Apple Pie Pancakes

There was a lot going on this week. National Pancake Day was March 12th and of course it's Pi Day on March 14th.

With it being National Pancake Day, the pressure was on to do something big, with it being the Year of the Pancake and all. But we also wanted to make sure we celebrated Pi Day. Although, there is a bit of controversy between Pi Day and Tau Day. So much controversy that you can read the Tau Manifesto, by Michael Hartl, which makes the case for Tau being the true circle constant.

You're probably wondering what the heck I'm talking about, and I promise you that I don't really know myself. All I know is, I married a true math nerd and we need to at some point take a stance on whether we will be celebrating Pi Day or Tau Day, but we can't really cheer for both.

Personally, I would rather celebrate math with pie. I'm not even sure how Tau Day is celebrated.

So for National Pancake Day and Pi Day we decided to make apple pie pancakes, and we figured we had until June to figure out what to do about Tau day.

These pancakes were super fluffy, and even though we mixed apple sauce into the base, the majority of the apple flavor came from the apple pie topping. It really just felt like someone spooned warm gooey apple pie filling onto our pancakes. I kind of wish we had made whipped cream as well, but I had to remind myself that this is the Year of the Pancake, not the Year of Dessert.

We started by dicing 3-5 apples, although if I were to do this again, I would cut the apples into smaller chunks. Almost so the topping is a little more like a sauce rather than giant chunks. Although the giant chunks of apple were gooey and nice, so now I'm torn just thinking about it.

After tossing the apple chunks in some sugar and spices, we placed them in a sauce pan with about a 1/4 of a cup of water and let them cook and simmer until they were soft.

The pancakes themselves were our usual base, however this time we added some unsweetened apple sauce, some cinnamon and nutmeg, and swapped our usual sugar for some brown sugar.

The Pancakes!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 3 Tbsp brown sugar

• 1 Tbsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1 1/2 cups skim milk

• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

• 2 Tbsp low fat butter

• 2 eggs, separated

Directions:

1. Combine all dry ingredients.

2. Add milk, butter, and egg yolks until combined.

3. Add egg whites, folding into batter until just mixed.

4. Lastly stir in applesauce.

5. In non stick skillet, add about 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until small bubbles form, and flip, cooking on other side for about another minute.

6. Top with apple pie filling, see below.

The Topping!

Ingredients:

• 3-4 apples, core removed and diced

• 1 Tbsp cornstarch

• 3 Tbsp brown sugar

• 1 Tbsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Combine cornstarch, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

2. Toss with apple chunks until evenly coated.

3. Add apples and water to saucepan.

4. Cook until apples are soft and tender.

5. Spoon over pancakes, and enjoy! Best served warm!

Tip: Make extra of the pie filling and eat warm with vanilla ice cream. Maybe even sprinkle on some granola, and you've got a really nice dessert as well!

I really didn't think it could get any better with these pancakes, but then something amazing happened. Kmart's Twitter account commented on my picture of the pancakes! I have been dreaming of a kitchen line in all of their stores with my name on it ever since. Move over Martha!

Seriously though, I cannot get over it. I have never had any account from any large company think it worth while to interact with one of my posts, so for it to be on a post for the Year of the Pancake only feels right.

If they somehow magically reach out to me about the line of cookware and kitchen decor, all subscribers to this blog will obviously get a sneak peek, early access, and a special discount. *Hair flip.*