Apple Walnut Pancakes

A friend of mine gave me a bag of small, crisp red apples the last time she came for dinner and somehow, I’d lost track of them.  I should have known they’d been sitting in the fridge, waiting for me to get around to making something with Fall written all over it.  Would it be apple nut muffins, a new take on a Waldorf salad, or perhaps an apple butternut squash soup?  I couldn’t decide until last weekend when I knew I’d be in the kitchen making macarons and decided to treat the menfolk to breakfast.  I’m not the one who normally makes breakfast on Sunday, so my offer was met with surprise and instant nods of, “Yes, please!”  Neither my husband or son would turn down pancakes even if they had a healthier twist than those my husband usually makes.  Besides, I knew I’d get to experiment a bit and it’s always fun to find out just how a particular recipe will end up.

If you have a jar of dulce de leche sitting around, it’s amazing what a little bit of it can do to a nice stack of hot ones on a cool Fall morning.  Initially, it was to have ended up filling the macarons, but it didn’t make it past the pancakes.

Who knew?

Apple Walnut Pancakes

1-1/4 c. buttermilk

2/3 rolled oats

1 lg. egg

3/4 c. grated apple, well squeezed

2 T brown sugar

1/2 c. stone ground whole wheat flour

1/2 c. pastry flour

1 tsp. cardamom

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

3 T walnut oil

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

2 T mascarpone

dulce de leche to taste

Soak the rolled oats in the buttermilk while you’re preparing the batter and topping.  To make the topping, stir the room temperature mascarpone until soft, then add enough dulce de leche to lighten and flavor the cheese.  Set aside.

Grate the apple using a large grater.  Squeeze the grated apple to remove as much juice as possible.  In a large bowl, mix the egg, apple,  and brown sugar.  Then add the flours, cardamom, baking soda, salt and oil, mixing well before stirring in the buttermilk mixture and walnuts.

Spray a skillet with cooking oil and heat over medium high until a drop of water skittles across the bottom of the pan.  Ladle the batter into the hot pan and allow to cook until bubbles begin to appear.  Flip each pancake and continue cooking until the center has puffed up, about 2 minutes for each side.

To serve, spread a bit of the dulce de leche mascarpone spread on each pancake, drizzle with maple syrup if you wish and enjoy.

Notes:

• These pancakes are relatively low in fat until you add the mascarpone topping.
• I used reconstituted powdered buttermilk because I have a horrible time keeping it in my fridge.  I purchase a pint when I see a few recipes that call for it, and before I know it, I have to pour it down the drain.  I’d love to know who makes the decision about what size container to put it in because a cook may need a couple of cups at most, but rarely a pint and that’s the size I’m always forced to purchase.  If I was intelligent, I’d divide the pint into freezable containers…yadda, yadda, yadda.
• I adapted this recipe from a book I love called The Enlightened Eater’s Whole Foods Guide by Rosie Schwartz.  The recipes in the book are organized into sections following information about the benefit of phyto foods and are extremely healthy.  I’ve many of them several times — rare for me — and they’re always excellent.
• This recipe made about 9-10 4″ pancakes.
• The dulce de leche mascarpone spread is AMAZING on sliced apples when you’re trying to figure out what to fill macarons with.  Swoonworthy, actually.