Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes with Caramel Apple Sauce

I love fall! In Ohio we have the perfect fall season--I love the brisk weather, the colorful trees, and the plethora of traditional fall ingredients like apples and pumpkins.

I bought some apples yesterday for super cheap, so I thought I'd use a couple for breakfast this morning. I had originally planned to make apple pancakes and just grate the apple into the pancake batter, but a couple of my kids are picky and probably wouldn't have liked that, so I decided to make an apple topping instead.  I made cinnamon oatmeal pancakes (they're heartier and will hopefully stick with the kids until lunch) and we used the topping instead of butter and syrup. 

Pancakes:  Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancake recipe 

Caramel Apple Topping:

2 small apples--peeled, cored and diced
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
1 Tablespoon water
*(optional) 2 tablespoons evaporated milk

Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat until melted.  Add the diced apple and saute until soft (1-2 minutes).  Add the brown sugar, vanilla, and water (and optional milk) along with just a pinch of salt.  Cook, stirring often, until the sugar is dissolved.  If the sauce is too thin, let it simmer a minute or two to thicken up.  If it's a bit too thick, add another teaspoon of water.  Remove the caramel apple sauce from the heat and spoon over your hot cinnamon pancakes.  Yum!

*NOTE:  If you have evaporated milk (not condensed milk) on hand, add a couple of tablespoons of it to the sauce along with the water and sugar and it will make the caramel sauce creamier and smoother and a bit less sticky sweet.