Apple Oat Breakfast Pancakes

These are weekday-fast pancakes with weekend flavor. Shredded fresh apple, rolled oats, and a hit of cinnamon turn a basic pancake mix into something that tastes like an apple-cinnamon oatmeal cookie in pancake form. From the box to the plate in 20 minutes, no fancy ingredients required.

Soaking the quick-cooking oats in water for 5 minutes is the technique that makes these work. Dry oats added straight to pancake batter stay crunchy and tough; pre-soaked oats hydrate into tender, almost-creamy bits that disappear into the batter and contribute chew without crunch. Don’t skip the soak.

Using complete pancake mix means everything is already balanced (flour, leavening, salt, milk powder), so you only need to add water and the flavor additions. Two cups of mix produces enough batter for about 15 small pancakes. Use any brand; the flavor differences are minimal once you add apple and cinnamon.

Shredded apple is doing the heavy flavor work. Using shredded rather than diced apple distributes the apple flavor throughout each bite and the small pieces cook through quickly without leaving hard chunks of underdone fruit in the middle of the pancake. Use a box grater or food processor.

Pro Tips

• Use a firm, tart apple like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp. Soft apples turn mushy in the batter.
• The batter will be thinner than regular pancake batter because of the oat-water mixture. Don’t add more mix to thicken it; the consistency is intentional.
• Flip when bubbles form and break on the surface, edges look set. One flip only.
• Keep finished pancakes warm in a 200°F (95°C) oven on a rack while you cook the rest.

Variations

• Stir in ¼ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans for added crunch.
• Substitute pumpkin spice mix for the cinnamon in fall.
• Drizzle with maple syrup and a sprinkle of toasted oats for serving.
• Add ¼ cup raisins to the batter for an apple-cinnamon-raisin version.