Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Fluffy cinnamon roll pancakes are swirled with brown sugar and cinnamon, then topped with an irresistible cream cheese glaze. This recipe is your favorite breakfast pastry in pancake form!
How long it takes: prep time 15 minutes, 5 minutes to cook each batch
Equipment you’ll need: mixing bowls, pastry bag with tip (or small resealable plastic bag, griddle
Servings: 4
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItThis recipe is special because it combines cinnamon rolls and pancakes into one epic breakfast. IHOP’s cinnamon roll pancakes (aka Cinn-A-Stack pancakes) are no longer on the menu, but if you’re looking for a copycat recipe, you’ll love these cinnamon roll pancakes, which have all the same cozy cinnamon roll flavors.
Bakery-Style Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Easier than real cinnamon rolls. When you make cinnamon rolls in pancake form, you don’t have to mess with yeast or wait for dough to rise. And it’s easier than you think! There’s no rolling or slicing involved for these cinnamon roll pancakes—instead you’ll make a separate batter for the cinnamon swirl. Pour it into a zip-top bag or piping (pastry) bag, and squeeze a swirl of it onto each pancake.
Tried and true: We found in initial tests of this recipe that the cinnamon swirl was melting out and getting stuck on the pan. The swirl batter is made with brown sugar and cinnamon but we also added flour and butter to stabilize the mixture. That combination makes the swirl batter squeezable but still thick enough so that it stays where you want it once you pipe it onto the pancakes (meaning, it won’t melt out – we tested this many times to get it perfectly right!).
Perfect topping: Finish with a tangy cream cheese glaze and you’ve got cinnamon roll pancake perfection!
Ingredient Notes
- Cinnamon swirl: Use unsalted butter, brown sugar, all-purpose flour, and a tablespoon of ground cinnamon to make the delicious cinnamon swirl.
- Pancakes: The pancakes are made with typical pancake ingredients. You could substitute your favorite pancake mix if you want to streamline this recipe. If you make your own pancake batter, you’ll need an egg, milk, oil or melted butter, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Cream cheese glaze: You’ll need unsalted butter, a couple of ounces of cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract to make the glaze.
How to Make Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Make the cinnamon swirl. In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the cinnamon swirl. Place the mixture in a piping bag or zip-top bag.
Pastry Bag Alternative
If you don’t have a pastry bag which is typically used to pipe on frosting, substitute a resealable sandwich bag. Snip off one of the corners of the bag to make a small hole. Don’t snip off too much; it should be a fairly small opening so the cinnamon swirl batter doesn’t come out too thickly.
Make the glaze. In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat the butter and cream cheese in 20 second intervals, stirring with a fork or whisk after each interval. Once the mixture is just melted, mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract until you have a smooth glaze. For a bright white glaze, use clear vanilla extract.
Prepare the pancake batter. Whisk the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla in a mixing bowl until well-combined. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on top of the wet ingredients, then toss together gently before stirring the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
Add batter to the griddle. Set a griddle over medium heat and grease with butter, oil, or nonstick cooking spray if desired. Add ¼ cup of batter to the griddle for each pancake. Snip off the corner of the piping bag, and swirl the cinnamon mixture onto the pancakes, starting in the center and working your way outwards.
Helpful Tip: Hold the piping bag close to the pancake, and don’t pipe too close to the edge of the pancake; you want to leave a border.
Cook the pancakes. Fry the pancakes for 3 to 4 minutes on the first side (including the time it took to pipe on the cinnamon swirl). When you see bubbles appearing in the batter that don’t disappear, flip the pancakes and cook for another minute or two on the other side, or until golden brown and cooked through. Carefully wipe the griddle with a wet paper towel between batches to remove excess sugar.
Serve. Plate the finished pancakes and serve immediately with a drizzle of cream cheese glaze. If you’re as crazy as I am about cinnamon, you’ll want to serve these cinnamon roll pancakes with a cinnamon dolce latte!
Recipe Variations
- Take a shortcut. Feel free to use your favorite boxed pancake mix for the pancake batter if you’d like. Simply make the cinnamon swirl batter and cook the pancakes as directed. For an easier cinnamon pancake, you might want to try my churro pancakes.
- Switch out the glaze. If you’re not a fan of cream cheese, you can use a basic vanilla glaze (powdered sugar, milk, vanilla) or simply add maple syrup to your pancakes. We also love these pancakes with homemade whipped cream!
- Make sticky bun pancakes. Top the pancakes with homemade caramel sauce instead of the glaze, and a sprinkle of chopped toasted pecans.
- Add a pinch of cardamom. Swedish cinnamon buns are made with cardamom for even more cozy flavor. You can add cardamom to the cinnamon swirl for Scandinavian flair!
Refrigerate/Freeze: For best results, store the pancakes without the cream cheese glaze. You can keep leftover pancakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Freeze cinnamon roll pancakes in an airtight storage container or a freezer bag with parchment paper between the layers to keep the pancakes from sticking to each other.
Reheat: Microwave the pancakes until they’re warmed through, or place them on a sheet pan and heat them in a 350ºF oven for about 10 minutes or until warm. Drizzle with glaze before serving.
More Pancake Recipes
Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Ingredients
Cinnamon Swirl:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Cream Cheese Glaze:
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 2 ounces cream cheese, cut into small cubes
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pancakes:
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons oil or melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine cinnamon swirl ingredients. Pour mixture into a piping bag or resealable bag and set aside.2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar, 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- To make the glaze, in a small microwave safe bowl, heat butter and cream cheese in 20 second intervals or until just melted, stirring with a whisk or fork. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, 2 ounces cream cheese, cut into small cubes, ½ cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Next, make the pancakes. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg, milk, oil, and vanilla until well combined.1 large egg, 1 cup milk, 2 tablespoons oil or melted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- On top of wet ingredients, add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Toss together lightly before stirring into wet ingredients. Mix only until just combined, do not overmix.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Heat a griddle over medium heat. If desired, grease with butter, oil, or nonstick cooking spray. Add batter to griddle by about ¼ cup scoops. Once bubbles begin to form, snip off corner of piping bag and swirl on cinnamon mixture starting in the middle of each pancake and working your way out. Hold the piping bag close to the pancake, and don’t add the swirl too close to the edge of the pancake.
- Cook for 3 to 4 minutes total on first side or until bubbles appear and don’t disappear. Flip and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Carefully wipe griddle with a wet paper towel between batches to prevent sugars from burning on. This recipe makes about 8 pancakes, depending on size.
- Serve immediately with cream cheese glaze.
Notes
- Take a shortcut: To save time, use your favorite boxed pancake mix for the pancake batter. Simply make the cinnamon swirl batter and add it to the pancakes as directed.
- Storage & reheating: For best results, store the pancakes without the cream cheese glaze. Refrigerate leftover pancakes for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Freeze cinnamon roll pancakes with parchment paper between the layers to keep the pancakes from sticking to each other. To reheat, microwave the pancakes until they’re warmed through, or place them on a sheet pan and heat them in a 350ºF oven for about 10 minutes or until warm. Drizzle with glaze before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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