Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

There are always open plates ready to receive pancakes in our home. And the creative side of me wants to always do something a little bit different…not just plain pancakes.

The one thing that I do consistently is rely on Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix…they always come out wonderful and with a little bit of tweaking, they become my own. And my little kiddles love them!

 P.S. ~ This is a great pancake recipe for the kiddles to get involved in. They just need and adult to man the stove for them.

In a medium mixing bowl I add the pancake mix,

then add the water called for on the mix's instructions, but reduce the amount by 1/4 cup.

Next the star of the pancake...applesauce! I add the 1/4 cup that was removed from the amount of water that the mix called for.

 I really like the flavor of the natural applesauce, not the ones that have a bunch of sugar added to them.

Time to get to whisking. Just a quick whisk to make sure that the applesauce gets incorporated into the batter.

Now for the spices....I love cinnamon and have to constantly remind myself that not everyone is as much of a cinnamon fan as I am...especially my little Grace. So the recipe listed below has less cinnamon than what I chose to add to these cakes here.

The adjustment of more will be completely up to you.

For me there are very few things that go together with cinnamon better than nutmeg...and I have to remember to hold back on the nutmeg too. (love that stuff!) So, the amount called for in the recipe is also adjusted to be less than what I personally enjoy.

Just trying to keep everyone happy here.

Alright, give it another quick whisk to get those spices in there...I love the way all of those little specks of cinnamon and nutmeg look in the batter.

Now over to the stove. Take a Teflon coated skillet and place a pat of butter in the center to melt. I take a gravy ladle to make pouring these cakes a little bit cleaner...and the same size. One ladle each makes a perfect sized pancake for my girls...and allows me to fit 2 cakes in the skillet.

Wait until the bubbles start appearing on the surface of the cakes...they let us know when it's time to do the flip.

And.....FLIP! Very nice, very nice indeed. All they need is just about 3 more minutes and they will be ready to get dressed and served.

Now I just top the pancakes with a little bit of powdered sugar and a large mountain of whipped cream for my kiddles.

They like them just like this without any syrup.

And two little pancakes are perfect for filling their little tummies.

Now for Momma, I like to make a nice big cake...2 ladles worth, right into the center of the skillet.

Just wait a couple minutes for the bubbles to start surfacing and then...

FLIP!

Just look at that color!

Mmmm...and the smell of the cinnamon and nutmeg just sing out to you.

Just a couple minutes more and then I get to dress my cake!

Now, I am not a fan of maple syrup. If you like it then go for it, but I will typically choose to use either a butter flavored syrup or a fruit one.

Since there are already mashed up apples in this cake, I'm not going to top it with anything that will take away from them.

So, I do a sprinkling of powdered sugar, a drizzle of butter flavored syrup and a mountain of whipped cream on top.

Time to enjoy my apple cinnamon pancakes...Good Morning!

Spiced Apple Pancakes

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 6-8 minutes per pancake
Servings: 7-8 pancakes

Ingredients:
1 cup Pancake Mix (Krusteaz)
1/2 cup Water
1/4 cup Apple Sauce
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon, ground
1/8 tsp. Nutmeg, ground or freshly grated

Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl combine pancake mix, water and applesauce. Whisk briefly to incorporate applesauce.

Add cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter. Whisk briefly to incorporate spices evenly.

Over medium high heat, place a pat of butter in a medium or large skillet. Once butter has melted, use a laddle to pour pancake batter into the skillet.

Wait for bubbles to appear on the surface of each pancake. This shows that the batter is cooking and the pancake is ready to be flipped.  (approximately 3 minutes)

Flip the pancake and allow to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Remove from skillet and garnish with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, syrup and whipped cream.