Puffy Apple Oven Pancake

It's mornings like this one where I am longing for home. Fall in Colorado where the morning can be so brisk it catches your breath and by afternoon you shred a layer to enjoy the sunshine and Rocky Mountain blue skies. It's hard to embrace Fall sometimes when it's 80 degrees and the air is suffocated by humidity. But, in a little more than a week we will celebrate Thanksgiving here in Texas where no matter the temperature, we have so much to be thankful for.

This recipe is from one of my new favorite cookbooks which is all about family traditions in your kitchen. I had a puffed pancake for the first time when visiting my boys godmother, M, in Minneapolis a couple of years ago. I thought my five year old would get a kick out of watching the batter transform in the window of our oven and sure enough, he did! I also got to use what is now one of my favorite kitchen tools, my new apple peeler! My husband picked it up for me at Harbor Freight Tools (random) and it was less than $20. Best ever! Not only did it clamp easily onto the lip of my counter, it peeled, cored, and SLICED the apples in no time flat!! Hand crank apple peeler, that's what I'm talkin about folks. Make this for your immediate clan for a special Sunday breakfast and you'll be shocked at how easy it. You'll want to serve it the next time friends sleep over.

Puffy Apple Oven Pancake
Family Meals
Maria Helm Sinskey & Williams-Sonoma

• 2 baking apples (I used honeycrisp) peeled, cored, and sliced
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons sugar (I think it needs more, so try 4 tablespoons)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled PLUS 4 tablespoons more
• confectioners' sugar for dusting or maple syrup

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In small bowl stir together flour, cinnamon, sugar, and salt. In stand mixer or blender, combine eggs, milk, vanilla, and the 2 tablespoons melted & cooled butter and mix until smooth. Add flour mixture just enough to make a smooth batter.

In an ovenproof 10 inch saute pan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. When butter begins to brown, add the apples and cook turning as needed until golden on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and heat until it is melted and bubbling. Pour batter over the apples and immediately transfer the pan to the oven.

Baked until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. When you remove and handle pan make sure to use an oven mit. I didn't once it was out of the oven and that was not smart. Dust with sugar if desired. Serve directly from pan. It will look like a big bowl, all puffed up around the sides. The batter becomes a thick/dense custard consistency which is wonderfully delicious with the tang of the apples. Happy Breakfast!