Apple "Fritter" Pancakes

A simple, no-mess way to take your ordinary pancakes to the next level.

It's October! Meaning, it's fall! Technically the first day of fall was sometime in September, but now is when all the pumpkin patches set up, Trader Joe's makes everything in a pumpkin flavored version, and everyone starts putting up their Halloween decorations(even though it's almost a whole month away). And while pumpkin isn't necessarily a bad thing(I actually have not uploaded a SINGLE pumpkin recipe, gotta work on that), sometimes, other fruits feel overshadowed, or left out. Like our dear friend in this recipe, the apple.

I went to Trader Joe's last week(mask-clad and sanitized, of course), and there was a HUGE pile of bright red, large, juicy apples. They were the largest apples I had ever seen, and, given my newfound love of them, I picked out 5 plump, round, bright red Honeycrisps. And let me tell you, they tasted SO GOOD! Literally a solid form of apple juice. They were so ripe and perfect.

The next day, I watched (another) Tasty video that had this weird way of using them: coating apple rings in pancakes, then cooking them in a buttery, hot pan. The result was a high stack of donut-shaped, apple-filled fluffy pancakes. My mouth watered just thinking about it. So, of course, I had to make an adaptation of that!

This recipe is super straight-forward and simple, while still managing to end up like something you might be served at a slightly upscale breakfast diner.(I'm looking at you, Hobee's).

Here are the steps:

Prepare some pancake batter:

Make one serving of my pancake batter recipe, which you can find here. Reduce the amount of milk/water in there ever-so-slightly(about a couple tablespoons), so you get a thicker consistency. It gives this dish a wholesome, nutty, homey flavor, perfect for pairing with apples, which I think makes it taste like apple pie!

Cut up your apples.

Cut 2 apples into 1cm thick rings, about half an inch thick. (Be sure to use ripe, juicy, in-season apples).Then, simply use your knife to carefully carve out a little circle in the center, so you are left with a ring of apple free of any nasty core or seed bits. I like to sprinkle a little cinnamon on them at this stage. It's also a good idea to start heating your pan by now.

Coat the apples in the batter.

Take your apple rings and dunk them in your ready-made pancake batter. You can do this easily with a fork or spatula. Coat them liberally(like it says on those SPF 30 sunscreen bottles), but not so thick that they won't cook all the way through. Aim for an even layer.

Cook the now-battered apple rings.

Heat up a little oil in a warmed pan. Pan-fry them for about 2 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown and smell amazing!

Finally, it's pancake time!

Pile these bad boys high up on a plate and douse them in maple syrup, milk, or whatever you wish. For a little picture-worthy decoration, I cut a cross section of a date, forming a ring. Then I cut open the ring and shaped it into a little swirl.

Bon appetit!

Liked this recipe? Let me know in the comments below!

If you enjoyed these pancakes, you're bound to enjoy my one-bowl apple-pie oatmeal and gingerbread pancake recipe too. Try them out!