Caramel Apple Pancakes

There is nothing I love more than apples in the fall. They are sweet and crunchy and you can do so many fun things with them. I am a pretty easy apple eater and tend to just cut them up and eat them with cheese or peanut butter. Oh how the simple things make me so happy! Well, I wanted to figure out another way to incorporate them for an extra special breakfast.

As I have mentioned before, I definitely have more of a savory palate. When I make breakfast, or go out for breakfast, I generally order eggs and potatoes. I hardly ever order sweet breakfast items such as French toast or pancakes. To me it always seemed like you are eating dessert for breakfast so it just does not seem right. I sound totally lame! Why wouldn’t you want to eat dessert for breakfast? If it is socially acceptable to layer your breakfast with whipped cream, fruit, candied nuts, and cinnamon and sugar you should totally go for it. Maybe I need to rethink this whole savory breakfast thing…

Well, wanting to incorporate apples into a delicious and sweet breakfast, I thought about another tasty apple treat; caramel apples! How incredible does chopped warm apples in a caramel cream sauce sound over fluffy pancakes? I had to try this! The thing about apples is that you cannot really ruin them. Add a little sugar, add a little cinnamon and wah lah! Tasty!

First you will want to use your favorite pancake mix. If you like making them from scratch, more power to you but if you use a box, that is fine too. You could also use one of Kiera’s favorite items; Organic 6 grain pancake mix from Costco. Make your mix according to the package and I always add a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon in the fall just to fit the mood of the season.

In the meantime, peel and chop 2 apples. Heat up a skillet over medium heat and melt 1 TBS of butter. Add chopped apples and cinnamon and cook apples until they are a little brown and a little soft. You do not want them mushy. This will only take about 4-5 minutes or so. Remove them from the pan and set aside.

Now you will want to make the decadent caramel part of the sauce. Keeping the pan on medium, add the rest of the butter. Once it has melted, add the brown sugar and stir. You will want to continue to stir for a couple of minutes until the sugar is all dissolved and smooth. Once it is to your desired texture, turn heat to low and stir in cream. Add apples and pumpkin pie spice. If your sauce is too thin you may need to heat on low until it is thicker. Doesn’t this sound amazing!

You can cook your pancakes on a griddle while you are making the sauce. If you can multi-task, I suggest doing it this way. Otherwise you will want to keep either you pancakes warm or your sauce warm. Once both are done, stack up your hotcakes and spoon on some of the caramel apple sauce. Enjoy and try not to lick your plate!

Another great thing about this recipe is that it is made from things that you probably already have in your fridge and pantry. I love meals like this! I am the type that gets these crazy cravings and until I feed them, I keep thinking about them. A recipe like this allows me to make my cravings when I have them. Also, this recipe is made for about two people but it does make a lot of sauce. You may need to double this recipe if you are serving a large family or have company over.

Caramel Apple Pancakes

2 apples peeled and chopped into cubes

¼ cup cream

½ cup brown sugar

5 TBS of butter (not margarine)

¼ tsp of pumpkin pie spice

¼ tsp of cinnamon

Prepared pancakes according to package directions

Heat skillet over medium heat. Melt 1 TBS of butter. Add chopped apples and cinnamon. Cook for 5 minutes until apples are slightly browned and tender. Remove from pan. In the same pan, melt 4 TBS of butter. Add brown sugar and cook until sugar is dissolved and smooth. Turn heat to low. Add cream and stir until mixed. Add apples and pumpkin pie spice and stir. Serve over pancakes.

***Adapted from Pioneer Woman’s Caramel Apple Sundae recipe

#easy #breakfast #recipe