Wake up to a sweet treat with these indulgent Gluten Free Caramel Apple Pancakes; light and fluffy cinnamon apple pancakes with a caramel apple compote and freshly whipped cream.
ME BEFORE THE RECIPE…
Well I just got shafted. It usually pays off to only look half your age. That is until you’re auditioning for a commercial to play the role of “mother” to a 12 year old boy. Apparently my 20 year old body doesn’t look seasoned enough to have had a baby over a decade ago.
It’s cool. I’m okay with that. I’ll keep my baby face and my baby body and my baby attitude and you can hire me 10 years from now when I’m in my mid 40’s and your silly commercial is outdated. So there.
I’m really not bitter, though. Seriously. Here’s the cool part: they hired both my girls for their online ad. Braelyn and Emry get to film their first on camera commercial!
Let me stop right here before you think I’ve gone all crazy and wacko exploiting my kids to the entertainment business. By no means do I ever intend on moving to Hollywood to fulfill some ambitious dream and push my girls to become the next Disney star. No thank you. We all know where those Disney stars end up, and it ain’t pretty.
But, both my girls are interested in performing and so I gave them the opportunity to sign up with my acting agent here in Arizona. Emry has since nailed a Peter Piper Pizza radio commercial and now both girls get to participate in a Mighty Muffins online ad. The best part is, their college savings accounts are expanding while they’re having fun.
Actually, the money isn’t really the best part. The best part is witnessing both my girls’ insecurities disappear as they conquer the camera, their social skills increase as they meet a variety of new people, and their listening skills sharpen as they are challenged to process and correctly implement directions. Who knew acting was such a character builder???
Something you may not know about me is that I’ve done some very on-the-side acting gigs for the past 10 years. I’ve booked a few online advertisements, radio commercials, training videos, student films, print ads, and educational videos. Shocking huh?!
Well, it may not sound shocking to you because in this blogging world where I get to say whatever the heck I want without any interruptions, I probably come across as this social, opinionated, confident, energetic woman free from any reservations.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m actually quite shy, self conscious, indecisive, and introverted. I spent the greater part of my teenage years quietly observing everybody else and wishing I was somebody different. Then I spent my early adulthood pretending to be somebody that I was not. But now, I think I’m starting to figure things out and I’ve found a happy medium between my naturally inhibited self and my outgoing wannabe persona.
Acting has been my outlet (up until I started this food blog) to express myself and challenge those social fears. So, of course, I couldn’t be happier that my girls have chosen to play around with their creativity through acting as well. I’ll support them as long as they are building positive experiences and enjoying their time doing it.
HERE COMES THE RECIPE…
Speaking of confidence builders, Ben has really been feeding my ego this week…as I’ve been feeding his belly. I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but he’s been extra complimentary lately and I don’t know why. I wish I could just say it’s because he’s a nice guy, but I feel like something is up. What does that man want???
Just kidding. He probably is just that nice. Actually, I’ve known him for 15 years and he IS just that nice. Do I really deserve him? I’m not gonna answer that.
Anyway, he tossed me right up to cloud nine earlier this week when he exclaimed, “These are the BEST pancakes you’ve ever made!” And then he went on the describe why they were so good with actual food critic descriptions like “light and fluffy” and “perfect texture”. Something weird is going on.
However, I can’t argue the fact that these Gluten Free Caramel Apple Pancakes are probably some of the best pancakes I’ve ever made. Benny boy was right!
These pancakes are hearty without being the slightest bit heavy. They are light and fluffy and full of cinnamon, apple, and oat flavor. The flavor is almost reminiscent of a whole wheat pancake; an airy whole wheat pancake to be exact.
In fact, the flavor with the oat flour is so spot on that it’s important to use that flour in combination with whatever all-purpose gluten free flour blend you choose. I’m sure the pancakes will still work out if you used all gluten free flour for both flour measurements, but the oat flour is sooooo good. It would be sad to pass it up.
If you don’t already have oat flour on hand, throw some gluten free oats in a blender and blend until a very fine powder forms. Viola!
As if this pancake batter wasn’t perfect enough, I opted to cook some thin apple slices right into the pancakes themselves. Think apple pie level good. The apples cook just enough that they become the consistency of the apples in grandma’s homemade apple pie. Except my grandma never actually made apple pie. Now I’m feeling kinda sad and a little shafted again.
Moving on…
Okay, but here’s the thing. As if these gluten free caramel apple pancakes weren’t delicious enough on their own, I added this caramel apple topping that is out of this world. Epic I tell you! Think soft, buttery, caramely apples swimming in a cinnamon brown sugar nectar. C’mon. Tell me that doesn’t sound sinfully amazing?! I guarantee you it is.
And to make your caramel apple pancake masterpiece complete, it’s absolutely necessary to top these babies with a dollop of freshly whipped cream and a sprinkle of toasted pecans. You are just gonna love me. If you’re feeling really daring, you can also drizzle some natural peanut butter on top. I did that the second time around and my taste buds were beaming.
So if you’re looking to build your confidence, or just start your day with a smile, look no further than a stack of these gluten free caramel apple pancakes. They’re perfect, just like you!
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY…
- Gluten Free Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes
- Gluten Free Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
- Gluten Free Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes
- Gluten Free Cinnamon Banana Greek Yogurt Pancakes
- For the pancakes:
- 1 cup high quality gluten free all purpose flour or my preferred blend: ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons white rice flour, ¼ cup potato starch, and 2 tablespoons tapioca starch*
- ½ cup gluten free oat flour
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your gluten free blend already contains a gum)
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 apple, peeled and very thinly sliced (I've used Gala and Fuji)
- For the apple compote:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups peeled and diced apples (about 2)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- Begin making apple compote. Heat butter in a medium sized pot over medium heat. Peel and dice 2 apples. Once butter has melted and pan is heated, add diced apples, salt, and cinnamon. Stir to coat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.
- Add vanilla, lemon juice, and brown sugar. Stir until brown sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to just below medium. Cook, stirring occasionally to avoid burning, for about 15 minutes or until apples are tender and the liquid has thickened and is mostly reduced.
- While compote is cooking, begin making pancakes. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together gluten free flour (or my preferred blend), oat flour, xanthan gum (if your blend doesn't already contain a gum), cinnamon, salt, baking powder, ground flaxseed, and brown sugar.
- Add milk, yogurt, vanilla, and eggs. Whisk until combined, making sure to scrape bottom and sides of bowl. Add melted butter and whisk until smooth. Set aside to rest.
- While batter is resting, peel remaining apple and cut into almost paper thin slices.
- Preheat skillet to medium low heat or 275 degrees. Spray with cooking spray or melt butter on surface. Pour about ¼ cup batter for each pancake and gently spread. Top batter with thinly sliced apples. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until edges are set and underneath is golden brown. Flip and cook 1-2 minutes more or until cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Top pancakes with apple compote and other desired toppings such as chopped pecans, whipped cream, peanut butter, pure maple syrup, etc.
