recipe wednesday: caramel apple pancakes

 Danielle is back with an amazing autumn recipe!

There is nothing more fall to me then the combination of apples and caramel. My grandmother was in town for an afternoon this week and we got to talking about how we love breakfast foods and it got me to thinking about making an amazing "breakfast for dinner" recipe using my favorite fall flavors! I decided to make a whole wheat cinnamon pancake with lots of apples and walnuts baked right in with a super simple homemade caramel sauce on top. Last weekend my husband and I got a bushel of Zestar apples from our local farmer's market that were just incredible. Zestar apples are an early season apple that are light and crisp, have a slight hint of brown sugar and are so good! You can use whatever apples are your favorite and feel free to experiment to make the perfect pancake!

Caramel Apple Pancakes

Caramel Sauce:
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch of coarse salt

 

Pancakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
2 cups fat free milk
2 tbsp canola oil
1 medium apple chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (plus more to sprinkle on top)

Maple Sryup and Whipped Cream for topping, if desired.

First, make the caramel sauce by combining the brown sugar, butter and cream in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce to a simmer and cook stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and salt and set aside.

Make the pancakes by combining all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl combine the eggs, milk and oil. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and then fold in the apples and the walnuts. Butter your griddle and pour batter 1/4 cup at a time to make your pancakes. Flip once bubbles start forming on the top and cook until the second side is golden brown. 

Drizzle the caramel sauce over the pancakes and sprinkle leftover chopped walnuts on top. You can add a little pure maple syrup to your pancakes, although they don't really need it. I also made some homemade whipped cream which went really well.