Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Happy National Pancake Day!

Wait, you didn't know about National Pancake Day? Well, truth be told, neither did I. I mean, not ahead of time.

But, as luck would have it, we had pancakes this weekend, so today is the perfect day to share them here. Because these were no ordinary pancakes, oh no! These were so much more than ordinary. I came across these pancakes on foodgawker one day last week and just knew that I would not wait long to try them.

This recipe has two components - the pancake itself and the cinnamon swirl filling. The filling is a simple combination of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, beaten together until smooth. I suppose I should thank little man for his 5am feeding, because that was when I took the butter out of the fridge so that it would be soft enough to prepare this filling. You may now begin sleeping longer hours.

The pancake batter was a simple, pretty standard one, with half whole wheat flour, half all purpose, and minimal sugar. If not for that stick of butter and cup of brown sugar, I'd swear this was a recipe for healthy pancakes.

Once the batter was prepared and the filling was transferred into a plastic zip top bag with a corner snipped off (or, you know, a piping bag, if you have one), it was time to make the pancakes. After spooning the batter into the pan, as per normal pancakes, I piped a cinnamon swirl onto each using the prepared filling. As the first side cooked, the filling sank further into the pancake and began to get a bit ooey gooey. When the edges begin to dry, it is time to flip them. The second side of the pancake looks just like a regular pancake, as the filling does not sink all the way to the bottom. The filling does, however, melt significantly when it comes in contact with the hot pan. This is both a good thing (melty, ooey-gooey butter and sugar coats the entire side of the pancake!) and a bad thing (hot, melted butter and sugar oozes out all over the pan, and you don't want it to burn there. Or burn you when you try to wipe it up. I learned that the hard way.).

The resulting pancakes, however, are totally worth the effort:

How cool does that look?

Daddy and I switched off, and by the last pan-ful of

pancakes, he got a little creative with his "swirls," much to the delight of little miss. She chose to have the diamond and the zig-zag for breakfast. And the little mini one, too. Daddy got the smiley face. Me? I had a plate full of regular swirls, and boy were they delicious. These pancakes require no syrup, though I'd imaginethat would just up the decadent sweetness factor.

Or, if you really wanted to go all out, I suppose you could make a cream cheese glaze or other kind of cinnamon roll style frosting for them, but really, they are delicious all on their own. And they reheat beautifully in the microwave, so we are able to enjoy them for a few days.

So I repeat - Happy National Pancake Day!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

(from Baking Serendipity)

For filling:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

For pancakes:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

2 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

Make the filling first. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the sugar and spices and beat until smooth. Transfer the filling to a pastry bag or to a resealable plastic baggie (you can cut the tip to use it like a pastry bag).

To make the pancakes, you can use the same mixing bowl in which you made the filling. Whisk together the flours, salt, sugar and baking powder. Add the milk and eggs and stir to combine.

Spoon or ladle the batter onto a hot, greased griddle then pipe a swirl of the filling onto each cooking pancake. Flip each pancake when the edges begin to dry, cooking them evenly on both sides. The filling may (will) ooze out a bit when you flip the pancakes. Don't worry about it.

Have a good breakfast!