Apple Pie Pancakes
Apple Pie Pancakes is a perfect fall breakfast! Spiced, fluffy buttermilk pancakes topped with warm, homemade apple pie topping. It’s a comforting breakfast for the holidays and family weekend breakfast.
Table of Contents
I’ve created this pancake recipe for my son and my husband many years ago and it is still our favorite breakfast during the fall months. It’s the season for comfort food, apples, pumpkins, warm and toasty ciders, and beautiful colors.
The minute you flip that calendar and see “September,” it almost soul-warning. It’s the feeling that the fall bring with the changing of the season, changing of the colors, and of course, comfort food. We can’t get enough comforting breakfast recipes, soups, hot drinks, desserts, and so much more. After all, food can bring you as much joy and the holidays and time with family.
That’s why these apple pie pancakes are so perfect for family breakfast on weekends and for fall holidays. So next time you go apple picking, make sure to set some apple aside to make these soft and fluffy pancakes topped with sweet apple pie topping.
It’s truly the best topping for the pancakes because it combined warm, spiced apples and it also acts as a syrup. If I had to choose between pumpkin pancakes and these pancakes, it would be apple all the way.
Ingredient Notes
Buttermilk – I always use a low-fat buttermilk, as I’ve found it provides both the best texture and flavor for the pancakes.
Cooking Oil – As long as the oil is neutral flavored, it will work for this recipe. Try using avocado, vegetable, or even light tasting olive oil.
Eggs – for best results, let them warm up to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Brown Sugar – If you don’t have any brown sugar on hand, you can make your own by combining 1 cup of granulated white sugar with 1 tablespoon of molasses.
Flour – all-purpose flour is best to use here.
Baking Powder – Check the expiration date on your baking powder! Believe it or not, it does expire and loose it’s effectiveness after 6 months.
Baking Soda – This is a key ingredient, not the same a baking powder! Baking soda helps the buttermilk make light and fluffy pancakes.
Apple Pie Spice – This is used in the dough itself and in apple pie topping. Apple pie spice is a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
What Apple Are Best To Use?
You’ll be happy to know what there isn’t just one type of apples you have to use in apple pie topping. Go with your favorites but keep in mind that apple do taste slightly different.
Granny Smith apples are meaty, rich, but also have some tang and sourness.
Golden Delicious apples are juicy, and very sweet.
Honeycrisp apples are great meaty apples that are also bright and sweet. Honesycrisp apples are actually my favorite ones to use.
You can also choose Pink Lady, Braeburn, Fuji, or McIntosh apples.
If there was one type of apples that I would
How To Make Apple Pie Pancakes
Make Apple Pie Topping:
Peel and core all the apples and then dice them into small pieces.
Melt butter in a sauce pot over medium heat and add diced apples, sugar, cinnamon, and apple pie spice. Gently mix everything until apples are evenly coated and mixed. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot with a lid and let apple cook for about 15 minutes. Remember to stir once in a while.
PRO TIP: to get a lot of nice juices out of apples, make sure to cook them covered with a lid first.
Take off the lid and cook for another 10-15 minutes until apples are soft and tender. Make sure to stir once in a while. Take the pot off the heat until ready to serve on pancakes.
Buttermilk Pancakes:
Whisk together wet pancake ingredients first and then add your dry ingredients.
PRO TIP 2: let the batter stand for about 10-15 minutes. This will give ingredients time to incorporate and help make your pancakes fluffy.
PRO TIP 3: it’s important to preheat the pan or the griddle first, before cooking the pancakes.
First, preheat a cooking pan or pancake griddle over medium heat and then lower it a little bit before adding pancake batter.
Then, use a 1/4 cup scoop to get the same amount of batter for each pancake. Add the batter to the hot pan and let it cook without touching it.
Wait for the bubbles to appear all over the top, that is your indication that pancakes are ready to flip. Use a spatula to slide all the way under the pancake, lift it off, and use your wrist to quickly flip. (It will take 3-5 minutes for each pancake to cook.)
Finally, divide pancakes among the plates and top them with warm apple pie topping.
Tips and Tricks For the Best Pancakes
Preheat the pan – I’m sure you already know but adding pancake batter to a not-so-hot pan will not give you good results. Make sure your pan is preheated and ready to go to get the best fluffy pancakes!
Grease the pan – It’s very important to grease your pan before adding the first pancake. However, if you notice that after a few flips that the grease is starting to wear off, don’t hesitate to add a little more.
Use a measuring cup – To ensure that every pancake is the same size, use a 1/4 – 1/3 measuring cup to pour the batter onto the skillet. Or, use an ice cream scoop.
Use a spatula to flip – If you’ve ever messed up a pancake flip, you know how frustrating it can be! With a little patience, you’ll master it in no time. Just make sure the spatula is fully under the pancake, then use your wrist to quickly flip it. If you mess up – that’s ok! Keep trying until you get it right.
Make sure the pancakes is ready to flip – another common mistake with making pancakes is flipping too soon. Make sure and wait until you see bubbles appear on the top, before flipping the pancake over.
Recipe FAQs
Apple pie spice is a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. You can buy this seasoning mixed at the store or make your own.
To make your own, simply combine 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon with 2 teaspoons or ground nutmeg and 1 teaspoon of ground allspice. Mix it all together and store in a small glass jar with a lid.
This is quite a common question with may apple pie type recipes. I do not recommend using canned apple pie filling here because it is a completely different texture. It is usually quite thick and there is not even close to be enough sauce in the canned filling. Apple pie topping here also works as a pancake syrup, which you will not get with canned filling. The apple texture in the canned filling is also very different than if you work with fresh, homemade apple topping.
Yes, you can use all purpose gluten free flour instead of regular flour. Please do remember that the texture will be very different. It will me more grainy and crumble, as many gluten free baked good tent to be. It will still be delicious, you will just notice the textural difference.
These pancakes are great for weekends and holidays because they’re full of fall flavor but they do take a little extra prep time. While they are best when made fresh, you can easily prepare apple pie topping ahead of time and store it in an air-tight food container, in the refrigerator. It’s easy to reheat in a sauce pot over medium-low heat.
You can even freeze the apple pie topping in a freezer friendly, zip-top bag or a freezer container. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in a small pot over medium-low heat.
Can I Add Apple Pie Topping Right Into Pancake Batter?
PRO TIP: if you plan to add some of the apples from the apple topping into the batter, add an extra apple.
Yes, you can! Although, you have to be careful with the added liquid. To add some of the apples from the topping into the batter, you will need to drain it first. So use a slotted spoon or a mesh strainer and get about 1/2 cup of apples from the topping.
Let all the juice/syrup strain back into the pot with the topping so you can add on top of pancakes later. Once the juices are strained off, add the cooked apples right into the batter. If you feel like your pancake batter is a little thin, add just a tablespoon or two of flour.
Some More Pancake Recipes For Weekend Breakfast
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Apple Pie Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
Buttermilk Pancakes:
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp apple pie spice
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 4 oz unsalted butter melted
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups low fat buttermilk
Apple Pie Topping:
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 lb apples
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tsp apple pie spice
Instructions
Apple Pie Topping:
- Peel and core all the apples and then dice them into small pieces.
- Melt butter in a sauce pot over medium heat and add diced apples, sugar, cinnamon, and apple pie spice. Gently mix everything until apples are evenly coated and mixed.
- Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the pot with a lid and let apple cook for about 15 minutes. Remember to stir once in a while. (NOTE: to get a lot of nice juices out of apples, make sure to cook them covered with a lid first.)
- Take off the lid and cook for another 10-15 minutes until apples are soft and tender. Make sure to stir once in a while. Take the pot off the heat until ready to serve on pancakes.
Buttermilk Pancakes:
- Whisk together wet pancake ingredients first and then add your dry ingredients. Whisk just until batter is smooth.
- Let the batter sit for about 10 minutes.
- It’s important to preheat the pan or the griddle first, before cooking the pancakes. Preheat it over medium heat and then lower it a little bit before adding pancake batter.
- Lightly grease cooking pan (or a griddle) with some oil.
- Use a 1/4 cup scoop to get the same amount of batter for each pancake. Add the batter to the hot pan and let it cook without touching it.
- Wait for the bubbles to appear all over the top, that is your indication that pancakes are ready to flip. Use a spatula to slide all the way under the pancake, lift it off, and use your wrist to quickly flip. (It will take 3-5 minutes for each pancake to cook.)
- Divide pancakes among the plates and top them with warm apple pie topping.
Video
Notes
- Preheat the pan – I’m sure you already know but adding pancake batter to a not-so-hot pan will not give you good results. Make sure your pan is preheated and ready to go to get the best fluffy pancakes!
- Grease the pan – It’s very important to grease your pan before adding the first pancake. However, if you notice that after a few flips that the grease is starting to wear off, don’t hesitate to add a little more.
- Use a measuring cup – To ensure that every pancake is the same size, use a 1/4 – 1/3 measuring cup to pour the batter onto the skillet. Or, use an ice cream scoop.
- Use a spatula to flip – If you’ve ever messed up a pancake flip, you know how frustrating it can be! With a little patience, you’ll master it in no time. Just make sure the spatula is fully under the pancake, then use your wrist to quickly flip it. If you mess up – that’s ok! Keep trying until you get it right.
- Make sure the pancakes is ready to flip – another common mistake with making pancakes is flipping too soon. Make sure and wait until you see bubbles appear on the top, before flipping the pancake over.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in September, 2012.
Categories:
Apple Recipes, Breakfast Recipes, Brunch Recipes, Fall Recipes, Pancake Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Hi Lyuba
I was wondering if I could put the topping in the batter and cook them.
Hi Jackie,
If you want to put topping right into the batter, I would recommend straining the juice from the cooked apples and just add the apples so that they juices don’t dilute the batter. Save the juices from cooking apples and just add it on top.
Two of my favorite things in one! I only wish I came up with putting them together, LOL!
Wow, sure looks yummy! Wish someone could come over and make them for me!
These look delicious! I just pinned them so I can make them soon 🙂
Those looked delicious and the kitchen smelled like heaven!! I wish I would try them but can’t eat gluten but my family loved them!