Apple brie pancakes

I have become a downright pancake fiend. If I have any say in the matter, Sunday brunch will involve some variety of pancake and as such, I seem to have developed a backlog of pancake recipes to post. In reality, my two favorite pancakes of late have both come from Heidi Swanson’s Cook 1.0: A Fresh Approach to the Vegetarian Kitchen, an incredibly simple cookbook that introduces about 30 basic recipes for popular dishes (like pancakes, pizzas, or salads) and then offers a set of interesting variations. The idea is to teach you the basic skills you need to make a dish and then encourage you to come up with your own flavor combinations. Advanced chefs might find it a bit remedial, but I prefer to think of it as solid, simple recipes for the basics, all of which sounds delicious.

Having tried two of her pancake variations now, I can attest that Heidi’s basic pancake recipe is just great. The pancakes manage to be both fluffy and hearty at the same time, so much so that my husband (of the seemingly unending appetite) has stopped at 2 pancakes both times. Apple and brie is a classic combination, but I had never thought of them as pancake ingredients before. It turns out they’re just delicious for when you want a pancake that’s not overly sweet. And they were so good that we didn’t even need to top them with anything. I would put more brie in the batter the next time (the more cheese, the better!) and Dylan suggested sauteeing the apples in advance to make them soft and sweet, though I liked them as is.

To whet the appetite of my fellow pancake lovers, I’ll be posting the equally scrumptious pumpkin-walnut variation in the near future…

Apple Brie pancakes (7 large pancakes)

Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 handful firm, chilled brie, rind removed, cut into small cubes
1/2-1 apple, sliced very thin

1. In a large bowl combine first six ingredients (all dry ingredients).

2. To dry ingredients, add remaining ingredients (EXCEPT apple slices).

3. Heat a skillet or pan to medium-hot and brush it with a bit of butter. When the skillet is hot, pour 1/3 cup batter onto it. Place an extra-thin apple slice or two on top of the dollop of pancake batter as it is cooking.

4. Wait until the bottom is a deep golden color, then flip with a spatula and cook the other side until golden and cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter and apple slices.

(Heidi suggests serving the pancakes with crumbled bacon- fake or real- but we liked them plain!)