Dating a Vermonter has opened up a world of maple products to me. Maple syrup is just the beginning, and then there is maple sugar, a delightful spread called maple cream, maple cotton candy, and solid maple candies. Will’s mom gave us a jar of maple sugar I have been savoring and trying to find the best possible uses for. Over the weekend I took my favorite buttermilk pancakes, swapped in whole wheat flour, maple sugar, and added a grated apple. Paired with maple breakfast sausage and topped with maple syrup, it was a breakfast to make a Vermonter proud. If you were really tempted you could add some cinnamon to the batter, but I like letting the maple flavor shine through.

Whole Wheat Apple Buttermilk Pancakes with Maple Sugar

Serves 2-3. Adapted from Cup of Jo.

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons maple sugar (or granulated sugar)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ¼ cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled (plus additional butter for cooking)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 apple (leave it unpeeled)
• Maple syrup for serving

Combine the whole wheat flour, maple sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl (make sure it is a bowl large enough to accommodate the wet ingredients as well).

Whisk the buttermilk, egg, butter, and vanilla extract. Grate the apple on the largest side of a box grater. Pick out the seeds and stem and discard.

Add the wet ingredients and the grated apple to the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. Stir up from the bottom and it is ready when there are no more dry pockets of flour.

Preheat your oven to 200F with a baking sheet placed on the middle rack.  Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. Melt a bit of butter around the skillet and dollop the batter into four inch circles. The pan should be hot enough so that the batter does not spread much after it is added, so adjust accordingly. Cook the pancakes 4-5 minutes, until the edges are set and you can see bubbles on the top. Flip, cook for another 3-4 minutes, and then move to the baking sheet in the oven. Repeat until all batter is used. Serve with maple syrup (and maple sausage, if you eat meat and want to go all out).