2/24/12

Vermont Maple Apple Rings


The nesting phase hit.

And it's Spring Cleaning time.

And we get to have my mom come and stay with us for two whole weeks after the baby is born.

It's what I call a cleaning perfect storm.

I'm normally a compulsive cleaner to begin with, but add those extra factors on and I'm a one woman, waddling, cleaning machine. My husband looks on with fear when he sees me eyeing anything of his for too long. He's justified, I think. He might never see those old issues of Wired magazine again. How can he expect me to bring a baby back to this house with 2 year-old magazines filling the bookshelves? Seriously.

One of the latest victims of my re-organization efforts was my recipe binder. Maybe you have one - that binder full of your favorite recipes in some semblance of order, with clippings, copies and printouts from several dozen magazines, blogs and cookbooks stuffed in the front? Mine could hardly shut for all the extra pages stuffed in it. It got a much-needed makeover this past weekend as I tossed recipes I will never make again or even attempt at all, hole-punched the ones I will, and re-prioritized the recipes that I still need to try.


These apple rings came out of the re-prioritizing. They originate from a little pamphlet-type cookbook of maple syrup recipes that I bought years and years ago when living in Vermont. I'm sad to say I had never used a single recipe from this book until now, mostly because Vermont maple syrup is like gold out here in Utah, and I didn't want to waste any of it cooking something that might only turn out to be mediocre. I kept the book around since a lot of the recipes still look good and I think it's cute that all of them are named "Vermont Maple Something."

It turns out that the apple rings are a little gem of a recipe that I should have tried a long time ago. They're simple and fast, and they're a fun alternative to pancakes. Thin slices of apple are coated with a pancake-like batter and cooked on a skillet until they are a warm, soft cooked apple layer inside of a fluffy dough. Delicious sounding, right? I love that since the entire middle layer is apple, the apple flavor really shines through. I was also pleasantly surprised with how light and fluffy the dough layers turned out. Top it off with some maple syrup, and you've got one tasty breakfast. 

Now, somebody please distract my husband while I "relocate" some old magazines.




Vermont Maple Apple Rings

Ingredients

  • 2 medium apples, pared and cored
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk (see note) plus more to adjust for consistency
  • Vermont maple syrup

Directions

  1. Slice apples crosswise into 1/8" thick rings. (a mandolin slicer works great for this)
  2. Whisk together flour, baking power, baking soda and salt. Beat in eggs and buttermilk (or sour milk), mixing just until incorporated.
  3. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and grease lightly. Dip apple rings into batter and allow excess batter to drip off. If the batter is too thick, add more buttermilk, one tablespoon at a time, until it is thick enough to stick to the apple ring, but thin enough to have excess drip off. You might want to cook a test apple ring to make sure the batter is to your liking before adding too much milk.
  4. Cook apple rings on skillet until golden brown, turning once. Skillet temperature is important here because if the skillet is too hot, the outside dough will burn before the apple inside starts to soften. Once again, you'll probably want to try a test apple ring and adjust the skillet temperature before cooking a bunch of rings at once.
  5. Serve immediately with maple syrup.
Note: To make sour milk, add 1 1/2 tsp vinegar to 1/2 cup regular milk

Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: 10 min Serves: 2-3

Recipe Source: The Official Vermont Maple Cookbook, 2nd edition. 


41 Click For Comments:

What kind of apples would you recommend? YUM.

These look SOOOOO COOL! My husband would love them. Totally printing this recipe to share with him. :) 

These apple rings are such a good idea! I'm adding apples to my grocery list so I can try this ASAP. You're making me want to re-organize my recipe binder, too. I've been having a hard time finding interesting recipes lately, so hopefully re-organizing my binder will help me find a hidden gem like you did.

I used Honeycrisp and Fuji because that's what was in my fridge. I want to try Granny Smith because I like their cooked flavor. I bet if you could find McIntosh still (lucky if you can, I miss them) they'd get really soft during the cooking.

I have never seen anything so amazing in my life.

what a fabulous idea, I've never seen anything like this!

these look so beautiful and delicious!  It is maple season afterall!!!  What a cool idea!!  

What an interesting recipe!  I have never seen anything like this before, but I imagine it is delicious.

Hope he enjoys them! My hubby was asleep when I made them and missed out. I'm such a great wife. :)

Ummmm, yummmmm!!   I will absolutely be making these.  Love it.  Vermont maple syrup is like gold here in North Carolina, too.  I have mine shipped in from a family maple farm on Route 2 between Montpelier and St. Johnsbury.  Love, love, love this recipe, Nicole.
Tracey

Glad your mega-cleaning spree made you come across this recipe...what a great idea to dip apples in batter and fry 'em up! I'm definitely going to make these for breakfast some weekend soon :)

What a neat recipe! I saw the photo at first and thought these were just pancakes, but the hole in the middle made me do a double take. The apple rings makes it so much more exciting! Looks delicious :)

I knew you would understand how precious maple syrup is. Our neighbors have a sugar shack on some of their land but they haven't tapped for the past couple years so we can't get syrup from them anymore. :( I never knew how spoiled I was until I moved away.

What a fantastic idea! These look perfect for today's Sunday Breakfast

Amazing recipe!!  I just made them this am.  I added some quick oats to the batter and served with lemon juice and sugar - thanks a lot!!!!

Love this, I pinned it, can't wait to try it.

Oh wow, these look awesome! I would never have thought of this idea, but I'm totally loving it. They look like little bagel thins, but like 10x healthier and way more fun. Thanks for the great recipe! I'll definitely be making these very soon. By the way, what type of apple did you use?

Thank you! Hope you enjoy them. I used Honeycrisp and Fuji because that is what I had on hand. I imagine Granny Smith would taste good because it would be a little sour to go with the sweet maple syrup, but I don't think you could go wrong with any of your favorite apple types. 

 Glad you liked them. That's a great idea to add in oats to the batter.

OMG Nicole these photos are gorgeous!!!

I wish my recipes were organized in a binder - that would be a step up from my current situation :)  I am in love with the idea of these pancakes, and if I had apples on hand, they just might be on my table this morning.  Great pics too!

You have a great sense of humor! Love the last line about "distract my husband" - ha! These look incredible and so creative. I've got to try them for next weekend's breakfast. Thanks, Nicole!

Nicole-
OMG!  Do you think I could make these with pears too?!  Happy nesting!
Karen

Ah, nesting.  Not sure I ever did that, lol.  These look delicious!

These look SO delicious!  I can't wait to try them!

Jealous! Let me know how they work. 

This is such a great idea! Love adding apples to my breakfast oatmeal, smoothies and muffins. Pancake is next! 

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can't wait to try this!

These look delicious! I bet my kids would love them! Im going to feature them at my all breakfast recipe site - thebreakfasthub.com. :)

these looked amazing, I'm on SCD so i tried the with a coconut flour pancake recipe I have. So great!

What a great idea! I'm so glad you like them.

these look so delicious gosh i would try this receipe..thanks

The above given
recipe is really very nice. It is easy and tastes good. Thanks for such a
great recipe.

Made this as a (well, almost!) midnight snack with my roomie. We added cinnamon to the batter. Absolutely fantastic, thanks!!!

Oh, you are making me miss my days with roomies. We'd make the BEST late night snacks. I'm so glad you enjoyed these! The cinnamon in the batter sounds delicious.

would this recipe work with the store-bought pancake batter?

I've never tried it, but I bet it would. You may have to adjust the consistency of the batter so it is thick/thin enough, but it should work!

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