Gingerbread Pancakes with Buttered Apples

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This easy recipe for gingerbread pancakes with warm buttered apples on top takes this favorite breakfast dish to new heights of wonderfulness!

So there are regular pancakes (which I love, just for the record) and then there are gingerbread pancakes with a buttery apple topping (which I love to the moon and back again.

Here’s why we love this recipe

Gingerbread pancakes are pretty close to regular pancakes, except with a few extra ingredients that make them all gingerbread-tasting-ish.

Some you would expect (ground ginger and cinnamon and brown sugar) and some you might not (hello, molasses!), but they all come together in a perfect gingerbread way.

Ingredients you need for this pancake recipe

Apples: Any kind you like!
Butter: I usually use salted, but unsalted is fine too.
Brown Sugar: I use light brown, but dark brown is fine too.
Cinnamon
Flour: Regular all purpose flour
Ground Ginger: Look for it in the spices aisle
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Eggs: I use extra large
Molasses
Maple Syrup (optional, for serving)

Here’s how you make these festive pancakes

STEP 1: First make the simple and simply wonderful apple topping, so that it is all ready to pop on top of the warm pancakes as they come off your griddle. All you need is an apple or two, some butter, a little brown sugar and a little cinnamon.

Dice the apple into little pieces (no need to take off the skin, hurray!). Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium high heat and then add in your apples with the sugar and the cinnamon.

STEP 2: Stir it around for just a few minutes until the apples are soft, and then set it aside to cool a little bit while you make pancakes!

STEP 3: Mix together flour, ginger, remaining cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl.

STEP 4: Whisk together eggs, remaining brown sugar, molasses and melted butter. Add to flour mixture and stir until combined (don’t worry if there are a few lumps!)

STEP 5: Measure out the batter in 1/4 cup increments (if you have a 1/4 cup measuring cup that’s the easiest way…you can just scoop it out) and cook them over medium heat – no hotter than that – until the bottom is golden brown and there are a few bubbles on the top.

One thing that you definitely need to keep in mind is that because of all the sweet goodness in these…the brown sugar and the molasses…they will burn if you have the heat too high or don’t keep a good eye on them.

So do keep that heat at medium and feel free to keep peeking at the undersides of them as they brown up.

STEP 6: Flip ’em over, press down a teeny bit and cook the other side, still watching carefully. This recipe is going to make about 8 good sized pancakes, so you will probably need to do them in batches.

You can keep the already-cooked pancakes warm in a 200 degree oven – just pop them on a cookie sheet while you cook up the others.

STEP 7: Once all the pancakes are done, scoop out a generous spoonful of apples and scatter on the top of each serving, and then drizzle on as much maple syrup as you like.

Gingerbread Pancakes FAQ

Can these be made ahead?

They can! When you are ready to serve, heat up the apple mixture on the stove over medium heat, and the pancakes on a cookie sheet in a 250 degree oven until they are warm.

Can I leave out the maple syrup?

The syrup definitely adds another level of sweetness to this recipe, so if you want a milder taste (and for the gingerbread taste to really stand out) you can skip the syrup.

Have a question that I didn’t cover?

Pop your question in the comments section below and I will answer pronto!

Yep, this is kind of like dessert for breakfast…or dinner, depending on your schedule! And it’s guaranteed to make you feel like Christmas, even if you are making them in July.

Happy pancakes!

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