Recipe: Spiced Apple Dip for Pancakes

My kids like to dip their pancakes into a sweet dip of one kind or other. This dipping method began because, the stickler that I am, I only allow the kids a small amount of maple syrup for the pancakes which is kept in a small bowl next to their plate containing the pancakes they'll be eating that morning.

(We buy pure maple syrup, which isn't cheap, and is quite sweet and therefore I feel the need to regulate how much of it they have.)

A few mornings ago, after having already made the pancakes, I realized we were out of maple syrup and searched my mind as to what else they could dip their pancakes in. We happened to have an assortment of freshly picked apples which sparked an idea for a spiced apple pancake dip.

It was a success!

Here's the recipe:

Spiced Apple Pancake Dip

Water, one cup

3-4 sweet apples

2 tbsp raw honey

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp cloves

two dashes of nutmeg

1. Pour one cup of water in bottom of a small pot.

2. Slice apples and place in pot.

3. Bring to a simmer and continue simmering on medium-low heat, with lid on, for 12-15 minutes. (Add a little extra water if all the water evaporates out.)

4. Place apples and all other ingredients in either a quart sized wide-mouth jar and use a hand held blender for blending or place in blender and blend up that way.

(Add a little extra water if the mixture is too thick.)

Place in small dishes to use as a pancake dip or spread on top of pancake.

This recipe is similar to Apple Butter only apple butter is a bit thicker and has a deeper and richer flavor.