Ingredients
For the applesauce
- 3 lbs. (1,446g) apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1” cubes (about 6 apples)
- ½ cup (118ml) water
- 2 Tbsp. (22g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 Tbsp. (30ml) lemon juice
- 1 tsp. (2g) ground cinnamon or cardamom
- ½ tsp. grated nutmeg
- ¼ tsp. fine sea salt
For the pancakes
- 3 cups (403g) all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp. (28g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tbsp. (11g) baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp. (6g) baking soda
- ½ tsp. fine sea salt
- 1 ½ cups (355ml) buttermilk
- 3 (168g) large eggs
- ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (379g) applesauce
Method
- Make the applesauce. Place your pot on the stove and set it to medium-high heat. Add all ingredients and stir to fully incorporate. Cover the pot and cook until the apples are tender, about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat.
- Remove the arm from your KitchenAid® Corded Hand Blender and attach the pan guard. Then, reattach the arm of the hand blender to the base and insert the blender into the apple mixture.
- Process the apples until fairly smooth but some slight chunks remain if desired.
- While the applesauce is cooling, make the batter. Add all your dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir to evenly incorporate. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, add all the wet ingredients , and use the hand blender to process until smooth. Slowly add in dry ingredients to wet ingredients while blending and blend until just incorporated.
- Preheat your cooking surface on medium heat. Coat your surface with a bit of butter and use a ⅓ cup to measure batter into your pan. Cook until the bottoms are evenly browned and bubbles appear on the surface of the batter, about 3 minutes.
- Flip the pancakes and continue to cook until golden brown on the other side, 1-2 minutes longer.
- Remove the finished pancakes from the pan and cook the remaining batter, using more butter as needed to grease the pan. Finished pancakes can be kept on a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet in a warm oven set to 200°F/93°C until ready to serve.
- Top with remaining applesauce and sliced apples, maple syrup, or toppings of your choice.
