Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

There’s a local brunch place in the city called Orange. I haven’t been there in forever (there’s always a huge line and, if I’m being honest, I think it’s sort of gone downhill) but I randomly was thinking about their cinnamon roll pancakes the other day.  I thought about taking a (relatively long) walk there during lunch, but ultimately decided I would try to make my own over the weekend.  I couldn’t remember exactly what’s in the pancakes (like I said, it’s been a while) so I looked at the description on the menu. I’m pretty sure they have candied pecans on them too, though…not that mine did. I don’t candy things at 8am on a Saturday.

At any rate, these were easy enough to whip up and tasted great. For the maple-pecan paste I literally just used toasted pecans and maple syrup (but don’t worry, no paste) and blended them in a food processor.  I didn’t add a whole lot of syrup though because I knew these would be topped with glaze (and maybe more syrup) and didn’t want them to be TOO over the top.

The pancakes are nice and cinnamony and I’ve always loved pecans as a complement to both pancakes and waffles. My glaze was a little runny because I added too much milk and didn’t feel like adding more sugar to thicken it (since it tasted fine) but otherwise, these were a nice change of pace from my normally boring (and usually over-the-top healthy) breakfasts.

Oh, also, this will be my last post for a while! The hubs and I are taking a vacation to Florida so it will probably be a week and a half or so before I’m back. Think happy no-rain thoughts for me, please.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Makes about 8 small pancakes or 5 large pancakes
Printer Friendly Recipe

1 egg
1 cup milk or buttermilk
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 cup AP flour (I used half whole wheat, half white)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1.25 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
2/3 cup pecans
3 Tbsp.  maple syrup
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
drop of vanilla
milk

Preheat your griddle or pan and grease if necessary. Beat the egg and mix it with the milk, vanilla and brown sugar in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, cinnamon, and baking powder. Add the butter and mix lightly together with a spatula.  Spoon out the batter in equal amounts onto the hot griddle. Cook until  you start to see bubbles forming around the edges and a little on the top. Flip the pancakes and finish cooking on the other side.

Meanwhile, toast  your pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat until they become fragrant. Put them in a mini food processor with the maple syrup and pulse until well combined and paste-like (adding more syrup, if you wish).

To make the glaze, sift the confectioners sugar into a bowl. Then add the vanilla and a little milk until you get the proper consistency.

To plate, place a little bit of the pecan-maple paste in between each stacked pancake and drizzle with the glaze. Add more pecans and some powdered sugar on top, if desired.