Just in time for weekend brunch!

If your like me, you love brunch. And if you really are like me, your watching your dollars and cents these days. Between the sky rocketing costs of gas, food, & liquor, going out for brunch on a Saturday or Sunday can become extremely costly; especially if you live in a major metropolitan area such as I do here in NYC. $24 for two non well Bloody Mary’s and $12 -$14 for a stack of pancakes makes for one expensive meal before tip and transportation costs.

Today I’m going to show you how to make restaurant style apple cinnamon pancakes at home so you can plan brunch at home, saving money in the process and building great, fun memories with your friends at the same time. If you have been following my blog up until now, then you know I’m all about streamlining and simplifying the cooking process to help save time. These directions are for pancakes where the dry ingredients are not made from scratch, but rather from a box.

There are really great pancake mixes out there and at the end of the day, all it really comes down to is being consisted of flour and rising ingredients. I highly DO NOT recommend the “just add water” type. First of all, the idea of freeze dried dairy products already in the mix, sitting on a shelf seems highly unhealthy when we all know dairy products are supposed to be consumed fresh and maintained at cold temperatures. Secondly, they never taste as good, and thirdly, the below is based on the regular style mix.  The proportion is based on what the box considers a single serving which yielded me 6 large pancakes. Adjust accordingly based on your needs.

Ingrediants

• 1 green apple. Feel free to use any type you like however I highly recommend green as the combo from the sweet tart of the apple mixes beautifully with the cinnamon and other sweet ingredients.
• Ground Cinnamon
• 1 heaping tablespoon of dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup 1% milk
• 1 cup pancake mix (I recommend Aunt Jemima Buttermilk)

1. Begin by coring and peeling the apple. Cut in half, then half again, then half the half’s and the cross cut into small bight size pieces. (Only use 3/4 of the apple, to keep the apple to pancake ratio in line). Place in a md to lg size bowl (based on size of final batter you plan to make).
2. Sprinkle the cinnamon onto the apple pieces. Use enough that the apples are well covered, but be careful not to use too much. I would say about 1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons based on your desired cinnamon level.
3. Add the brown sugar and stir well. Make sure the apples are fully covered and let sit for about 15-20 minutes. You will begin to see the apples start to beautifully caramelize at this point. (See pic 1)
4. Place the apple mixture into a separate bowl. (See pic 2)
5. We will now start to make the batter using the bowl you just used to make the apple mixture in. DO NOT clean out the bowl as we want that left over mixture that is stuck to the sides and bottom of the bowl.
6. Start by whisking your egg and your oil together in the bowl. Be sure to get all the left over cinnamon and sugar mixture that was in the bowl into the liquid.
7. Add your half and half and milk and whisk well. (The combo of half and half to milk will help make the pancakes nice and fluffy and thick. If you are really watching your weight you can always use entirely 1%, the end result will just be thinner pancakes and more of them b/c the batter will be thinner)
8. Add pancake mix and thoroughly whisk. Let stand for about 5 minutes.
9. Carefully add the apple mixture to the batter. Carefully blend the two together gently. You don’t want to “wash” off the seasonings from the apples that’s been soaking into the apples. Just a few gentle turns of the hand to make sure they are evenly distributed through out the batter. (See pic 3)
10. Cook until golden brown on both sides (see pic 4) and serve with a pat of butter (see pic 5).

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Please leave me your feedback. I would love to hear how they came out. Don’t forget to follow my twitter at @s_u_scott for up to date postings where you can talk to me directly in real time. Email me any questions or comments at suburbanurbanscott@gmail.com

February 24, 2012
Categories: Food . Tags: #foodporn, apple cinnamon, apple cinnamon pancakes, apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, cooking, Food, food network, food porn, food tv, foodie, Healthy, Healthy Cooking, pancakes, unhealthy . Author: Suburban Urban Scott . Comments: Leave a Comment