Apple Cinnamon Pancakes with Cinnamon Butter

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These are the pancakes you wish they served in that little side-of-the-road cafe in the middle of nowhere, on the way to somewhere. You walk in, the smell is right, thewallpaper is part velvet part outdated plaid, and the spindle backed oak chairs creak. But the food is never as good as you imagine. Yet it’s always full of people. Locals, local to the middle of nowhere. Who are these people?

This is how I feel any time I go out for breakfast. Which, let’s be honest…has been years. I get excited by all the menu options, the biscuits and gravy, the breakfast burrito with house-made salsa, etc., and then as soon as I’m eating it I realize it’s not half as good as what I could make at home. Hence the years part.

These are Saturday pancakes. Make in your pajamas pancakes, sit around the house until noon pancakes, cartoon watching pancakes. The applesauce and cinnamon takes them to another level of comfy cozy comfort, and when fried up in cinnamon honey butter, they are what you wish you could order in that cafe in the middle of nowhere. Only better, because you know exactly where you are and who you’re with.

What You'll Need

For the Pancakes:

Flour - 2 cups

Baking Soda - 1/2 teaspoon

Baking Powder - 1 teaspoon

Salt - 1 teaspoon

Cinnamon - 1 teaspoon

Sugar - 3 Tablespoons

Buttermilk - 1 cup

Unsweetened Applesauce - 1 cup

Butter - 4 Tablespoons, melted

Eggs - 2

Vanilla - 1 teaspoon

For the Cinnamon Butter:

Butter (yes, salted) - 1 stick, room temp

Cinnamon - 1 teaspoon

Honey - 1 Tablespoon

What You'll Do

1. Make cinnamon butter - Combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

2. Make pancake batter - Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the center and pour in milk, applesauce, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until well combined.

3. Fry pancakes in a Tablespoon of cinnamon butter in cast iron skillet* over medium low heat until edges are browned and cooked through.

4. Serve with maple syrup. (Did I have to write that?)

*Cast iron is preferred here as it will give you those crispy buttery edges, but any pan will do!

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