Love these!  There have been a couple of recipes floating around the web for the last six months or so for Cinnamon Roll pancakes.  I have tried several of them, hoping to find a perfect recipe, but it wasn’t to be found.  This one is the best of the lot, but it’s not perfect.  The pancakes taste really good, but they are not pretty, and they are probably not the best choice for a beginner cook.  You have to know how to cook pancakes, when to flip them and when to take them off the heat.  The first flip is critical, be sure the edges are dry and the batter is cooked as much as possible, without burning the outside of the pancake.  Cooking the second side is important, too.  Cook it too long, and the cinnamon sugar mixture will caramelize and burn (in a second), and you’ll loose the ooey-gooey cinnamon roll swirl.  Undercook it, and you’ll have uncooked pancake batter which is never a good thing.  I’ve made this recipe a few times now (hah! Who am I kidding…I’ve made them six times or more), so I am pretty good at it.  Jump in! I have faith that you can do it, too! Just don’t make your first batch for guests, practice a little first! (Disclaimer, the photo above is of a trial batch…one that looked good, but didn’t taste as good.  To get  your pancakes to look like this, stir 1/3 cup of the pancake batter into the cinnamon swirl batter, then continue as outlined below.)

I am not going to credit anyone in particular for this recipe, as it is on a lot of websites-although I will say I first saw the pictures posted on Foodgawker. Some of the websites have a buttermilk syrup or a cream cheese topping to put on the pancake.  I’ve made them, too, and found them to be totally useless.  The pancake is sweet enough as it is.  No need for more sweetness.  If you DO need more sweetness, nothing will top maple syrup! I also doubled the cinnamon swirl part of the recipe. I hated making more swirl after I used up the first and still had batter leftover (just to be clear, the recipe below has been doubled).

My guess is that any pancake batter could be used to make these pancakes…, but I haven’t tested that.

If you don’t have the buttermilk for this recipe, mix 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or plain vinegar with milk.  In 5 minutes you’ll have buttermilk.  If you bought buttermilk just for this recipe, and now have some leftover, freeze it to use next time.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon honey

Cinnamon swirl:

1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 -3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour

Combine dry ingredients for pancakes in a medium size bowl. Combine wet ingredients in another bowl and then whisk into flour mixture. Batter should be lumpy and not too thin.

In another bowl, combine ingredients for the cinnamon swirl and pour into a plastic Ziploc bag. Snip a tiny triangle off the end of the Ziploc bag for piping. Set aside (The size of the hole determines how much swirl goes into the pancake.  Cutting the Ziploc corner the right size is part of the trial-and-error method of learning this recipe.)

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Grease with butter, if desired, (I use Pam) and pour on a 1/2 cup of batter. Quickly, use the Ziploc bag (freezer thickness is the best, it won’t burst) to swirl the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the batter.

Now watch the pancake carefully. When the bubbles on the surface of the pancake begin to pop and no longer fill in with more batter and the edges of the pancake are dry, flip and cook for 30 seconds more. Repeat with remaining batter.

I serve the pancake upside-down, so people can see the swirl.  They are not pretty.  They are yummy, though.  In my book, yummy trumps pretty every time.

Have a great weekend.  I have a feeling these will be served at your house one weekend morning in the VERY near future!