The best fall-flavored breakfast is a stack of these delicious and fluffy apple cider pancakes that are lightly spiced with fall spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Warm homemade apple cider syrup poured on top of these pancakes makes it just the perfect start to your day!
If you love pancakes, make sure to check out Easy Basic Pancakes Recipe from Scratch.
We invariably go for apple picking in fall, considering we live in Washington state, the apple capital. More often than not, we get too excited and pick one too many apples. And then I get creative trying to use them all up.
These are all my favorite recipes to use apples in during fall and actually, all year round. Apple Cinnamon Pancakes with Spiced Apple Compote, Cinnamon Apple French Toast Bake, Instant Pot Apple Butter, Instant Pot Cinnamon Apples, and Apple Ginger Butternut Squash Soup.
If you are looking for more breakfast recipes, including other delicious pancake recipes, take a look at them under Breakfast Recipes.
I personally love apples more than pumpkins in fall, so making anything with apples is something that I love. These apple cider pancakes are loaded with apple flavor from the apple cider and from the addition of freshly grated apples to the pancake batter. The apple cider maple syrup rounds up the apple flavor in these delicious pancakes, making them the perfect fall breakfast.
You will love these pancakes because
- These pancakes are full of fall flavor and make the perfect breakfast for fall season.
- These make for really fluffy pancakes. They are the perfect texture of soft and firm and are delicious.
- You need only basic simple ingredients that you may already have in the kitchen to make this pancake recipe. You will need to just get some apple cider, which will be available pretty much everywhere during the apple season.
- They taste like apple cider donut, the delicious kinds you get when you go apple picking, especially if you top them with some cinnamon sugar.
- These pancakes are lightly spiced with cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg, which gives it a very apple pie vibe as well.
- The warm homemade maple cider syrup with cinnamon really drives home the fall flavors of apple.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
The dry ingredients for this apple cider pancakes are all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg.
Wet Ingredients
Egg, melted butter, apple cider and grated apple are the wet ingredients used for this apple cider pancakes recipe. Make sure the wet ingredients are at room temperature.
I love using honeycrisp apples in this recipe as they have the perfect sweet and tangy balance.
For the Cider Maple Syrup, apple cider, maple syrup and ground cinnamon are used.
What is the difference between apple juice and apple cider?
Apple juice is made from whole apples that are crushed. It is then filtered to remove the pulp and other solids, resulting in a smooth and sweeter liquid. Apple juice is also pasteurized for longer shelf life and can be found in grocery store shelves.
Apple Cider is also juice made from apples but is unfiltered and appears cloudy because it still retains apple solids and pulp. It has a more complex flavor and is less sweeter than apple juice. Apple cider can be pasteurized or unpasteurized. Unpasteurized apple cider will have to be consumed within 5-7 days whereas pasteurized apple cider can last much longer.
Substitute Apple Juice for Apple Cider
Granted, apple juice is more readily available than apple cider, but can you substitute it for apple cider in this recipe? Yes, in a pinch, you can substitute apple juice for apple cider in this recipe or any recipe that calls for apple cider. Since apple juice is sweeter than cider, you will find your recipe will end up tasting a little sweeter. Also, apple cider tends to have more concentrated apple flavors than apple juice, so you may want to add some grated apples or apple sauce to get more of the apple flavors when using apple juice instead.
Tips to make perfectly fluffy pancakes every single time!
- Start with fresh ingredients. Make sure your flour and/or baking powder is not stale and beyond best by date.
- DO NOT overmix. If you overmix, it will make for tougher pancakes that are not fluffy. I have done this many times in the past and wondered why my pancakes were not fluffy. Mix the batter just enough to combine all the ingredients without any lumps.
- Rest the batter. Once the batter is mixed and ready, cover it and let it rest for 10-15 mins at least before you start making pancakes. By letting the pancake batter rest, you are allowing the flour to fully absorb the milk and hydrate well, thereby allowing the gluten to relax, thus making pancakes that are not tough. It also lets the leavener (baking powder or baking soda) distribute evenly into the batter, thereby making the pancakes rise better when cooking and making it fluffier.
- Cook on a hot surface. Wait for the griddle to get hot and then add butter/oil to it and then the pancake batter. But keep the heat to medium when cooking the pancakes. This gives the pancakes enough time to cook all the way through without burning the bottoms.
- Flip at the right time. Pancakes should be flipped over when little air bubbles start popping on the surface and the sides start to look a little firm.
- Once flipped DO NOT pat or push down the pancakes when they are on the griddle. Just flip them over and let it be.
- Serve the pancakes warm.
Method
In a large mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients together and in a smaller bowl, whisk the wet ingredients well till the egg yolk white is mixed well. Start with ½ cup of apple cider. The remaining apple cider can be added to the batter, if needed.
Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Gently fold them with a flat whisk or a rubber spatula until just combined. Do not overmix the batter.
Once the batter is ready, cover the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap let it rest for 10-15 mins.
While the batter rests, preheat the oven to 200F, if you are planning to make all the pancakes together. This will keep the pancakes warm before you are ready to serve them.
Heat the griddle or a large skillet to medium heat to medium-high heat. Grease the skillet with butter, oil or cooking spray.
Use an ice cream scoop or a rounded ladle to scoop pancake batter to the greased skillet. For a regular sized pancake, use about 3 tablespoons of batter for one pancake. Wait for small bubbles to appear on top and pop, and the edges of the pancakes to start firming up before you flip it over.
Let it cook on the other side for another minute or two. Do not press down on the pancakes after flipping them.
Serve immediately or keep them warm in the preheated oven in an oven proof platter or a baking sheet.
To make the Cider Maple Syrup
Making the cider maple syrup is as simple as it sounds. Mix the apple cider and real maple syrup together in a sauce pan and place it on low-medium heat. Add the ground cinnamon and mix it in.
Let the syrup come to a boil and continue to bubble away till it reduces to half of the original quantity.
Serving Suggestions
Stack a couple of pancakes on a plate. Pour the warm syrup over it and serve while still warm.
You can also top the pancakes with cinnamon sugar or cinnamon apples with brown sugar and butter.
To store leftover pancakes
Let the pancakes cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in a 350F oven for 7-10 mins. Do not reheat in a microwave to prevent soggy pancakes. For more helpful tips to make perfect fluffy pancakes, to store and reheat, see this post Easy Basic Pancakes Recipe from Scratch.
📖 Recipe
Spiced Apple Cider Pancakes with Warm Cider Maple Syrup
Equipment
- 1 skillet
Ingredients
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour I like using Kamut all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- a pinch of nutmeg
- ½ - ¾ cup apple cider
- 1 medium honey crisp apple grated, makes about 1 cup of grated apple.
For Cider Maple Syrup
- ½ cup apple cider
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Don't forget to check out Step-by-step instructions with photos in the body of the post above
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the all purpose flour, baking powder, salt and the spices together.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs well till the egg yolk and white is mixed well. Mix in the apple cider and melted butter to this. Add the grated apple and mix that in as well. Start with ½ cup of apple cider. The remaining apple cider can be added to the batter, if needed.
- Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Gently fold them with a flat whisk or a rubber spatula until just combined. Do not overmix the batter.
- Once the batter is ready, cover the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap let it rest for 10-15 mins.
- While the batter rests, preheat the oven to 200F, if you are planning to make all the pancakes together. This will keep the pancakes warm before you are ready to serve them.
- Heat the griddle or a large skillet to medium heat to medium-high heat. Grease the skillet with butter, oil or cooking spray.
- Use an ice cream scoop or a rounded ladle to scoop pancake batter to the greased skillet. For a regular sized pancake, use about 3 tablespoons of batter for one pancake. Wait for small bubbles to appear on top and pop, and the edges of the pancakes to start firming up before you flip it over.
- Let it cook on the other side for another minute or two. Do not press down on the pancakes after flipping them.
- Serve immediately or keep them warm in the preheated oven in an oven proof platter or a baking sheet.
To make the Cider Maple Syrup
- Making the cider maple syrup is as simple as it sounds. Mix the apple cider and real maple syrup together in a sauce pan and place it on low-medium heat. Add the ground cinnamon and mix it in.
- Let the syrup come to a boil and continue to bubble away till it reduces to half of the original quantity.
Comments
No Comments