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Caramel apple flapjacks

 
 
Fall. I love everything about it. The bright, burning light of the sun low on the horizon. The smell of cold wet leaves in the morning. A return to sweaters and socks and lattes. But perhaps the thing I love most about fall's arrival is my return to the kitchen in earnest. Yes, fall is coming and I'm not one bit sad. While nature retires into hibernation, my creative soul awakes from the long sunny summer.
 
Apples are just about my favourite ingredient to play around with in the kitchen. Our backyard tree, which is an early ripening variety, was particularly fruitful again this year, producing about a hundred pounds of medium red apples. Feeling lazy in the kitchen and finishing up my book, I wasn't as productive with them apples as I could have been. But here and there they have gone into muffins and squares and these delectable caramel apple flapjacks. The simple batter has grated apple and cinnamon, which is a fall classic for me. A stack of these babies go from good to goodness gracious with a generous drizzle of brown sugar caramel sauce.
 
Get the recipe below. I'm sorry and you're welcome at the same time...
 


Caramel Apple Flapjacks
Makes 4 servings
 
3/4 cup (175 mL) brown sugar
1/3 cup (75 mL) water
1/4 cup (60 mL) heavy cream
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
1/4 tsp (1 mL) baking soda
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
1 egg
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) milk
1 cup (250 mL) peeled, grated apple
2 tbsp (30 mL) butter, melted
 
To make the caramel sauce, combine the brown sugar and water in a medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Allow to come to a bubble, then begin stirring gently until the sauce thickens and darkens (5 to 6 minutes). Remove from the heat and stir in the cream. Pour the hot caramel into a heat-proof container (a mason jar works great) and transfer to the refrigerator to cool a little while you prepare the flapjacks.
 
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add the egg, milk and grated apple to the bowl, and stir just to combine. Stir in the melted butter. Ladle the batter about half a cup (125 mL) at a time into a preheated skillet over medium to medium-low heat. Once bubbles begin to appear on the surface and stay in place after bursting, flip the flapjack and cook another minute or so on the second side until cooked through. Serve the flapjacks immediately, drizzled with the warm brown sugar caramel sauce (If cooled completely, microwave the caramel briefly to make it warm and liquid again).
 
Are you looking forward to spending a little more time in the kitchen this fall? What are you looking forward to making?