Mom's Simple Apple Pancakes
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Some of the best things in life are also the simplest; these beauties are definitely in that category. With a handful of ingredients, in a few minutes you can whip up a delicious and satisfying breakfast/brunch dish that is sure to please. This recipe is especially useful for the holiday season, since the ingredients required are pretty much always on hand and the recipe is easy to double or triple when more is required. You'll also find that the texture and consistency of these "pancakes" is almost crepe-like, with some extra oomph. It's as if a traditional American pancake and a crepe had a baby, a wonderful blend of the best of both worlds. You start off with one egg, beaten in a measuring cup (we use a 4-cup size, to allow room for the batter to be whisked without spilling out), and then we add 1/3-cup of flour, mixing well until there are no lumps. This recipe makes 4-6 medium pancakes, you can increase for a larger yield. To thin the batter a bit, here you'll want to add 1/4-cup of whole milk and 1/3-cup of water (if you are using a plant-based milk, use 1/2-cup and do not add water), mixing well. Start to pre-heat your Cook-N-Dine Teppanyaki cooktop at level 5 while you quarter, core and thinly slice 1 large Fuji (or any other firmly textured apple) into half-moons. Also gather any toppings you would like to place onto the pancakes while they're cooking; we like to add brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamom to the apple side and vanilla sugar to the tops.Once your Cook-N-Dine Teppanyaki cooktop has pre-heated (the orange light turns off), turn the temperature up to 7. Take a tablespoon of ghee or butter, melt it in the center and spread over the hot cooking surface. Pour some of the batter from the measuring cup into the very center, where the dip is deepest, until the pancake is about 5" in diameter.As soon as you have finished pouring the batter in the center, start to add the apple slices in so that once the batter starts to firm up, it will hold the apples in place. Gently move the pancake, apple slices side still facing up, just off the center so you can pour another in. It's important to start the pancake at the center, due to our unique "shallow-dip" technology, so that the pancakes maintain a round shape rather than pouring them just outside the center which would cause one edge of the pancake to dip down towards the center, thus creating an oblong shape. Once the pancakes have been moved out of the center, you can add your special topping.When the bottom of the pancake has started to turn golden-brown, flip over to cook the apple side of the pancake. A small pat of butter melted around the pancake at this point can add a bit more flavor, if so desired. You want to let the apples cook long enough so they soften and caramelize. Here is where we like to add a sprinkle of vanilla sugar on top. Once plated, each person can decide if they want maple syrup, fresh mint or perhaps even a sweet balsamic glaze. (Our favorite is a vanilla-fig balsamic. Yum!!!)
Ingredients:
1 large Fuji apple, quartered, cored, thinly sliced into half-moons
1 egg, medium, beaten
1/3 cup flour; we prefer unbleached
1/4 cup whole milk
1/3 cup water (or use all milk if using nut milk)
pinch of salt (optional)
2 tbsp clarified butter (Ghee), separated
fresh mint leaves (optional)
optional: brown sugar, vanilla sugar (1/2 confectioner sugar, 1/2 fine sugar, scraped vanilla bean, mix)