Apple Pie German Pancake Bowls

German pancakes, where have you been all my life?!?!

A few weeks ago, I realized on a Thursday that the next morning was my breakfast day. But, in addition to working long hours, my co-workers and I were going out for a department event, so it was going to be a late night. I racked my brain for something I could easily throw together the next morning, but that would be hearty and unhealthy enough for my (probably slightly hungover) co-workers. This recipe was perfect because it was pretty easy, and had a baking break in the middle where I could also throw the frittata into the oven.

While I’d heard of Dutch babies (another name for German pancakes), I’d never made them and I’m not sure I’d even had them. But they are awesome! There’s no sugar in the actual batter (some recipes I’ve seen have a tiny bit), but you load them up with whatever awesome fillings you want. Because they have a lot of eggs in them and a lot less flour, they also stick with you longer.

These have a delightful homemade apple pie filling and then some streusel on top, and are entirely decadent (yet surprisingly not that bad for you). This has opened a whole world of German pancakes and Dutch babies to explore now that I can’t get them out of my mind.

Preheat the oven to 400 F and grease the cupcake pan.

In a blender, combine all of the German Pancake ingredients except the butter and blend until smooth. Add the butter and blend until well combined.

Using a 1/4 cup scoop, add the batter to the tins (you want them about 3/4 of the way full, so it will depend on the size of your muffin tin). Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. They will be VERY puffy but will deflate as they cool (which is good!).

Set those suckers aside and let them deflate.

While they’re getting less puffy, let’s get our toppings ready!

Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter for the apple filling in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the apples, cinnamon, lemon juice and brown sugar and cook. You only need to stir occasionally, and can make the streusel topping while they cook. It should take about 8-10 minutes, you want the apples to be tender and the liquid to absorb—should be nice and thick and gooey.

The streusel topping is very easy, just stir together the sugar, flour, oats, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, 2 forks, or put the mixture in the blender and pulse into the mixture is crumbly.

Now comes the super easy assembly. Set your oven to broil.

Carefully and evenly spoon the cooked apples onto/into the pancake bowls.

Top with the streusel. Broil (make sure your rack is about 10 inches from broiler) for 3-6 minutes, rotating the pan half way through so the topping browns evenly. Remove when crumbs are golden.

And you’re done. These were a total hit at work, and I have all sorts of other flavor combinations in mind to try in the future.

If you have a lot of leftover batter for some reason (I doubled this recipe to feed my hungry co-workers and had a lot left), you can make a regular German pancake in a hot cast iron pan. I’ll be posting that recipe as soon as I can, but it was kind of a no-brainer. I threw a little almond extract in the leftover batter (amazeballs), heated up my cast iron pan in the oven, threw a little butter in to melt, and poured the batter in. Bake 20 minutes and then top with whatever you want once it deflates (I used leftover streusel and maple syrup). Mmmm!

Apple Pie German Pancake Bowls

German Pancake Bowls

• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of flour
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1/4 cup of butter, melted

Apple Filling

• 3-4 apples, finely chopped (I used smaller Galas)
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice
• 1/8 cup of brown sugar

Crumb Topping (this made too much, so feel free to make a little less)

• 1/3 cup of packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of oats
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 400 F and grease cupcake pan.

In a blender, combine all of the German Pancake ingredients except the butter and blend until smooth. Add the butter and blend until well combined. Using a 1/4 cup scoop, add the batter to the tins (you want them about 3/4 of the way full, so it will depend on the size of your muffin tin). Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. They will be VERY puffy but will deflate as they cool (which is good!).

While the pancakes are baking and resting, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter for the apple filling in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the finely chopped apples, cinnamon, lemon juice and brown sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 8-10 minutes.

While the apples are cooking, make the streusel topping by combining the sugar, flour, oats, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, 2 forks, or put the mixture in the blender and pulse into the mixture is crumbly.

Time for assembly! Set your oven to broil. Once your pancakes have properly deflated, evenly (and carefully) spoon the cooked apples onto/into the pancake bowls, then top with the streusel. Broil (make sure your rack is about 10 inches from broiler) for 3-6 minutes, rotating the pan half way through so the topping browns evenly. Remove when crumbs are golden.

If you have a lot of leftover batter for some reason (I doubled this to feed my hungry co-workers), you can make a regular German pancake in a hot cast iron pan. Recipe to come!

Original recipe here