Perfect pancakes. Honey. Generous chunks of crisp apples. Cinnamon.
Here at home, apples are plentiful. It's apple picking season, and the apple trees lining our country roads are heavy with fruit. The farmer's markets have apple varieties, colors and flavors only found this colorful time of year—autumn. We've got our own old apple trees bearing fruit now too.
The honey bees were busy this spring, visiting our apple blossoms. Those bountiful blooms have grown into apples. And now the honey bees' harvest is ready too—it's honey harvesting time. {So, the apple trees made blossoms; the bees visited the apple blossoms to gather pollen to make honey; the bees pollinated the blossoms while they gathered; the pollinated blossoms began to grow into apples, while the bees made honey out of the apple blossom pollen. A beautiful symbiotic nature circle.}
Autumn is a time of golden, warming foods. What a wondrous way to begin an autumn day—with both honey and apples. In a pile of hearty honey apple cinnamon buttermilk pancakes. Thank you sweet honey bees and apple trees.
I like my one-bowl method for simple pancakes here. It's one bowl less to wash up afterwards.
honey apple cinnamon pancakes serves 4
ingredients: 3 tablespoons butter melted with 3 tablespoons honey, 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour*, 1/2 teaspoon salt (more if your buttermilk is unsalted), 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 2 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, 1 medium to large crisp apple (try a heritage variety) cut into chunks
directions: Melt butter with honey on low heat. Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add the eggs into this well. Whisk only the eggs. Add the vanilla, then buttermilk, and then the honey and butter mixture. Gently stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients, just until combined. A few lumps are fine—the key to tender pancakes are not to over-mix. Heat griddle or pan (I love my old cast iron pan) on medium heat. Add butter to warm pan. Ladle batter onto pan or griddle, and scatter apple chunks on top of unturned pancakes. Flip when bottom is golden.
*Whole wheat pastry flour has a lighter texture than regular whole wheat flour. It is still 100% whole grain, but is made from a different type of wheat. I prefer it's tender texture for baking muffins and pancakes.
Top these pancakes with our easy-to-make maple whipped cream or our simple cinnamon maple butter, made with honey instead of maple syrup.
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