CEIMB: Whole-Wheat Apple Pancakes with Nutty Compote

For this week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe, we made these wonderful Whole-Wheat Apple Pancakes. This was chosen by Dishin', and I was really looking forward to it. I could probably eaet pancakes for breakfast every single day; that's how much I love them. Waffles run a close second, but they require a little bit more effort. Once I finally learned how to make pancakes, a few years back, I have enjoyed preparing them in different ways. This way, to sprinkle apples on top of the pancakes while they cooked on the griddle, was one I hadn't tried before.

The preparation was simple. An easy pancake batter is put together, made with half whole-wheat and half all-purpose flours. You chop up an apple into small chunks and gently heat the chunks in the microwave. Once the pancakes are on the griddle, you sprinkle about a tablespoon of apple onto each pancake. When you flip them, the apple continues to heat through, and they are served (or at least, we served them) with the apple on the bottom.

But wait, that's not all. Next, you make a nutty compote, which of course is really just a fancy way of saying "nutty topping." I loved the nutty topping, but I have to admit that I modified Ellie's recipe. It was partially out of laziness (not wanting to go to the store for some things) and partially because I thought we would like it better if we altered it a bit. Instead of the sunflower seed-pumpkin seed-almond mix that was called for, we used only almonds. We did use the sesame seeds, wheat germ, and pure maple syrup that was part of the original recipe.

Altogether, this made for a wonderful breakfast. The compote worked so well with the pancakes. The nutty crunch was an unexpected, but welcome contrast to the soft pancakes. I have to admit, I did add some additional syrup, mostly because the compote didn't contribute that syrupy coating that I love so much. Even so, this recipe was fabulous, and I believe I'll be making it again. Even Xander, my picky eater, admitted that this was good. Score!

The recipe for these pancakes, and their topping, can be found here. Thank you to Dishin' for a great meal!