Welcome those cool fall mornings with these warm and toasty Gluten Free Cinnamon Apple Pancakes. It’s all the flavors of fall in one bite!
You know what Braelyn requested for breakfast this morning??? I’ll tell you.
“Cereal…
…AND apple bread…
…AND pancakes…
…with peanut butter and bananas and syrup! Oh, and a glass of milk.
PLEEEEEASE!”
And guess what? She got it ALL!
Not heaping portions of any one of those breakfast items, but she got a sampler of each one. And the best part is I didn’t have to bake a lick this morning.
Cereal; that’s a no brainer. How much prep goes into that? Uh, okay, let me open the flap here…pour a handful of grains…add a little milk…phew! Wipe my forehead. That was tough.
Apple bread; now that doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. However, I made this bread the day before and all the effort it took was grabbing a cutting board, slicing a small piece, and slapping it on a breakfast plate.
Pancakes; again, no work at all. I opened up my freezer, defrosted that flapjack for 30 seconds, dressed it with the requested toppings and BAM! Done.
That’s what I LOVE about pancakes. After you whip up a batch (or two) you can always throw them in the freezer for future use. There is nothing like waking up to a warm hearty breakfast without having to raise a finger. Well, maybe a few fingers to pour the syrup.
Lately our go to freezer pancakes have been these Gluten Free Cinnamon Apple Pancakes. And why not? It’s fall after all!
Braelyn says that the fruit of fall are apples and the spice of fall is cinnamon. I have no idea where she learned this. It most certainly cannot be from the fact that apples and cinnamon have been gracing their presence in my kitchen and in all my recipes these last few weeks. Nah…she must have picked it up somewhere else.
All I know is that these apple cinnamon pancakes have ALL the flavors of fall and will make your morning tummies so happy with every bite you take. Really, your tummies will thank you. They will literally say to you, “Why thank you person that I’m living in. Thank you kindly for filling me with these scrumptious cinnamon spiced cakes of goodness.” At least I’m pretty sure that’s what they would say…if they could talk.
The trick to a perfect apple pancakes is to precook the apples. Pancakes don’t cook long enough on the stove to soften the apple pieces to the consistency I prefer. Therefore, I give those little apple chunks a slight cooking nudge in the microwave. That way, when I throw them into the batter, they only need a few more minutes of cooking before they reach that tender baked apple stage.
Trust me. It’s worth the extra gamma rays just to have your apples baked right.
And by nuking the apples with a little extra spices, it creates this warm flavorful coating around the apple chunks, which makes the batter all that more flavorful.
On top of all the cinnamon apple flavor, the texture of these pancakes are spot on! No chewy or dry or crumbly or wet pancakes over here. I’m kind of a pancake snob when it comes to taste and especially texture. You can rest assured that I only post pancake recipes with superior texture over here!
These pancakes are light and fluffy in the centers, as every pancake in the world should be. And they have a slight crisp to the outside when you take them hot off the griddle. Again, how EVERY pancake should be.
Top these babies off with a light drizzle of pure maple syrup and a sprinkle of toasted pecans and you’ve got your morning made. You’re pretty much guaranteed to have a fabulous day if you start your morning with these. And if not??? At least you’ll have a full tummy and a good aftertaste in your mouth.
What is your favorite pancake flavor?
- ¾ cup peeled and chopped apple (about 1 small or ½ a large apple)
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon, divided
- ⅛ teaspoon plus a dash of allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon plus a dash of nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk (I used 1%)
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- ¼ cup brown rice flour
- ¼ cup potato starch
- ¼ cup gluten free oat flour
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- In a small microwave safe bowl combine chopped apple, ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon, dash of allspice, dash of nutmeg, and lemon juice. Stir to coat all apples. Microwave for 1 minute and set aside to cool. Melt butter in a small separate bowl for 20-30 seconds and set aside to cool.
- Prepare pancake batter by whisking milk and eggs together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add brown sugar and vanilla and mix until dissolved.
- In a separate smaller mixing bowl, sift together salt, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, coconut flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, oat flour, and tapioca starch.
- Add dry ingredients to milk mixture and mix until combined. Add melted butter and stir until smooth. Fold in cooked apple mixture.
- Heat skillet over medium low (4 out of 10) or griddle to 350 degrees. Spray with cooking spray or coat with melted butter. Drop batter ¼ cup at a time and cook for 3-4 minutes until edges are set and middle is bubbly. Flip and cook 2-3 minutes more until cooked through.
- Serve pancakes warm with desired toppings. Store extra in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer up to 3 months.
These look sooooo amazing! And such a smart idea to freeze them! I freeze our homemade waffles, but have never tried it with pancakes. I totally agree with pre-cooking the apples a bit – so essential – and can’t wait to make these!
I’m all about freezing pancakes! I need to get a waffle maker because I think I love waffles even more than I love pancakes!