Ingredients
- Pancakes:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon (original recipe suggests 1 tsp)
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg (original recipe suggests ⅛ tsp)
- ½ tsp ground clove
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup grated apple (about 1 medium apple)
- Butter or vegetable oil for cooking in the skillet
- Vanilla Maple Syrup:
- About ½ cup maple syrup, gently warmed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or scrapings of 1 vanilla bean
Instructions
1. Mix the dry ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and salt. This is your chance to get all those warm spices evenly distributed through the flour.
2. Prepare the wet ingredients
In a measuring cup, combine the milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Whisk until well blended. Adding the butter last, after it’s cooled a bit, helps prevent it from clumping when it hits the cold milk.
3. Combine wet and dry ingredients
Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir just until combined; it’s okay if there are a few lumps. Overmixing can make pancakes tough, so keep it gentle.
4. Fold in the grated apple
Gently fold in the grated apple. Try not to over-stir—just enough to incorporate the apple evenly throughout the batter.
5. Cook the pancakes
Heat your skillet over medium heat and lightly grease it with butter or vegetable oil. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the skillet for each pancake. Cook until small bubbles start to form on the surface (about 1-2 minutes), then flip. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for another minute, until golden brown. Keep cooked pancakes warm in a 200°F oven while you finish the rest of the batch.
6. Make the vanilla maple syrup
While the pancakes are cooking, stir together warmed maple syrup and vanilla extract. It’s a simple touch, but it adds such a lovely flavor.
Notes
If you have leftovers (which is rare in my house!), store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet over low heat, or pop them in a toaster oven to revive the texture. You can also freeze the pancakes: just lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet until frozen, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag. Reheat directly from frozen in a toaster or warm oven.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert