Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

OK.  I know that pancakes aren't technically baking...but after I had these I knew that I HAD to share!  Not too long ago, I was browsing through cooking blogs (as I often do) and I found Big Red Kitchen.  It's an excellent blog with great recipes and beautiful pictures!  Anyway, I found a recipe for cinnamon roll pancakes and my jaw dropped.  I had to wipe a little bit of drool from my mouth and wipe my eyes to make sure they weren't deceiving me.  Yay for me...they weren't!  When I posted the recipe for the 90 Minute Cinnamon Rolls, I said that in my opinion, cinnamon rolls are the ultimate comfort food.  It's the truth!  But even at 90 minutes, sometimes that's too long and you need your fix now!  My family went nuts over them.  It has quickly become a frequent request for Saturday morning breakfasts.  Go ahead and try them.  I triple dog dare you!

I will be putting the original recipe on here word for word with my pictures and then adding the things I changed at the bottom.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

For the Cinnamon Filling...
In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, mix until smooth:
1 stick softened butter, almost melty
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 T. cinnamon

Using a rubber spatula to scrape the sides, pour this mixture into a large pastry bag that had been opened and stood up in a tall tumbler. A large ziptop bag with the edges folded over the tumbler would work too. 

For the Cream Cheese Icing...
In the same bowl that you used for the cinnamon filling, mix together, using the hand mixer again:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 ounces cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
4 T. milk

Mix until smooth and pour into a second pastry bag just like you did with the cinnamon mixture above.

For the Pancakes...
In the same bowl that you used for the filling and the icing- no need to be using or washing too many bowls now- mix together:


2 cups pancake mix- I used Bisquick's Heart Healthy
3 eggs
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 T. powdered sugar
1 1/4 cups milk

the hand mixer, blend until smooth. In a large non-stick skillet, over medium to medium-low heat, and using a 1/4 cup dry measuring cup, ladle 2 pancakes. Snip the tip off the pastry bag containing the cinnamon filling so that the opening is a scant 1/2 inch wide, swirl over cooking pancakes in a circular motion- 3 go-a-rounds should do. Continue to cook the pancakes until bubbles form evenly through each cake. Gently flip each pancake over and cook another 30-45 seconds, remove to a serving platter and serve immediately or keep warm covered in a warm oven. Continue with the rest of the batter. Place 2-3 pancakes side by side (too pretty to stack!) on each person's plate and drizzle each one with icing. Serve maple syrup, bacon or sausage, and fruit on the side. Makes 18 pancakes.

Note- Using a damp paper towel, wipe your skillet after each pancake is made. This will keep the next pancake from sticking to any of the cinnamon filling that has leaked onto your skillet or griddle. 
After I swirled each pancake with the cinnamon filling, I returned the pastry bag, tip down in the tumbler. This kept it from leaking all over. 
Store any leftover icing in the refrigerator for future use. 



My tips for this recipe:

• Pancake mix: I don't typically use a prepared mix. I made the pancakes that are found in my Betty Crocker cook book. Here's the recipe:

Prep: 5 min; Cook: 10 min
Makes nine 4-inch pancakes

1 large egg

1 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour

3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon granulated or packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Margarine or shortening

1. Beat egg in medium bowl with hand beater until fluffy.  Beat in remaining ingredients except margarine just until smooth. 

2. Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 375.  Grease griddle with margarine if necessary.  

3.  For each pancake, pour slightly less than 1/4 cup batter from cup or pitcher onto hot griddle.  Cook pancake until puffed and dry around edges.  Turn and cook other side until golden brown.

• Cream Cheese Icing:  *Sigh*  Sadly I didn't have any cream cheese.  So typical, you know?  So I used this for my icing:

2 Tbsp butter, melted 

pinch of salt

2 -3 cups powdered sugar

2-3 Tbsp milk

1/2 tsp almond extract

Whisk all ingredients until smooth.  If needed add more milk 1 Tbsp at a time until it has reached drizzling consistency.

• Serve with syrup:  We didn't need or want any syrup on ours.  It was plenty sweet with just the icing.  (My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it!)

Enjoy your breakfast!!!