Apple, Pecan, and Raisin Pancakes

My sister and nephew visited Boston last weekend, and I flew up to see them.  It was a wonderful trip.  They are the best of company.  I always enjoy spending time with my family, and it was fun making memories with them while exploring new places.

My sister is very adventurous.  She emailed me some fantastic ideas for things to do in Boston before the trip.  We didn't accomplish everything we wanted, but I was very pleased with everything we did.

My favorite thing was whale watching.  The water was rough, and many people became sick when we left the harbor.  There were people throwing up all over the place.  My sister even threw up.  

Luckily she felt well enough to enjoy the whales.  We saw well over ten whales in total.  Three swam near us for over half an hour.  We saw four eating together.  Their mouths would come out of the water, wide open in the air.  The birds flew around wildly trying to steal some fish.  

We saw one whale in the distance slap its tail repeatedly in the water for around five minutes.  The most amazing thing was a whale jumped completely out of the water less than 10 yards away from where we were standing on the deck.  I couldn't believe it.  As I write, it sounds unbelievable, but it's true!  I might not see anything like it ever again.

This pancake recipe came from food.com.  I added less milk and more flour.  I replaced the cream for milk.  I also added pumpkin pie spice.

The ingredients are 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup oatmeal, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, zest of one lemon, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 2 3/4 cups milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 3 eggs, 2 cups finely chopped apples, 1/2 cup raisins, and 1/2 cup pecans.

I added the flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, lemon zest, and pumpkin pie spice.

I whisked the dry ingredients together.

Meanwhile, I let one cup of milk and the lemon juice sit for two minutes.

 I whisked the eggs and 1 3/4 cups of milk together.

I whisked in the vanilla and the milk and lemon mixture.

I added the apples, raising, and pecans into the flour.  I stirred everything together.

I poured the liquids into the flour mixture.

I stirred the batter together.

I scooped about a third of a cup of the batter into a hot and greased pan.  I flipped the pancakes when the edges looked dry and firm.  I cooked the other side for a few minutes.

I kept reading the recipe to make sure there was no sugar in the recipe, but there really is no added sugar.  Even more surprising:  I didn't miss it.  The apples and raisins were sweet enough.  I have an insatiable sweet tooth, but I don't want to eat cake for every breakfast.

The texture of the pancakes were fluffy.  The oats made them more substantial and hearty than buttermilk pancakes.

I enjoyed the chewy raisins and crunchy pecans.  The apple chunks softened a little.  They infused the pancakes with an appealing apple flavor.

The apples and warm spices made these pancakes a great fall breakfast.