Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Ever since I made these, my husband has been literally begging me to put them up on the blog. In honor of his birthday tomorrow, I am obliging and sharing the deliciousness of this recipe with all of you. I only wish I was able to make them for him in the morning to celebrate, but since he has the day off and I have to be to work by 7:00 AM, I think I'll let him sleep :)

The idea for these came from Lori at Recipe Girl, and I have to say it is a brilliant one at that! Combining the best part of a cinnamon roll (the gooey filling) with a pancake is an idea that I never would have had on my own, but we certainly loved the results! They are more of a special breakfast treat, but they really do end up tasting like a cinnamon roll! Be sure to out the pictures from Lori's site. She was able to get this nice caramelized crust on her pancakes!

I was serving three adults, so I doubled the pancake portion of the recipe resulting in 5 large and 1 small pancakes. I also cut down on the filling to pancake ratio and actually had a fair amount extra leftover after I used all the batter. With the decrease, I didn't quite get the same caramel crust as Lori's cakes, but the pancakes still ended with that great cinnamon roll flavor. My only other change was to make a simple vanilla glaze since I don't routinely keep cream cheese around the house. I know I got 6 thumbs up from my taste testers here (myself included), so if you've got a special morning coming up, keep these in mind. Enjoy

(Printable Recipe)

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Adapted from Recipe Girl

Ingredients:
Pancakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Cinnamon Filling:
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. cinnamon

Vanilla Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 Tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the pancakes, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in milk, oil, and eggs, just until batter is moistened (a few lumps are fine).

In a separate medium bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a small zip baggie and set aside. It should be the consistency of toothpaste. 

In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. You can add more powdered sugar or milk to get it to the correct consistency. Set aside. 

Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with nonstick spray. Scoop about 3/4 cup of batter onto the skillet. With a pair of scissors, carefully snip a the very corner off the ziploc bag containing the brown sugar mixture. Squeeze a spiral of the sugar mixture into your pancake batter. When bubbles on the surface begin to pop, carefully flip the pancake and cook until browned on the underside, 1 or 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve. Serve with glaze drizzled over the top.

Yield: 5-6 large pancakes