Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and spices in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, milk, vanilla, and the egg yolks. Pour the wet mixture over the whisked dry mixture, and stir with the whisk to combine. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter, quickly, and set the batter aside while you prepare the fry pan.

Preheat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat til it’s good and hot. Add a dollop of butter, and let it melt, swishing it around with a spatula. Dollop half-ladles (or so) of the pancake batter onto the preheated pan, and cook the pancakes, flipping when the bottom-side is golden brown and the top batter is bubbly.

When all the pancakes are fried, you can keep them hot in a warmed oven while you make the syrup.

To make the syrup: Toss the diced apples with the sugar in a bowl. Wipe down the frying pan and add the sugar coated apples to it on medium heat, stirring. The sugar will melt while the apple cooks and releases its juice. Continue cooking til the sugar has caramelized, then remove the pan from the heat and deglaze with the maple syrup. Return the pan to the heat, and simmer for a few minutes to thicken (about 3 minutes on medium heat). If you had any lumps of sugar crystals form at the beginning, they should dissolve at this stage.

Serve the pancakes drizzled with apple maple syrup, and more maple syrup if you dare. A dollop of crème fraiche or yogurt is really nice too!