Seriously, You Have to Try These Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Okay, confession time. I absolutely adore cinnamon rolls. Like, LOVE them. But who has the time (or frankly, the patience) to make proper yeasted rolls on a lazy Saturday morning? Not me! That’s where this Fluffy Cinnamon Roll Pancakes recipe swooped in and saved my brunch game. It started as a bit of an experiment one weekend when the craving hit hard, and honestly? I might even prefer these now. They give you all that warm, gooey cinnamon swirl goodness but in pancake form. Genius, right?! My kids go absolutely bonkers for them every single time.
Why These Pancakes Rock (Besides the Obvious)
Well, like I said, they’re way quicker than actual cinnamon rolls! Perfect for when you want something special but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. I make this when we have friends over for brunch, or just when we need a little weekend pick me up. My family goes crazy for this because, let’s be honest, it’s basically dessert for breakfast (and who doesn’t love that?). Plus, that cinnamon swirl looks dead impressive, even though it’s secretly easy peasy. Sometimes getting the swirl *just right* takes practice, I definitely messed it up the first time, it looked more like a brown blob… but it still tasted amazing!
What You’ll Need (The Bits and Bobs)
Here’s the rundown of ingredients. Don’t stress too much about exact brands, mostly anything works fine! My grandmother swore by King Arthur flour, but honestly, store brand is usually okay for pancakes.
For the Pancakes:
- 1 ½ cups (about 190g) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (optional, I sometimes skip it if I’m using super sweet syrup)
- 1 ¼ cups (300ml) milk (whole milk makes them richer, but low fat works too. Sometimes I use buttermilk if I have it hanging around!)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons melted butter, slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cinnamon Swirl:
- ¼ cup (55g) packed brown sugar (light or dark, your call!)
- ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened (not melted! Needs to be soft)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (Use good stuff here, it makes a difference)
- A tiny pinch of salt
For the Cream Cheese Glaze (Totally Necessary, Trust Me):
- 2 oz (about 55g) cream cheese, softened (Full fat tastes best, let’s be real)
- 2 tablespoons milk or cream
- ½ cup (about 60g) powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Right Then, Let’s Get Cooking!
- Mix the Dry Stuff: In a big bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar (if you’re using it). Get rid of any lumps.
- Mix the Wet Stuff: In a separate bowl or measuring jug, whisk the milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla. Don’t overmix it, just enough to combine.
- Combine Wet and Dry: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Whisk *just* until combined. Seriously, lumps are okay! Overmixing = tough pancakes. Let the batter rest for 5-10 minutes while you make the swirl. It helps them get fluffier, something about gluten relaxing? Science!
- Make the Magical Swirl: While the batter rests, grab another bowl. Cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pinch of salt until it’s smooth. A fork works fine for this. Scoop this mixture into a small ziplock bag or a piping bag (if you’re fancy). Snip a tiny corner off the bag. You could also use a squeeze bottle.
- Make the Glaze: Beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Add the milk/cream and vanilla, beat again. Gradually add the powdered sugar until it’s smooth and drizzle-able. Add a splash more milk if it’s too thick. This is where I usually sneak a taste… or three.
- Heat the Pan: Get your frying pan or griddle over medium heat. Add a little butter or oil. You want it hot enough that a drop of water sizzles, but not so hot it burns instantly. Medium is usually your friend here.
- Pancake Time!: Pour about ¼ cup of batter per pancake onto the hot griddle. Let it spread a bit. Now, grab your cinnamon swirl bag and pipe a spiral onto the raw batter, starting form the center outwards. Don’t go too crazy or it’ll just melt everywhere.
- Flip ‘Em: Cook for 2-3 minutes, until bubbles start popping on the surface and the edges look set. Carefully flip the pancake (the swirl side will cook now) and cook for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter/oil to the pan as needed. Don’t worry if the first one looks a bit weird – it always does! The first pancake is the chef’s treat, right?
- Serve ‘Em Up!: Stack ’em high, drizzle generously with that cream cheese glaze, and maybe add a little extra butter and maple syrup if you’re feeling extra decadent. Dive in!
Things I’ve Learned (The Hard Way)
- Don’t overheat the pan: Seriously, burnt cinnamon is not nice. Keep it medium, maybe even medium low if your stove runs hot. Patience is key.
- Softened, not melted butter for the swirl: If you melt the butter, the swirl just kind of dissolves into the pancake. You want it thick enough to hold its shape a bit.
- Resting the batter does help: I used to skip this, but they genuinely are fluffier if you let the batter sit for a few minutes. Go make coffee or something.
- Don’t make the swirl *too* thick: It makes flipping harder and can sometimes stay a bit gooey inside if you pipe on massive amounts.
Mixing It Up (Variations I’ve Tried)
Sometimes I add a handful of chopped pecans or walnuts to the swirl mixture for a bit of crunch. That works great! I also tried adding orange zest to the glaze once which was pretty darn good, very festive feeling. Oh, and one time I tried making a chocolate swirl version? Yeah, that… didn’t go so well. It mostly just burned and tasted bitter. Stick with cinnamon, folks!
Stuff You Might Need
You don’t need much fancy kit. A couple of mixing bowls, a whisk, a frying pan or griddle. A squeeze bottle or piping bag makes the swirl *much* easier and neater, I highly recommend getting one if you plan to make these often, but honestly, a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off works just fine in a pinch. And a good spatula for flipping! Nothing worse than mangling a pancake during the flip.
Leftovers? If You’re Lucky…
These are definitely best fresh and warm, obviously. But if you *do* have leftovers (which, honestly, in my house it never lasts more than breakfast!), you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two. Reheat them gently in the microwave or even in a toaster oven. The glaze might get a bit weird, so maybe make extra glaze to add fresh when reheating? Just a thought. I think they taste pretty decent cold the next day too, almost like a cakey snack.
How We Eat ‘Em
We always serve these with the cream cheese glaze, non negotiable! But sometimes we add warm maple syrup too – this Runamok stuff is amazing if you want to splurge. Fresh berries on the side are nice too, cuts through the richness a bit. Usually just served straight up with a big cup of coffee though!
Oh, totally unrelated, but seeing cinnamon reminds me of autumn baking. Does anyone else just get ridiculously excited when pumpkin spice season starts? I know it’s basic, but I don’t care!
Don’t Make My Mistakes! (Pro Tips From Me To You)
- Don’t overmix the batter: I know I said it before, but it bears repeating. Lumps are fine, really! I once tried whisking until perfectly smooth and ended up with rubbery frisbees instead of fluffy pancakes. Never again.
- Get the swirl consistency right: Too thin and it melts, too thick and it’s clunky. Aim for toothpaste consistency, maybe? That feels about right.
- Prep everything first (mise en place, darling!): Make the swirl, make the glaze, have your batter ready *before* you start cooking. Trying to pipe cinnamon goo while pancakes are burning is stressful. Ask me how I know.
- Clean the pan between batches if needed: Sometimes bits of cinnamon or butter can burn. Give it a quick wipe with a paper towel if needed to avoid bitter tasting pancakes later on.
Questions I Get Asked A Lot
Can I make these ahead of time?
Hmm, you *can* make the batter the night before and keep it in the fridge. It might get a little thick, so you might need a splash of milk to thin it out. The swirl and glaze are best made fresh though, I reckon.
Can I use whole wheat flour?
You probably could, maybe substitute half the all purpose flour? They might be a bit denser though, less fluffy. Haven’t tried it myself – I go all in on the white flour for these indulgent beauties!
Help! My swirl just melted into the pancake!
Ah yes! This usually happens if a) your swirl butter was too melted, or b) your pan was way too hot, cooking the swirl before the pancake batter sets around it. Make sure that butter is just softened, not liquid, and keep the heat moderate!
What if I don’t have cream cheese for the glaze?
Disaster! No, just kidding. You could make a simple powdered sugar glaze instead – just powdered sugar, a splash of milk or water, and vanilla. It won’t have that tangy flavour, but it’ll still be sweet and yummy! Or just good old maple syrup works wonders, of course.
Hopefully that covers everything! Let me know if you give this fluffy cinnamon roll pancakes recipe a try – I’d love to hear how they turn out. Happy flipping!
simo
Med
