes to make it with Honeycrisp apples, which just carries their flavor all the way through.
When you want to go a little lighter with your apples, try this copycat Panera Fuji Apple Salad. Little G is starting to LOVE salad, or "sauwed" as he says, and this is easily a favorite of the whole family!
Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
There's something so comforting about Apple Cinnamon Pancakes. The warm spices and tender apples folded in the batter give all the fall feels!
Ingredients
- 1 cup Honeycrisp Apples, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon, ground
- 4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted
- 1 cup Whole Milk
- ½ cup Apple Cider Reduction
- ½ cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons Apple Pie Spice
- 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
- 2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt, Morton’s
- 2 lg Eggs, lightly beaten
- Whipped Irish Butter, for serving
- Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup, for serving
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, combine the apples, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon. Stir often to combine, and until the butter melts and a liquid forms in the pan. Continue cooking till it becomes syrupy, then remove it from the stove and let it cool while you make your pancake batter.
- In a 2-quart saucepan on the stove, melt the butter over low heat. Add the milk and cider reduction to the pan and heat just till warm and any butter that solidified is liquid again. Do not boil. Cool 5 minutes, then stir the vanilla extract and apple sauce into the milk mixture.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, baking powder, soda, and salt.
- Slowly whisk the warm milk mixture and cooked apples into the flour mixture, just till a lumpy mixture forms.
- Crack the eggs into the bowl and whisk just till incorporated.
- Let the pancake batter rest on the counter for 10 minutes.
- After the batter has rested for 5 minutes, warm the griddle on the stove, over medium-heat I suggest a cast iron griddle. It is important to let it get hot till it begins to smoke the tiniest bit, then you know it is ready to be cooked on.
- Turn the heat down two marks on the stove dial, just between medium, and medium-low.
- Using a 2-ounce ladle, drop 2 rounds of batter on the griddle at a time. Cook for 30-45 seconds, just till the edges begin to set.
- Flip and cook a further 45-60 seconds, then remove to a platter.
- Pancakes can be kept warm in a 200˚F oven if needed.
- To make whipped Irish butter, beat 4 tablespoons in the bowl of a stand mixer, and I like to use my flex edge flat beater it gets the butter extra fluffy, and beat for 3-4 minutes on medium-high, with a pinch of kosher salt.
- Serve the pancakes with a dollop of butter on top and warm maple syrup, the real kind!
Notes
Substitutions
Let's chat about how to make these pancakes gluten, or dairy-free if you or someone you love needs to follow those dietary guidelines for their health.
- Flour - If you need to make these pancakes gluten-free, use a quality cup-for-cup flour swap. The one I linked here is really high quality and has great results.
- Milk - If you are dairy-free, you can use almond milk, but my suggestion is cashew for its higher fat content. Pancakes may stick a bit when using almond milk, and you may need to grease the griddle or pan more often during the cooking of your pancakes.
- Butter - You can use a vegan butter substitute or plant-based butter. A bit of a more economical swap is vegetable or canola oil.
- Apple Cider Reduction - If you are unable to find boiled apple cider for purchase, you can make your own by reducing it yourself. If you can find it, use real, pressed apple cider, but pasteurized works too. Place your cider in a saucepan and reduce it by half, I usually make one large batch, but for this recipe, you simply need 1 cup of cider reduced to ½ cup. If you reduce it too far, add just enough water to bring it back to ½ cup.
- Honeycrisp Apple - While Honeycrisp is our favorite apple to use for this recipe, any firm and tart apple will work. I would steer away from red delicious or golden apples, they may break down and get mushy when cooked.
Top Tips
When making the pancake batter, ensuring it rests for 10 minutes is a HUGE gateway to SUPER FLUFFY pancakes. This allows the leavening agent to fully develop and lets the gluten strands in the flour relax.
Exercise patience and let the griddle get really warm before you start cooking. A griddle that is too cool will cause the pancakes to stick to it. I use a really Well-Seasoned cast iron griddle that requires no buttering due to the amount in the actual pancakes.
If you can, use a small amount of high-heat oil like vegetable or grapeseed to grease your griddle if needed. You should only need to do this once before you start cooking. Use a paper towel to spread an even and thin layer over your griddle.
I prefer to cook on medium, to just under medium heat so my pancakes can cook quickly. I also prefer only to cook 2 pancakes at a time so I have plenty of room to flip.
Because of the extra sugar content in these pancakes, both from the brown sugar and the applesauce, take care when cooking that your heat doesn't get too hot, they can burn more quickly from the extra sugar.
Be sure to stack your pancakes after cooking. This allows them to stay soft as well as allowing the middles to finish cooking while also staying a little JAMMY SOFT. That's what I call it anyway. It helps create super tender pancakes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 452Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 710mgCarbohydrates: 81gFiber: 2gSugar: 46gProtein: 7g
Food Safety
There aren't many concerns when it comes to pancakes, but here are a few tips to help ensure the best experience with your pancakes.
- Ensure your pancakes are fully cooked, as eating raw pancake batter is not advised because it contains raw eggs.
- The USDA advises to not leave cooked foods at room temperature for longer than 2 hours, 1 hour if the environment is above 90˚F.
- That said, pancakes contain the same ingredients as cakes, biscuits, and cookies so they can be stored at room temperature.
- I personally advise keeping them in an air-tight container or zip-top bag and warming them in a toaster or microwave before eating leftovers.
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove.
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