Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

I saw a recipe for Cinnamon Bun Pancakes on Pinterest a few weeks ago and finally tried it.  I was sorely disappointed in the outcome, but with a few tweaks, I was able to come up with something delicious!

The original recipe called for a cinnamon mixture to be swirled on top of pancake batter then flipped to cook the other side.  When I tried it, the cinnamon butter mixture melted and spread all over the pan and instantly burned.  Each batch was a messy brown color and the pan had to be cleaned between batches to remove the burned sugar!  Nope.

I decided to use my own foolproof pancake recipe, add the cinnamon swirl and cream cheese frosting. I changed the cooking method to preserve the lovely cinnamon-y swirls and avoid cleaning the pan so often.  Let me know what you think...

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

Pancake:
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 Tbsp oil

cinnamon swirl:
4 Tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

Icing:
4 Tbsp butter
2-oz softened cream cheese 
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To make the pancake batter, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine milk, egg, and oil. Add milk mixture to the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Batter will be a bit lumpy.

Heat your pan on med-hi.  Add a bit of oil to the hot pan, then wipe excess oil out of pan with a paper towel.

While the pan is heating, combine the cinnamon swirl ingredients and place in a ziploc baggie.  Cut the corner from the bag so you can pipe the mixture onto the pancakes.

Add batter to hot pan then squeeze the cinnamon mixture over the top in big swirls, taking care to keep away from the edges.   When you see bubbles begin to pop on the surface of the pancake it's time to flip....not so fast!

To keep the lovely swirl and avoid the burned sugar, instead cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid allowing the top of the pancake to steam until cooked through:

Once the batter is set on top, remove the pancake to a plate.

Combine the cream cheese icing ingredients and drizzle over the top.  Serve hot!