Fluffy Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

🍏 Ingredient notes

• Green Apples - Granny Smith apples are my favorite apples to use in baking and cooking. They are tart, but then that tartness simmers into a sweetness with heat. They also hold their shape nicely. For this recipe, you will both grate the apples to include in the batter, and you'll dice them for the topping.
• Milk - You can use whatever milk you have on hand - whole milk, 2%, or 1%. Or, if you are dairy-free like me, you can use almond milk.
• Eggs - Using room temperature eggs is usually better for baking. I find the same holds true for making pancakes and waffles. Room temperature eggs mix more easily and evenly with the other ingredients.
• Baking powder - this is the leavening ingredient that helps give these pancakes the rise they need to be taller and fluffier.
• Butter - You're going to use unsalted butter in two separate steps: melted and cooled butter to coat the pancakes so they hold the cinnamon sugar coating. Then a tablespoon of butter (pat of butter) to sauté the diced apple topping at the end. I use dairy-free butter, but you can use whatever butter you have in the fridge.
• Cinnamon sugar - You're going to use a cinnamon sugar mixture in two separate steps. You'll make a cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat each pancake with. And you'll use some cinnamon and sugar in the batter itself. I've broken out the ingredients by step, so you will know how much to use separately in each step.

🌟 Pro tip: keep a mason jar with cinnamon sugar mix in your spice drawer or pantry. You can use it for so many recipes, including apple cinnamon donuts, churro bites, chocolate chip pumpkin bread, and more.

Exact measurements of ingredients and instructions are in the printable recipe card toward the bottom of this post. Here are some helpful tips to guide you as you make this recipe.

👩🏻‍🍳 Cooking tips and recipe FAQs

• Make this dairy-free: use your favorite dairy-free butter alternative and milk alternative. I've found you can substitute these easily using the same measurements and the pancakes turn out delicious!
• Don't skip the resting step! Setting your mixed apple cinnamon pancake batter on the countertop to rest for 5-10 minutes before cooking allows the gluten in the flour to relax and the starch grains to swell. This results in fluffier pancakes!
• Make the batter ahead of time: you can mix the batter together and set it, covered, in the refrigerator overnight. Only do this if you followed the recipe and used baking powder; if you use baking soda, you cannot make this ahead of time since the active ingredients in baking soda start working right away and you'll end up with flat pancakes the next day.

Kitchen tools and equipment

You'll need two main tools to make these pancakes:

• a griddle or skillet
• a good flipping spatula.

For everyday cooking, I love my T-fal non-stick skillets.

You'll also need a wide spatula, one that helps you flip pancakes without the batter flopping over too much on the sides. You can usually find a good wide heat resistant egg/pancake flip spatula for around $10 or less.

The third tool that I use is optional: pancake rings. I got this set of four interlocking egg/pancake rings from Amazon for around $12. They're great!

These are totally optional - you can absolutely make this recipe without them. However, these rings help the pancakes form these nice, uniform circles for big happy pancake stacks. And, it helps the batter form these fluffy pancakes!

More breakfast and brunch recipes

If you're looking for fast breakfast recipes, try our Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls or Air Fryer Hash Brown Patties. For more savory dishes, try one of these yummy breakfast recipes: