Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Happy National Pancake Day! I don't usually keep up with food holidays, but I was tipped off by Jaclyn about this day. Luckily, I had a pancake recipe ready to post.

I've found a trend with my breakfast foods - I like to combine them. Donut muffins, banana bread waffles, and now cinnamon roll pancakes. These are different than the type of pancake that you actually swirl a cinnamon batter into the pancake as it cooks. I plan on trying those out soon. The toppings for this recipe totally won me over - a spiced maple syrup swirled with a cream cheese icing. A word of warning: the topping, when warmed, will not swirl as prettily. However, they still will taste amazing.



Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
adapted from Cuisine At Home
October 2011


Pancakes:
1 ½ c all purpose flour
¼ c sugar
1 tsp apple pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp table salt
2 c buttermilk
3 Tbs pure maple syrup
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
Butter for cooking

Cream cheese icing:
6 oz. cream cheese (from a block)
¼ c sweetened condensed milk
3 Tbs buttermilk or regular milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tsp warm water

Spiced Maple Syrup:
¾ c pure maple syrup
3 Tbs sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbs unsalted butter
¼ tsp apple pie spice


For the pancakes: Combine flour, sugar, apple pie spice, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Whisk together the buttermilk, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Fold buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients until just moistened. Small lumps are okay. Let batter rest for 10 minutes.

Heat a large griddle over medium-low. Melt a pat of butter and spread a thin layer over the surface of the griddle. Pour about ⅓ c of batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form in the pancakes and the edges are set. Flip and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove pancakes to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter.

For the cream cheese icing: Place cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, buttermilk, and vanilla in a sauce pan over medium heat. As the cream cheese melts, whisk ingredients together until smooth. Add water 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency is reached. Pour into a bowl or small pitcher.

For the spiced maple syrup: Heat maple syrup, sweetened condensed milk, butter, and apple pie spice in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter melts and ingredients are well combined, about 5 minutes. Pour into a bowl or a small pitcher.