1. Cook some apples with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and brown sugar until soft and sweet.
2. Fold all those tender sugary apples into buttermilk pancake batter and pour it into a warm skilled coated with a generous amount of butter.
3. Create a giant tower of pancakes on your plate (now is not the time for restraint) and top it with more butter and maple syrup.
4. Eat. Smile. Share (if you like). Relax.

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ ofbatteranddough.com

Slow weekend mornings are one of my favorite things and yet, they don't always come easy. I have to be deliberate about creating space for them.

I repeatedly overestimate how much of anything I can accomplish from any given Monday to Friday. And so, on most Saturday mornings, there exists a buffet of leftover tasks demanding to be dealt with.

Sometimes I do deal with all the things. Some weekends I get up early and do my best to tackle the remains of my overly ambitious black hole of a to-do list.

Sometimes I don't deal with any of the things. Some weekends I pull the covers up and stay in bed for a long, long time. When I finally get up, I make pancakes. I pile them high, bring them back to bed, and close the door on everything left undone.

Because here's what I know to be absolutely true: The end of my to-do list is a mirage. There is no such thing.

This, is something I'm actually grateful for. It means I have people to care for and meaningful work to do.

But, sometimes I need the reminder that I am the master of my to-do list, not the other way around. I need to show it who's boss, and just let everything stay undone for another day. Some days I need rest and pancakes.

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ ofbatteranddough.com

How to make apple cinnamon pancakes

One of the most important things about making really good apple pancakes is to not use raw apples. If you add raw apples to pancake batter, you'll end up with a crunchy consistency because the apples don't have enough time to soften during the short time it takes to cook a pancake.

To solve this problem, cook the apples first. And, if you're going to cook the apples, you might as well do it in brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, because... YUM. 😋

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ ofbatteranddough.com

Cooking dried spices opens up their flavor and intensifies their impact a bit more than if you simply add them straight to the batter. Even better, the brown sugar mixes with the juice released by the apples as they cook and creates a delicious, rich glaze that adds another layer of flavor.

It's important that you allow the apple filling to cool to room temperature before mixing it into the batter. Adding piping hot apples to the batter will activate the baking powder too early and prevent the pancakes from achieving a fluffy, tender consistency.

If you want to shorten the prep time in the morning considerably, make the apple filling a day or two in advance. Put it in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator, folding it into the batter in the morning right before you cook the pancakes.

Buttermilk makes the best pancakes

Buttermilk is magical. First of all it adds flavor to everything from flaky buttermilk biscuits to Red Velvet Cake and Vanilla Cake. But the most important reason to add buttermilk to pancakes is because it gives them a soft, fluffy consistency.

The acid in buttermilk reacts with the bit of baking soda in pancake batter, creating little pockets of carbon dioxide bubbles. Without these little bubbles, the pancakes won't rise and you'll end up with pancakes that are tough and dense instead of light and fluffy.

Yogurt and sour cream can have a similar effect, but as with everyday buttermilk pancakes and fluffy blueberry pancakes, buttermilk rules.

If you don't have any buttermilk, here's a list of 7 ways to make homemade buttermilk.

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ ofbatteranddough.com

Recipe: Apple Cinnamon Pancakes {Buttermilk Recipe}

This recipe was originally published on ofbatteranddough.com. For more detailed instructions, please see the original recipe ---> Apple Cinnamon Pancakes {Buttermilk Recipe}

Ingredients

For the Apple Filling:

• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 ½ cups (180 grams) diced sweet red-skinned apples (peel and core apples, and cut into pieces about the size of a kidney bean)
• ¼ cup (53 grams) dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Pancake Batter:

• 1 ½ cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup (53 grams) dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (127 grams) unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup (227 grams) buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (optional)
• 1 tablespoon (14 grams) salted butter, melted, plus about 4 tablespoons (56 grams) for the pan

Instructions

Make the Apple Filling:

1. Add the lemon juice to a 10 or 12-inch skillet. As you dice the apples, add them to the pan and toss them around in the lemon juice to prevent them from browning.
2. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt to the saucepan. Stir to mix and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the apples have softened slightly and the liquid in the pan is thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes.
3. Scrape the filling into a bowl, stir in the vanilla, and let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. *(See note)

Make the Pancakes:

1. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Stir with a wire whisk to combine.
2. In a small bowl, add the applesauce, buttermilk, egg, vanilla, and orange zest (if using). Stir with a wire whisk to combine.
3. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until all the dry ingredients are moistened and there are no large lumps. (Some small lumps is fine; be careful to not over mix.)
4. Add 1 tablespoon of melted butter and the apple filling to the batter and stir gently just until blended.
5. Add a pat of butter to a skillet (about 1 tbsp) and set it over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add about ⅓ cup of batter to the skillet per pancake. In a 12-inch skillet, you should be able to cook three pancakes at a time.
6. When the edges of the pancakes look set and there are little bubbles all around the pancake edges, use a spatula to gently flip the pancakes over. Cook until the other side of the pancakes is brown and the pancakes are cooked through. (To test, insert a small sharp knife in the center of one pancake and look for raw batter in the center.)
7. Remove the pancakes from the pan to a platter. Rinse out the skillet (old butter will start to burn), add more butter, and continue cooking until all the batter has been used.

For more of my recipes, visit alittleandalot.com and ofbatteranddough.com.

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ ofbatteranddough.com

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