What happens when pancake batter gets a lift from yeast and a boost from an eye-popping amount of diced fresh, juicy Pazazz apples?
You get a stack of irresistible “Fritter-Style Apple Pancakes.” Served with a creamy, brown sugar-peanut butter sauce, they are sure to impress for breakfast, brunch, snack or dessert.
Tender yet with wonderful lofty chew to them, these golden fritters are made with minimal sugar so that the naturally sweet and tangy taste of the Pazazz apples really shines through.
A late-season variety, Pazazz are related to the Honeycrisp. Grown by a small group of family farmers across North America, these shiny red-skinned apples with yellow-green striations are perfect for snacking out of hand or to feature in all manner of sweet or savory recipes. Pick some up now at your favorite grocery store.
The original recipe for these fritter-style pancakes comes from “Dobre Dobre: Baking From Poland and Beyond” (Chronicle Books, 2025), of which I received a review copy.
Written by Laurel Kratochvila, an American-born writer and baker based in Berlin and trained in France, it is chock-full of more than 120 recipes, some traditional, others of her own invention, that showcase the breadth of Polish baking culture.
I honed in on her fritter-style pancakes because, well, who doesn’t love a golden, buttery pancake, right? Because these contain apples, they are a guilty treat you can actually feel good about. After all, apples are extremely rich in fiber, with one medium one providing 4.4 grams of dietary fiber or about 16 percent of the recommended daily value.
Using Kratochvila’s recipe as a jumping-off point, I decided to up the fiber even more by leaving the peel on the apples, a suggestion I added to the recipe below. After all, March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month, a perfect time to remember how fiber is crucial for colon health.
I liked the results even better because you get little flecks of pretty red peeking out of the pancakes almost like edible confetti.
The recipe requires two to three large apples that are diced. I went all in with three, which makes for practically more apple than batter. And that’s exactly what you want.
The batter — made with whole milk, all-purpose flour, one egg, a little melted butter, a pinch of salt, a mere 1 tablespoon of sugar, and instant yeast — needs to rest for almost an hour so that the yeast can activate.
When ready, heat a large skillet with a generous amount of ghee. You want to use ghee or clarified butter, which has a higher smoke point, for that wonderful buttery taste without worrying about the pancakes burning easily.
Drop heaping spoonfuls into the pan, pressing down lightly with a spatula or tines of a fork to flatten slightly. Cook until golden on the bottom, then flip them over to cook the other side.
Sprinkle the pancakes with confectioners’ sugar to serve. To celebrate National Peanut Month all through March, I couldn’t resist whipping up a fast and easy peanut butter sauce to accompany the pancakes.
In a saucepan on the stovetop, bring heavy cream to a simmer, and stir in brown sugar until dissolved. Then, gently whisk in creamy, natural peanut butter until thoroughly combined. Add more heavy cream if you prefer a thinner consistency. Transfer to a serving bowl, and let guests help themselves.
Crisp on the outside, these are definitely not fluffy, saucer-sized pancakes in the American sense. Instead, they are decidedly sturdier and more compact, and can actually be picked up with your fingers, if you like.
Dunk one after another into the velvety peanut butter sauce for a taste of joy to make any day better.
Fritter-Style Apple Pancakes (Racuchy z Jablkami)
(Makes 12 to 15 pancakes)
For the batter:
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (225 grams) whole milk
1 egg
1 3/4 tablespoons (25 grams) unsalted butter, melted
2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon (15 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon (3 grams) yeast
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 or 3 large Pazazz apples, unpeeled, cored, and diced
For frying:
1/2 cup (110 grams) ghee or clarified butter
For the topping:
Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling
Brown Sugar-Peanut Butter Sauce (recipe follows)
Begin by making the batter: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and melted butter. In a smaller mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix just until no dry pockets of flour remain. It should be a moderately lumpy batter — do not overmix. Add the apples and mix until even. Set aside to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Once the batter is risen and bubbly, line a cooling rack with paper towels. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, melt about 3 tablespoons of clarified butter until a speck of batter sizzles when added. Racuchy are cooked with more fat than American-style pancakes, so the effect is more like a fritter, nearly deep-fried. Spoon out the racuchy batter into the hot clarified butter in large, heaping spoonfuls, keeping each about 1 inch apart. Flatten slightly with a spatula or fork tines. As the racuchy fry, bubbles will rise to the surface of the dough, signaling it’s time to flip. You can also use a spatula to check when the bottom has gotten golden brown — after about 3 minutes — then flip and cook until golden brown on the other side. Remove the browned racuchy from the pan and allow to cool on the rack.
Replenish with clarified butter as needed, allow it to heat, then fry the next batch. Continue until all racuchy have been fried. Sprinkle generously with confectioners’ sugar and serve hot. Place brown sugar-peanut butter sauce in a serving bowl alongside to let guests help themselves.
Adapted from “Dobre Dobre” by Laurel Kratochvila
Brown Sugar-Peanut Butter Sauce
(Makes about 1 cup)
3/4 cup heavy cream, or more to your liking
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
In a medium saucepan, heat the heavy cream on medium heat until it reaches a simmer. Stir in the light brown sugar until dissolved. Carefully whisk in the peanut butter until thoroughly combined. Add more heavy cream if you prefer a thinner consistency. The sauce will thicken when it cools. Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve warm with the fritter-style apple pancakes.
From Carolyn Jung
More Pazazz Apple Recipes to Enjoy: Barley Risotto with Pazazz Apples, Sage, and Leek Butter Sauce
And: Overnight-Oats Pazazz Apple Muffins with Peanut Butter and Honey-Roasted Peanuts
And: Farro Salad with Pistachios, Tarragon, and Pazazz Apples
And: Cider-Braised Pazazz Apples with Coconut “Bacon,” and Garlic
And: Baked Frangipane Apples with Pazazz
And: Apple, Brown Rice, Cranberry, Almond & Rosemary Salad
And: Asiago Apple Galette
And: Quick Bread-and-Butter Apple Pickles
And: Cheese Focaccia with Pazazz Apples
And: Apple Beehive