I can’t say I’m really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. One of my favorite parts of the Thanksgiving feast, other then visiting with friends and family, is loading up my plate with all the traditional favorites along with a few new dishes to test out and pioneer. Imagining, researching, and creating new dishes is one of my favorite parts of the Thanksgiving holiday. But since seeing other people is out of the question this year, and as I’m unwilling to give up on those favorite traditional dishes, I’ve set aside the experimental part of my Thanksgiving scheme – as it is I’m still going to be drowning in leftovers – and have turned my mind towards… breakfast!

The German apple pancake was a favorite breakfast of mine as a kid. It was a weekend breakfast treat that my Mom would bake up a couple times a year during apple season. It was the perfect serving size for a family of 2 adults and 3 children, and it had the extra edge over normal pancakes because, not only was there fruit involved, but it could all be served up at the same time. No more laboring over the stove as the rest of us ate. We could all sit down and partake together. This particular recipe was adapted from an old cookbook of my mother’s called The Vegetarian Epicure by Anne Thomas – one of those old hippy standbys, but I can’t knock it, there is tons of great stuff in it.

Ingredients:

• 3 Eggs
• 3/4 cup Milk
• 3/4 cup Flour
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp Butter

• 1 lb tart Apples
• 1/4 cup Butter
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped Walnuts
• 1 tsp Cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F (232 C).
2. Whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, and salt until smooth.
3. Melt the butter into the bottom of a cast iron skillet.
4. Pour the batter over the butter, and then pop the skillet into the oven.
5. After 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350 F (177 C), and continue to bake it for another 10 minutes.
6. While the pancake is baking, peel, core, and slice the apples. Melt the remaining butter in the bottom of a sauce pan add in the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts.
7. Cook until the apples are only slightly tender and have been coated in a lovely cinnamon syrup.
8. Once you’ve removed the pancake from the oven, gently lift it out of the skillet, and transfer it over to your serving dish.
9. Scoop the apple filling into one half of the pancake, and fold the other half over to encase the filling.
10. Serve and enjoy!