When the fresh crop comes around in the fall, these Cinnamon Apple Pancakes are a MUST for your weekend breakfast or brunch!
Uncka absolutely fell in love with Honeycrisp apples when he lived in the Pacific Northwest and went to culinary school there, and they are the best for use here too. Greyson has fallen in love with them now also, surprisingly for a 2-year-old he has a great love for fruit, and apples are one of his favorites.
The buttery sugared apple topping and these pancakes just scream the first days of fall to me. The flavor is incredible and unmatched. There is just something so comforting about them.
If you love pancakes as much as Greyson and I try his very favorite Caramel Apple Pancakes sometime! Uncka especially likes to make them close to Halloween if he makes them with the twigs in the little apples.
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:
- Unsalted Butter
- Whole Milk
- Apple Cider Reduction
- Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar, packed
- Apple Pie Spice
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Kosher Salt
- Eggs
- Whipped Irish Butter
- Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup
- Honeycrisp Apples
- Brown Sugar
- Unsalted Butter
- Vanilla Extract
- Cinnamon
- Flakey Sea Salt
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
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.
Let the batter rest for 10 minutes before you begin cooking the pancakes. This is the secret to extra fluffy, cloud-like pancakes.
While the batter rests, dice the apples and cook them in a medium skillet until tender and juicy. Just cook till the apples release some liquid and it comes to a boil. Simmer for about 5 minutes while you cook your pancakes, then turn the heat down to low and let them hang out till you are ready to serve.
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 Cinnamon Apple Pancakes high, top with the buttery apples you sauteed, 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. You can also toast nuts 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 Cinnamon Apple 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.
YES! Allowing it to rest lets all of the leveners become active and allows them to get light and fluffy. It also allows the flour to fully absorb the liquid and tighten up the batter, which also helps make them fluffy.
Do you use baking powder or soda for fluffy pancakes?
A combination of the two is what gives these pancakes amazing 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.
More of our Favorite Pancakes
If you LOVE pancakes like Greyson and me, try these other great recipes:
More great Apple recipes to LOVE!
If you love Honeycrisp apples as much as we do, try Uncka's Honeycrisp Apple Slab Pie, it has a crisp bottom crust and a delicious crumb top, it's a perfect fall bake.
Little G loves it when we make a batch of Apple Nachos. They are a perfect simple snack, that you can get as fancy or basic with as you like!
Cinnamon Apple Pancakes
When the fresh crop comes around in the fall, these Cinnamon Apple Pancakes are a MUST for your weekend breakfast or brunch!
Ingredients
apple pancakes:
- 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
cinnamon apple topping:
- 2 cups Honeycrisp Apples, small diced
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, ground
- Flakey Sea Salt, like Maldon or Nordur, for topping on pancakes
Instructions
Apple Pancakes:
- 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 for 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 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.
- Make the topping while your batter rests.
- 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, 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.
Cinnamon Apple Topping:
- In a medium skillet, combine the apples and all remaining ingredients over medium heat. Stir to combine and allow the butter to melt.
- As the apples cook they will release some liquid, bring everything up to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 5-7 minutes, just to allow the apples to become tender.
- Serve the pancakes with a few tablespoons of the apple topping, and a drizzle of maple syrup.
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: 497Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 806mgCarbohydrates: 87gFiber: 2gSugar: 51gProtein: 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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