My daughter, Rose, told me about these oven pancakes that she makes for her family. They are one pancake, baked in a pie shell that serves 2-4. A variation of them includes apples and that’s the version I tried. Without the apples they would be rather dull, IMHO (In my humble opinion).

The idea originally came from Betty Crocker’s new Cookbook. I was so excited to get the new edition of the cookbook this past fall that I read it cover-to-cover while on a road trip. Not that I retained much, but it was so much fun to see which recipes they kept from my 1975 edition. And of course now there are glorious pictures and web addresses so you can see demonstrations. So much has changed in cooking.
And think of the jobs we’ve added in the food industry in the past quarter century. Did they even have “food stylists” back when Betty Crocker was getting started? Yes, I know she’s not a real person, but I like to think there was someone who inspired her.
Apparently Aunt Jemima and Mrs. Butterworth were all fictitious characters as well. But the Pillsbury Dough Boy is real – right?

This reminds me of a conversation I had with Rose when she was eight. We had taken in a stray dog that was a disaster. When he tore off the arms of all the kids’ winter coats and then started on their actual arms, I took him back to the rescue shelter. But we told the kids he went to a farm. The next day in school, Rose’s classmates informed her that when dogs bite, they don’t go to a farm, they are destroyed. She confronted me with her large serious eyes and I fessed up that her friends were right.
“But what about the Easter Bunny? Is he real?” she demanded.
I hedged.
“And I don’t think there’s a Santa Claus or a tooth fairy either,” she pressed on.
“OK, you’re probably old enough to know they’re not real,” I admitted. “But please don’t say anything to your younger brothers.”
“Why do adults lie to children?” she wondered.
Yikes. I was trying to teach her about good and evil and she had me trapped. I never had a very good answer. Then she came out with the most difficult question.
“Are there any more adult secrets that I should know about?”
“No,” I lied again. It was WAY too early for THAT conversation. Discussion over.
Somehow this brings us to pancakes…

Ingredients
Makes: 2-4 servings
2 TBSP stick butter
2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 baking apple, thinly sliced (I leave on the peel.)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup ap flour (I used whole wheat pastry the first time I made them and ap flour the next.)
1/2 c. milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
Lemon juice, powdered sugar or cut-up fruit for garnish

Directions
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Melt butter in pie plate in oven; brush butter on side on pie plate.
Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon over the butter.
Arrange the apple slices evenly over the sugar.
Beat eggs slightly in medium bowl with wire whisk or beater.
Beat in remaining ingredients except lemon juice just until mixed (do not overbeat).
Pour over apples in pie plate.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until puffy and deep golden brown. Serve immediately sprinkled with lemon juice or powered sugar.
Loosen the edges and serve immediately with powdered sugar, fruit or lemon juice.

My pancake never got poufy, but it was a very interesting breakfast. I made these twice; once with whole wheat pastry flour and the second time with all purpose flour. The result was the same both times.

Whenever I can have warm apples cooked in cinnamon and brown sugar, it’s a good day. Adding a pancake-type pastry on top only sweetened the deal.