Flapjacks, pancakes, big plates of deliciousness.

Cold weather demands warm breakfasts.  It's a simple as that.  And seeing how we've been living in a world of snow, I've been heating up the frying pan.  Pancakes are a favorite around here. Warm and fluffy, dripping with syrup and a pat of butter melting on top.  Yuuuuum.

I grew up with eating my mom's basic pancake recipe, and I'm still surprised that anyone feels the need to buy pancake mix when making them from scratch is so easy.  Here's the simple form:

Diana's Basic Pancake Goodness

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp sugar

2 eggs

2 cups milk or buttermilk

Mix it all together and fry up some golden brown goodness on a lightly oiled pan.

Most days, that's the recipe I use, but I frequently embellish it with blueberries or toasted pecans.  I like to add a teaspoon of vanilla and a bit of nutmeg.  Mr. Dog likes to add orange extract.  It's a forgiving recipe.

Today I took it one step further, and the result was outstanding.  Since we'd just had pancakes a day or two ago, I decided we needed some variation.  I looked in the fridge and pantry and concocted this:

Laura's Apple Pie Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup cake flour

1 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp apple pie spice (if you don't have this use 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves)

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 1/2 cups milk

Mix it all together and fry up a batch of spicy apple-y breakfast cakes.  Top with syrup and butter and watch as your kids devour them.