Pumpkin Pancakes with Sauteed Apples

I first started making these pancakes the year Brian and I were married. They have since become a seasonal ritual, and every year, we both await the crisp tang of autumn with great anticipation. On Saturday mornings, when the air is chilly and there is usually a cozy, gray drizzle pattering against the windows, I roll up my sleeves and start measuring spices.

It’s rare that I follow a recipe exactly as written. I’m apt to fiddle, especially with spices, but I have always found the proportions in this particular recipe to be absolutely perfect, and I have yet to find a breakfaster who disagrees.

I’m not sure what I love most about these pancakes. The flavor is pure autumn bliss. The texture is fluffy but dense, perfect for warming and filling you up on a cold, fall morning. These pancakes are basically fool-proof and come out perfect every time.

As a matter of fact, the only experimenting I have ever felt compelled to try with this recipe has been in my choice of topping. Initially, these were served simply with a spread of butter and drizzle of maple syrup. Since my children both require a high-calorie diet, I did less spreading with their butter and more slathering.

And, when I say slather, I mean slather.

What did I tell you?

Well, neither my morning tummy nor my round-the-clock waistline could handle that, but I liked the decadence of the kids’ pancakes, all warm with spices and dripping with glistening butter. I furrowed my brow and determined to come up with a more adult indulgence, and then it came to me: apples.

I know, why are you not surprised?

So, one Saturday morning in September, I sauteed some apples with a little butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. I topped the pancakes with a big scoop of the apples and a stream of hot maple syrup (the real stuff!)

Delicious! Apple pie meets pumpkin pie meets breakfast. What on earth could be better?

Pumpkin Pancakes
from Martha Stewart Living, October 2006

1 1/4 cups flour
2 T sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 c. milk
6 T canned pumpkin puree
2 T melted butter
1 egg
butter and syrup, for serving

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, salt, nutmeg, and cloves.
In a separate bowl, stir together milk, pumpkin puree, melted butter, and egg; fold mixture into dry ingredients.

Melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat; pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side; serve with butter, sauteed apple slices, and syrup.

Sauteed Apple Slices

1 T butter
1 T brown sugar
hearty shake of cinnamon (about 1/4 t.)
2 Macintosh or other tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced very thin

Heat the butter in a small frying pan. When the butter bubbles, add the brown sugar and the cinnamon. Cook for 1 minute. Add the apple slices and sautee until soft, about 4 minutes. Serve hot over pancakes with real maple syrup.

Note: If you like your apples more caramelized, you can increase the butter and brown sugar, cooking it for a couple of minutes into a syrup. Then, add the apple slices. Personally, I think the pancakes are rich enough (though, incidentally, they are not at all high in fat and arguably rather nutritious with the addition of the pumpkin) that I prefer the apples as written.