Cinnamon Roll Pancakes by The Redhead Baker

It's Blogger's Choice Recipe Swap time again, hosted by A Taste of Home Cooking.

In a blogger's choice swap, we're assigned another blog, and we can choose any recipe we want from it. I was assigned Amy's Kitchen Creations. Amy has a lot of delicious-sounding recipes, but once I saw the cinnamon-roll pancakes, I knew I wanted to try them. I love breakfast food. I love pancakes. I love cinnamon rolls. I was intrigued about how they would taste.

I had intended to make them on a weekend morning for breakfast, but I actually forgot. I ended up making them on a weekday night, intending to take them to work for breakfast. They seem like they would be easy to warm in the microwave, and the cream cheese glaze would make a nice dipping sauce.

Unfortunately, while these pancakes sound like a delicious combination of two breakfast foods, they're a little bit more difficult in reality. While the pancake batter contains elements that make the liquid batter set while cooking, the cinnamon mixture does not. So, when you flip the pancakes over, the cinnamon mixture spreads everywhere. And when you lift the cooked pancakes off the griddle, the cinnamon mixture stays on the griddle.

It's a nice concept, and could definitely be improved. The pancakes themselves were tasty, though they could have used a little sugar (which may have only been because of the lack of cinnamon sugar filling). Dave thought they were "dough-y" rather than fluffy, but that could have been user-error. Amy's recipe called for one cup of flour, but the batter came out much thinner than what I was used to. So, I added flour a little at a time, and stirred, until I reached my desired consistency. All that stirring may have overworked the batter.

As you'll see in the picture, I didn't make the cream cheese glaze. I thought I had an entire tub of cream cheese in the refrigerator, but someone (ahem — Dave) likes a looooot of cream cheese on his morning bagel, so there was none left.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Barely adapted from Amy's Kitchen Creations

Ingredients

For the cinnamon filling:
4 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and still hot
6 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
For the pancakes:
1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For the cream cheese glaze:
4 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
¾ cup powdered sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Make the cinnamon filling: While the melted butter is still hot, add the brown sugar and the cinnamon. Stir with a small whisk or fork until combined and the brown sugar is melted.
Make the pancakes: Preheat an electric griddle to 250 degrees.
Place the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
In a large measuring cup, combine the milk, egg and vegetable oil. Whisk until well combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Some lumps may remain.
Reduce the heat on the griddle to 225 degrees, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Pour the batter by the scant ⅓-cupful onto the hot griddle. Carefully spoon the cinnamon sugar filling onto each pancake in a swirl pattern, using about 2 teaspoonfuls per pancake. Cook the pancakes for about 4 minutes, then carefully and gently flip them over, and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes on the second side. Remove to a plate and cover to keep warm, while you cook the remaining pancakes.
Make the glaze: In a small saucepan set over low heat, heat the butter until melted. Turn off the heat, keeping the saucepan on the burner and whisk in the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar into the pan while continually stirring, then add in the vanilla extract. Pour over the pancakes and serve.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)

Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6 to 8 pancakes

To see more recipes from the Blogger's Choice Swap, click the images below!