Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I found a recipe awhile ago for Cinnamon Roll Pancakes which I really wanted to make during the holidays but decided that it was too much work when there were more people to feed.  I looked at some choices for special breakfast treats today so I decided to try this one since I had everything already in the pantry.  It was a little slow going for me but I think that I finally got it by the third and fourth batch.  Check out the swirl (ignore the other pancake mess in the lower corner of the picture).

The final product wasn't as neat as the one on recipegirl.com (please check out her great post here)  but after the many batches I think that my finished product wasn't bad.

We didn't use the cream cheese icing because my husband isn't a fan.  Of course, he pointed out that I had some in the freezer so I could pull it out for just mine.  I made a cream cheese glaze for cupcakes which I then froze and have used for the cinnamon rolls at Christmas.  I highly recommend keeping something really easy like that in the freezer so that if you decide to make this on a weekend, you just have to pull out the icing and the filling from the freezer the night before.  It would make it much easier to put together a quick morning treat.  I hope that you decide to try them too!!!  If you don't want the cinnamon roll part, the pancake batter is nice and fluffy so feel free to try just the pancakes too :)  Also, when I made them, I got way more then 4 pancakes so I didn't make them nearly as big as the recipe called for.

 

 

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

 

Ingredients:

PANCAKES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

CINNAMON FILLING:
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:
4 Tablespoons butter
2 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Prepare pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, oil and egg, just until batter is moistened (a few small lumps are fine).
2. In a medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a small zip baggie and set aside. You don't want this to remain super-liquidy. It's best if it becomes a consistency similar to toothpaste.
3. In a medium, microwave-safe bowl- heat butter and cream cheese until melted. Whisk together until smooth; whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla extract; set aside.
4. Heat large skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with nonstick spray. Scoop about 3/4 cup batter onto the skillet. Snip the corner of your baggie of filling and squeeze a spiral of the filling onto the top of the pancake. When bubbles begin to appear on the surface, flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.
5. When ready to serve, spoon warmed glaze onto the top of each pancake.

 

Tips:

*Keep the heat low or your pancakes might cook up too quickly. Don't flip them until you see those bubbles starting to pop on top. Flip them with a wide spatula so you can grasp the whole thing without batter and filling dripping all over the place!
*It's best if you pour the batter onto your skillet, wait a minute or so and then swirl the cinnamon onto the batter. That'll give it a chance to set a little before you add the swirl.
*If your baggie of filling begins to get too thick, just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up again. On that same note, it shouldn't be too runny. The consistency of soft toothpaste is perfect. If it's melty and runny, it will tend to run all over your pancakes. Once you micro it, let it sit on the counter at room temp for a while until it thickens slightly.
Source: RecipeGirl.com