Adventure #12: Date Pancakes with Apple Syrup

I woke up this morning wanting some pancakes, but to my dismay, I didn't have any pancake mix or any eggs. I quickly searched the internet for an egg-free pancake recipe and found what I was looking for right away. I doctored it up a little bit and produced the delicious breakfast below. It was just about as quick as a mix and infinitely more satisfying to my tastebuds. Enjoy!

Date Pancakes with Apple Syrup

Ingredients:

• For the pancake batter (inspired by tasteofhome.com):
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (I used some whole wheat pastry flour, which worked great)
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Tablespoons oil (the recipe online called for any oil, but I used olive oil because that was the only oil in my kitchen at the time)
• 1/4 cup chopped dates
• For the Syrup:
• 1 medium apple, chopped into semi-fine pieces (mine was a gala, but a granny smith probably would provide more flavor)
• 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• about 1/4 cup of water
• about 1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure:

1. For the batter:
1. Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl with a pouring spout or a large (6 cup) liquid measurer. (If you don't have one, you should probably get one, they are super convenient for mixing and pouring batters.)
2. Add the milk and oil to the dry ingredients and gently whisk together until smooth.
3. Fold the dates into the batter. (You could also add some chopped walnuts if you want.)
4. Cook the pancakes like you would normally.
2. For the syrup:
1. Mix the apples, cinnamon, and sugar in a medium skillet. Add the butter and enough water to cover the apples about halfway (It should be between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of water.
2. Cook the apples over medium-high heat until the syrup begins to thicken and the apples soften. (I could have cooked mine longer, but the little bit of crisp to the apples added a different texture to the meal.)
3. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
3. Top the pancakes with the syrup and some whipped cream, if you want. (I didn't have any.)
4. Enjoy!