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Take your pancake game to the next level with this Apple Cinnamon Dutch Baby. It’s a light and fluffy skillet pancake that’s so easy to make and perfect for chilly, fall mornings!
It’s November, but we’re still going crazy for apple season around here! Baskets of shiny red, green, and golden yellow apples still grace the farmer’s markets, just begging to be brought home. If you’re anything like me, you’ll never grab just one or two apples. Nope! You need to bring home a five pound bag. A few weeks ago, I brought said five pound bag of Honey Crisp apples home. During the first week or two, we couldn’t get enough of them. They were just the right size for snacking and full of delicious, fresh-picked apple flavor!
Now, our bag of apples is a little lighter, but sits pretty much untouched in the fridge. I should also mention that we already had some Granny Smith apples lingering in our crisper drawer, as well! I guess an apple a day actually makes you sick of eating apples. We had enough sweets in the house (it’s baked goods season, after all), so I didn’t want to make a pie or apple spice cake. Then, I remembered the apple dutch baby that I used to make years ago.
I forget how old I was when I made my first Dutch Baby. But I can remember still living at home, watching my little sisters while both of my parents were at work. And I can remember cooking for them. This was one of my favorite things to make for us! If you’re not familiar with Dutch Babies, it’s basically a big, fluffy pancake. The Dutch Baby that I used to make had thin slices of apples in it, making it the perfect breakfast for a cold, Fall morning!
This recipe starts with simple ingredients. Simple enough for a young girl to master while watching her two little, twin sisters. It begins with flour, eggs, milk, and butter. Then, I add in Granny Smith apples and cinnamon. The Dutch Baby bakes in a cast iron skillet and puffs up, light and fluffy, kind of like a big popover. Sprinkle it with confectioners sugar and you’ve got yourself a delicious dish for breakfast, brunch, or dessert!
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 2 tbsp. softened butter
- Optional: confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. While the oven is preheating, stick a cast iron skillet into the oven to preheat.
- Add the eggs to a large bowl and whisk. Continuing whisking and add in the milk, vanilla, flour, salt, and cinnamon, just until combined.
- Fold in the apple slices.
- Remove the cast iron skillet from the oven and drop the butter into the skillet. Carefully swirl the skillet to allow the butter to melt and coat the pan evenly.
- Pour the batter into the skillet and bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until the center is set and the edges are golden brown and puffy.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and sift confectioners sugar over the top of the Dutch Baby.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
For best results, allow the eggs and milk to sit at room temperature before mixing.
Okay. So here’s the deal. Most recipes suggest that you keep the eggs and milk at room temperature before making your batter. I find that as long as your cast iron skillet is preheated, you can basically take your eggs and milk out of the fridge, whisk up your batter, and add it to the skillet.
Also, as much as you may be tempted to look into the oven, don’t. You want this baby to puff up nice and high, like Dolly Parton’s hair. Dutch babies are best fresh out of the oven. Ditch the apples, make a plain Dutch baby, and top it with berries, jam, a chocolate drizzle, or whipped cream. Once you have one of these babies, you’ll never want a regular ol’ pancake again!
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