This week I have been a single mom.
I like to call myself a travel widow while the husband is out slaying dragons and bringing home bacon. The temporary responsibility of raising our kids falls on me along with all the other responsibilities I have like the deadlines for work, church responsibilites, friends, the kids school projects, etc.
Yeah. I don’t get out much. Or shower for that matter. These pancakes were my escape.
I can’t imagine doing this everyday. Day after day. Alone.
A couple weeks ago I mentioned a project through LDS Business College that is getting behind single mother’s and providing them with an education. My friend Holly often says it takes a village {to raise kids} and it’s true.
LDS Business College is gathering their own village around single mother’s trying to get an education. Reading the stories of some of the women who have benefited from the Stella Harris Oaks Horizons of Hope Single Parent Scholarship has been life changing for me and I say that with the least amount of drama possible. I really have learned to be more open minded and more compassionate. If anything it has a been good reminder not to judge someone else before walking in their shoes.
If you would like to join the village surrounding these women you can donate here or on the widget in the sidebar of my blog. No donation is too small. Even $1 will help.
Now, the pancakes.
I will admit when I started to type this recipe I couldn’t find where I wrote it down. So this is turning into a bit of a tutorial instead of a recipe.
I made these pancakes two ways. The pretty picture above where I added the apples to the batter then, once flipped, added the crumble topping. And this way.
I sprinkled the pancakes with the crisp topping and the apples before I flipped it. Not quite as pretty {in my opinion} but definitely my favorite of the two.
To make these pancakes you will need:
A batch of your favorite pancake batter {I made enough to feed my small army}
2-3 thinly sliced apples, cored and peeled
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tblsp sugar
Crisp topping as follows:
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tblsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tblsp butter, softened
Mix up your pancake batter and set aside. Mix the apples, cinnamon, and sugar in a bowl until all the apples are coated. In a separate bowl mix the ingredients for the crisp topping.
Preheat a large skillet or pan. Spray with cooking spray. Drop a scant 1/4 cup of pancake batter down. Once it starts to bubble top with a few slices of apple and a tablespoon or so of crisp topping. Flip carefully and cook until the pancake is done and topping has caramelized. Repeat until all the pancakes are done. Serve with butter and syrup, if desired.
These were so good plain. I didn’t need any syrup at all!
To cook them the “prettier” way, instead of adding the crisp topping before flipping I added after flipping. While the other side cooks it heats the topping and it melts just a bit. It was still delicious but you don’t get any caramelization that way.
This does look like a much better topping than syrup, lots of cinnamon, oatey goodness! I like the grilled topping better too. Very creative and delicious.
Single parents do not have it easy by any means and I am glad there is a scholarship fund out there for struggling moms. Great that you have brought it to our attention through this post.
These are beautiful pancakes! My mom raised my sister and I alone and I can’t imagine how she did it. I am married but no kids yet and I can barely keep up with just my and my husband’s schedules. Life is so crazy!
Thank you, Cassie! I live in organized chaos and love it! Kudos to your Mom. It’s definitely a tough job.
What a great message today! Your show a lot of compassion!
And…what a delicious recipe. I’m going to have to try it. It seems like a perfect recipe for a fall morning.
I agree – I would definitely eat these plain AND I would definitely eat these! You get 2 yummies with this one! Thanks for bringing up the scholarship program. I’m going to go check out both the program and the college. As a retired college instructor I have seen first hand the struggles of single mothers. They were some of my best and most enjoyable students and the ones that I had the greatest respect for. Over and over again they made me realize how easy MY life is!
These pancakes look amazing! So full of flavor! I love the crunchy granola bits…I’m all over that!
These pancakes look amazing! I wish we lived closer so we could hang out and have play dates
Oh just fabulous. . .love your topping!
We made these pancakes for breakfast on Saturday. They were awesome! This recipe is definitely going into my permanent breakfast file. Thanks!
Yay! I’m so glad you liked them! xo
Yum! I would love these!
Thanks Christina! Happy Thanksgiving!
beautiful message along with this yummy dish!