Gingerbread Pancakes with Apple Slaw

We eat a lot of pancakes in this house……a lot. However, I am not going to apologize about it. Pancake recipes just call to me. I’m still surprised that this is only the second one I’ve posted on here. Beware, there are more to come. I just love pancakes – they are so fast and easy and there are about a million different variations. I’ve made Gingerbread Pancakes for the past three years, but this recipe is different. It has Apple Slaw with it. It shouldn’t be a surprise to you by now that I love apples and apple recipes. For example – check out this doozy. The original recipe was for a gluten-free version, but I changed it up a bit to make it regular. To see the gluten-free recipe, go here. The Apple Slaw just makes this an extra-special recipe. It would be great to serve on Christmas morning…..unless you’re still exhausted from putting together all the “Some Assembly Required” toys. Some assembly? Yeah – right. If that’s the case, then you might just eat a Christmas tree Little Debbie cake. It’s Christmas – no one cares if you eat cake for breakfast.

We’ll need pancake mix, milk, brewed coffee, eggs, brown sugar, ground ginger, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, cocoa powder, canola oil, and molasses. I do not like molasses by itself. Gag attack! However, I do like to use it in stuff so I make sure to keep it in my pantry. When I look at it, all I can think about is motor oil.  Plus, it sorta smells like medicine and the retirement home. I have weird scent associations. Food City = fish. Cleveland, TN = chocolate. Kingsport, TN = something that died (my husband tells me it is just Eastman Chemical Company and it has smelled that way since before he was born).

Get a small bowl and add the wet ingredients – eggs, milk, coffee, oil, and molasses. Whisk it with the same whisk (unless you enjoy doing dishes) until it’s all mixed together. Oil and water don’t mix – good thing we’re using milk.

Pour the wet ingredients into your big mixing bowl and whisk it together – lightly. Don’t beat the heck out of it, or your pancakes will be tough. Most things will be tough if you over-mix them. When in doubt, aim for caution and only mix lightly. There will be little lumps in there, but don’t worry. Mine had lots of lumps but they just cooked right out.

I always use my griddle for pancakes, but if you don’t have one you can use a skillet. I sprayed mine with cooking spray and went to town cooking my pancakes. This recipe makes a large amount, but I was glad for that…..now we have breakfast all week long and I can take it easy in the morning; sit back, eat bonbons and watch Donahue (does he even still come on TV?).

While your pancakes are cooking, you can make your Apple Slaw. For that, we need apples, maple syrup, pecans, raisins, and lemon juice. You don’t have to use real maple syrup – I like the fake stuff too…..but it’s always a treat for me to use this syrup and I felt like a treat.

Back to the pancakes. You know they’re ready to flip when the bubbles come up and break the surface. I love flipping pancakes! Maybe that’s why I make them so often.

Grab your grater and grate your apples. You want to peel and core them first. They’ll be pretty easy to grate, not like carrots. I didn’t lose any skin this time, which is nice. Normally grating ends badly for me. And yet, I still continue to do it. I’m a trooper!

Into your apples mix the remaining ingredients – lemon juice, maple syrup, nuts, and raisins. Stir it up to incorporate it will and let the lemon juice coat the apples. It will keep it from getting too brown. It’s going to get a little brown, but not too bad.

It’s really very pretty…..and soooooooooooooo yummy! Barry said “I think I’d be happy with just a big bowl of this.” Not so fast buddy! Step away from the slaw.

Put your pancakes on the plate and top them with Apple Slaw. You’ll probably want to also drizzle them with maple syrup. You don’t be sorry…..trust me. If you have a ton of pancakes leftover, you can stick them in the fridge for quick breakfasts this week or you can stack them between pieces of wax paper, put them in a freezer bag and pop them in your freezer. When you need a quick breakfast, just warm them up in the microwave. The wax paper makes it easier to separate them when they’re frozen.

This picture just doesn’t do it justice. I hate it when it gets dark early and I have to use a flash. Barry paired his with eggs so get some protein, but I just ate some peanut butter with mine. Yes, I like sweets – what’s it to ya??? Oh. My. Gosh. Your family will love you.