Yockel Pancakes with Skillet Apples

We have not quite gotten in the habit of blogging yet. And, unfortunately, busy work and school schedules kept us distracted over the past several weeks. We missed two great opportunities to blog last week – tasty meatball subs at home and pizza at Great Lake followed by cocktails and dessert at In Fine Spirits. The latter is my regular end-of-semester celebration spot. On Saturday morning, though, we decided to blog about the famous Yockel pancake recipe, which we were serving up with one of our favorite toppings – cinnamon maple apples. Scott has been making these pancakes since he was about 8 years old and he served them up to many friends throughout his college years.

Pancakes (yields approx 8 four-inch pancakes)

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 or 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk

Skillet Apple Topping

• 2 apples, peeled and sliced
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• cinnamon-sugar mix
• grade A maple syrup

gathering the ingredients

For the pancakes, start by putting all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisking together. In a 1-cup measuring cup, add the egg and then fill with milk so that you have 1 cup of liquid. Pour the egg & milk into a small bowl and whisk until frothy.  Slowly add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients while stirring slowly with a spoon. Be careful not to overmix the batter or use a whisk, which will cause the pancakes to be more dense and less fluffy. Add the melted butter while stirring slowing with a spoon. On a hot 400-degree griddle that has been cleaned and lightly oiled, pour out some batter to whatever size you desire. Flip the pancakes after the bubbles stop forming on the surface and the edges start to look a little dry. After flipping, cook for a couple more minutes.

ready to be flipped!

fluffy pancakes

For the apple topping, peal the apples and cut into 1/2″ wedges. Melt butter in a hot skillet, then add the apples. The idea is to sear the apples on the first side to a golden brown. Sprinkle some cinnamon & sugar (maybe a little allspice or clove for kicks) and flip them over a few times to coat evenly. You are not making apple pie filling so don’t cook this down to mush. Right before they are done, add your pure maple syrup and stir to coat apples. Remove from heat.

apples and butter

adding cinnamon-sugar mix to apples

and maple syrup to finish!

On a warm plate, stack up your cakes as high as you desire and add a generous portion of the hot skillet apples. Pancakes are great and easy to make, and it only takes a few minutes more to add something special on top.  We are thankful that Scott’s parents established a tradition of making pancakes every week, and now we  continue this in our regular Saturday morning pancake breakfasts.

Yockel Pancakes with Apple Topping