Fall Nesting {Day 8} - Apple Cinnamon Cornmeal Pancakes

 So apparently Mother Nature thought it would be a good idea to dump several inches of snow on my house while we were away, and we came back to a partially melted mess surrounding trees with green leaves and a 50°F house. Brr. Let's not skip fall, okay?

 

My family loves to eat breakfast together on the weekends, and they adore pancakes. So even though I'm a giant weirdo and don't share their love (except for sourdough pancakes. Be still my heart.) I can't refuse a chorus of small boy voices cheering for pancakes.

I really don't like classic pancakes, and one of the only other types I've enjoyed was a blueberry cornmeal recipe I found in my old red plaid cookbook. I decided to take that recipe and give it a twist for the season.

Mix your pancake batter like normal: wet into dry, stir until barely moistened (recipe follows below). Then gently fold in some diced apples right before cooking (I'm sure you could substitute grated ones too if you preferred).

Then just watch your pancakes. If you're not a big pancake cooker, read on. 90% of the cooking is done on one side, so you don't want to flip it too soon. Wait for the top to dry out, and for the bubbles near the middle of the cake to burst and hold their shape.

Not ready to flip:

Ready to flip:

Once you do flip them, you'll be rewarded with nicely colored pancakes that need to cook on their other side for just one or two minutes.

And then voilà. Pancakes.

Perfect for a chilly fall morning with family in your warm little nest.

Apple Cinnamon Cornmeal Pancakes (adapted from a BH&G red plaid recipe)

1 c. all purpose flour

2 1/2 Tbs. cornmeal

1 Tbs. granulated sugar

1 tsp. baking powdr

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. table salt

1/2 - 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 egg, beaten

1 c. buttermilk (or sour milk, 1 Tbs. lemon juice/vinegar + milk to make 1 cup, let sit 5 minutes)

1 Tbs. canola oil

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

1/2 apple, peeled and diced

Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Set aside.

Beat egg in another bowl, then add milk, oil, and applesauce. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients all at once and stir until just moistened. Gently fold in diced apples.

Pour 1/4 c. of pancake batter onto griddle and let cook until top has dried considerably and bubbles in the center of pancake have burst and their holes hold their shape. Flip pancake, let brown a minute or two, and remove. Serve hot.

Makes 12 pancakes.

{Click here to see the other posts in my 31 Days of Fall Nesting series...}