Apple Cider Caramel Pancake Popovers

Happy Wednesday!!

This past weekend I made the most cute little breakfast that would be so adorable to serve at a brunch or at a holiday breakfast. It’s sweet, mostly healthy and ohhhh so good that it makes my heart skip a beat! Besides the taste, the best part is, it doesn’t take that long to make!!!

This is my Apple Cider Caramel Pancake Popovers! This is my traditional yogurt base pancake mix, chock full of fresh apples and a sweet, thick apple cider caramel glaze poured over the top. The syrup I used is unbelievable!!! It is so sweet and has a wonderful caramel flavor with a hint of cinnamon and apple. I am telling you to make a double batch of the syrup!! I originally came up with the syrup recipe when I tried to make caramel apples that were more healthy than regular caramel covered apples. Well the sauce came out thick but not thick enough to coat an apple, so I did the next best thing, dipped the apples into the sauce. After I gobbled it right up, it came to me that this would make a wonderful syrup over apple pancakes. Boy I was right!!

I love baking pancakes in a muffin tin rather than cooking them on a griddle or skillet. You don’t have to stand there flipping batter, trying to make the perfect circle, you won’t have a huge mess and you can walk away from the stove. Win win! I mixed my batter in the blender to make is smooth, folded in the apples and poured it into my muffin cups. I baked it for 11 minutes and out came these cute little darlings.

The syrup for the popovers, is also very easy and only takes a few minutes to make. In a small sauce pan I added sugar-free maple syrup, apple cider, margarine, brown sugar and vanilla extract and then set the pot over medium heat. I whisked it to keep the sugar from burning and then waited for it to turn to a rolling boil. Once it hit a rolling boil, I whisked it for one minute. I took it off the stove, and made a cornstarch and water mixture. Placed the syrup back on the stove top under a low heat and whisked in the cornstarch mixture until it became thick. The whole process took maybe 6 minutes. It’s really quick and really worth it.

For presentation I added a pecan on top of the popover, however if you’re a pecan fan, you could chop some up and place right in the batter. I bet that would be really good. The popovers came out light and fluffy and you get a little apple in every bite. I was really surprised but my Husband who never eats breakfast, had to have some popovers. The aroma of the syrup was calling his name and he couldn’t resist the temptation.

Apple Cider Caramel Pancake Popovers

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes

Total Time: 16 minutes

Yield: 6 Popovers

Serving Size: 1 Popover

Apple Cider Caramel Pancake Popovers

A whole wheat yogurt based pancake cooked in a muffin tin, chock full of fresh apples and topped with a thick, sweet, apple cider caramel syrup.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt, plain
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sugar or stevia
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp.cinnamon
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup apple, peeled, cored and diced small
Apple Cider Caramel Topping:
1 tbsp. light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar free maple syrup
2 tbsp. apple cider or apple juice
1 tbsp. butter (brummel & brown)
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F
Spray muffin pan with cooking spray.
In a blender add greek yogurt, egg whites, vanilla extract, baking soda, sugar, salt, cinnamon and flour. Process until smooth.
Fold in apples.
Pour pancake batter evenly into cups in the muffin pan and cook for about 11 - 15 minutes until pancakes is slightly puffed and set.
Meanwhile in a small sauce pan, add brown sugar, maple syrup, apple cider, butter, salt and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. Over medium heat; whisking constantly, bring to a hard boil. Keep whisking until the color starts to darken for 1 minute;set aside. Meanwhile in a small bowl add cornstarch and water, mix until combined. Pour cornstarch mixture into syrup and over low heat whisk together until thick. About 2 - 3 minutes.

Notes

Calories per popover including the syrup: 85.7, Fat: 1.2, Sodium: 196, Potassium: 61.5, Carbs: 16.5, Fiber: 1.6, Sugar: 4.8, Protein: 4.8

http://www.peanutbutterandpeppers.com/2012/11/28/apple-cider-caramel-pancake-popovers/