Favorite baked apple pancake

Prep: 30 minutes Cook: 35 minutes Makes: 6 servings

Pumpkin pie spice makes a snappy alternative to cinnamon. Always measure your skillets across the top for the accurate diameter. Try Honeycrisp, SweeTango, Golden Delicious, Gala or Granny Smith apples.

6 large firm apples

3⁄4 cup each: granulated sugar, packed dark brown sugar

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 cups skim milk

8 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Powdered sugar or maple syrup

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Peel, slice in half and core the apples. Slice about ¼ inch thick. Mix apples, sugars and cinnamon in a large bowl.

2. Put the milk and eggs into a blender; blend to mix. Add the flour and salt; blend briefly to moisten the flour. Do not overmix.

3. Heat 2 large (10-inch), heavy, ovenproof skillets over medium heat until hot. Add half of the butter to each pan; allow butter to melt (watching so it doesn’t burn).

When melted, divide the apple mixture between the pans. Cook and stir until apples are slightly softened and the sugar mixture creates a thickish syrup, 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Remove skillets from the heat; arrange the apples so they evenly cover the skillet bottoms. Slowly pour the batter over the apples, dividing it evenly between the pans. Do not stir.

5. Immediately transfer skillets to hot oven. Bake until pancakes are puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. The pancakes will deflate as they cool, so serve immediately.

6. To serve, cut into large wedges and flip each wedge over onto the plate so the caramelized apples are on the top. Pass powdered sugar or syrup.

Nutrition information per

serving: 688 calories, 19 g fat, 9 g saturated fat, 280 mg cholesterol, 118 g carbohydrates, 78 g sugar, 16 g protein, 245 mg sodium, 5 g fiber