apple cinnamon pancakes

Apple & Cinnamon Pancakes
These were left over from Sunday’s breakfast. They are soooo delicious… even when a day old and heated up in the microwave! I ate them for breakfast, and Lil’ L ate them for supper at 8.30pm after he came back from cubs. They’d be running around Bannerdown Common in the pitch black, with torches and glo sticks. It was freezing cold, so he said that the pancakes were the perfect supper

Another thing I love about these pancakes is that they contain a whole cup’s worth of apple sauce. I made my own sauce this Sunday using the over-wintered apples from our orchard. I was quite amazed at how many apples it takes to make just one cup of sauce. It’s a great way to get kids who aren’t big fruit fans (like Lil’ L) to eat a good portion of fruit and to enjoy eating it, rather than just enduring it because it’s ‘good for you’.
It was really simple to make the apple sauce. I simply chopped up the apples, added a little water and a dash of cinnamon, then allowed them to gently simmer for about 1/4 hour (while this was happening I went back to bed and read my book ). I then quickly whizzed it with the hand blender to make the sauce nice and smooth. At some point in the near future, I’m intending to make a large batch of apple sauce and freeze it in portions, which can then defrost the night before we make pancakes.
I don’t do anything special to make these pancakes. I simply throw all the ingredients in the blender. Here’s the recipe:

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
Makes 10 medium-size pancakes (5” in diameter)
Preparation: 2 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
Batter:
140g / 5oz / 1 cup wholemeal (wholewheat) flour
75g / 2½oz / ¾ cup rolled oats
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
240g / 8½ / 1 cup apple puree (apple sauce) (I make this by blending 2 cored apples with my stick blender)
1 tsp vanilla extract
425ml / 15 fl oz / 1¾ cups fortified soya milk (or other non dairy milk)
olive oil, for cooking
Suggested toppings:
Chopped pecans
Ground linseed (flaxseed)
Agave Syrup
Method

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender, and pulse until smooth and fully blended. Transfer the batter to a jug and allow to rest while the pans are heating. If the batter seems a little thick, whisk in a drop more milk.
2. If possible, use two non stick frying pans (skillets) to cut down the cooking time. Brush the bottom of the pans with a little olive oil and heat on a medium heat. Pour a ladleful of batter into the pan (my ladle is equivalent to a ¼ cup). Once the pancakes starts to firm up at the edges, carefully flip them over using a thin spatula. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the underneath is lightly browned.
3. These pancakes are delicious served with a sprinkling of chopped pecan nuts and ground linseed, and a drizzle of agave syrup.