Breakfast with the Johnsons (Apple Pie Pancakes)

Until I met Ryan, I abstained from breakfast. It seemed like a waste of time: why make breakfast when I could get an extra 40 minutes of sleep!?! When I did “indulge” in a little breakfast, it usually involved shoving half a bagel (long since cold) in my mouth as I locked the front door and trotted off to work. Now, though, thanks to the walking wisdom that is Ryan Wesley Johnson, I’ve learned to love breakfast. Breakfast is an event. A festival. Usually it involves something hot, like steel cut oats with some spices and milk or egg and veggie sandwiches. But, on the weekends, or those mornings where Ryan works at home, we try to make something “extra special.”

Here’s one of our favorites: Apple Pie Pancakes.
It comes from The Big Book of Breakfast, a book suggested by my friend and professional foodie Heather Troxell. I’ve adapted a few of the ingredients to serve our tastes. And despite the name, it’s not too sweet.

This is a great book for entertaining, for feeding your family and for rethinking your approach to your favorite breakfast foods!

Time: 10-12 minutes prep, 18 minutes in the oven (30 minutes total)

Ingredients:

• 2 Granny Smith (or other tart) apples, peeled, cored and sliced into moons (If you’ve got bruised apples, this is a great use for them. The batter hides their imperfections.)
• 2-3 Tbsp. butter
• 3 Tbsp. sugar (…Vanilla sugar if you have it. Or, substitute the right amount of Agave nectar if you like.)
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (I never measure. I usually just shake it a handful of times.)
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg (I shake it maybe twice.)
• 1/8 tsp. ground cardamom (This we added to the recipe. Throw in a pinch or two.)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 C. milk
• 1/2 C. all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• spot of milk, heavy cream, creme fraiche or plain Greek yogurt for topping

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Then, in a 10″ovenproof* skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in sugar and spices. Add the apples and saute them until they’re turning tender (6-8 minutes).

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Then, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the milk, then the dry ingredients and whisk until blended. Break up as many of the flour lumps as you can. Pour the egg mixture over the spiced apples in the skillet and bake on the middle rack in your oven until the mixture is puffed and golden (about 18 minutes).

Remove from the oven and let it stand for 5 minutes. Cut your apple pie pancake into wedges and serve with your milk, cream, creme fraiche or Greek yogurt. (Greek yogurt is the best!)

NOTE: If you’ve got great smoked bacon or some sage sausage in the fridge, brown it while the pancake is baking. It’ll be ready just in time, and the flavors combined with the spiced apples are going to take your breakfast to a whole new level.

*A cast iron skillet will work well, but we always make it in our non-stick Cuisinart pan. Just “cut” the pancake with a plastic spatula, so you don’t scratch your non-stick pan.