Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Today is my niece's birthday and as you might be able to tell, she requested a Mario theme. You'll see a few Mario themed posts in the next couple of days, but this post focuses on the start of our birthday celebration: breakfast.

My sister and I wanted to make her a special treat for breakfast and we narrowed it down to either cake batter pancakes or cinnamon roll pancakes. The cinnamon roll pancakes won partly because we were having trouble finding cake batter pancakes appealing and partly because we didn't have the cake mix that we needed. It was a successful victory. Even grandma (my mother, a non-pancake eater) enjoyed these pancakes. And the birthday girl definitely approved of them ... particularly the icing. Overall, it was a great start to a great day.




Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

For the Filling

Ingredients
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp.  brown sugar
1/2 tbsp. ground cinnamon

Directions
1. Combine the butter, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon in a bowl. Transfer the mixture to a zip lock bag. Set aside.

For the Icing

Ingredients
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions
1. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the cream cheese until nearly smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk until completely combined. Set aside.

For the Pancakes

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 large egg
1 tbsp. canola oil

Directions
1. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the milk, egg and oil. Whisk until combined.
2. Heat a non-stick skillet or griddle. Take 1/3 cup of batter and pour it onto the cooking surface. Use the bottom of the cup to spread the batter into a larger circle. Snip the edge of the zip lock bag that contains the filling. When bubbles begin to appear on the pancake squeeze the filling onto the pancake in a swirl. Repeat for the remaining batter.
3. Top the pancakes with glaze. Serve warm.

Source: Recipe Girl