Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes – An Easy And Flavorful Festive Treat
Today we will take a regular pancake recipe and turn it into incredibly easy and beautiful cinnamon swirl pancakes. They are really easy, and my tips and tricks make them fool-proof!
For more delicious, hearty breakfast recipe ideas, go check out my website. Some fan favorites include Banana French Toast and Breakfast Egg Muffins.
And if you’re looking for the right drink to go with your pancakes, try Kristen’s delicious Cinnamon Tea!
What Are Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes?
If you are tired of boring, bland, everyday pancakes, then this recipe is perfect for you! It is extremely easy to make and only uses simple and basic pancake ingredients. But with a twist!
What makes this recipe unique is how we will elevate it with a delicious, creamy, cinnamon butter mixture. This mixture consists of melted butter, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon. You can even just use a premade pumpkin pie spice mix!
Once your regular plain pancake batter is in the pan, you can simply add the swirled mixture over the uncooked side. It adds a crunchy texture, a ton of hearty, wintery flavors, and a beautiful pattern.
These pancakes may look challenging, but my tutorial will help you get perfect, foolproof, fluffy pancakes each and every time!
Let’s get right to it!
Tips And Tricks For Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes
- Resting your pancake batter is how you get rid of tiny lumps. It also helps the flavor develop and the flour tenderize. It creates an overall more tender, soft, and fluffy pancake batter.
- As I’ve mentioned in my recipe below, you shouldn’t overmix the pancake batter. That is the secret to good pancakes. If you have lumps, rest the batter. Overmixing the batter will develop too much gluten, which in turn, makes the pancakes tough, dense, and chewy.
- To test when the skillet is hot enough, you can do the water droplet test. Splash a couple of water droplets on the heated skillet. If they dance on the surface (sizzle), the skillet is heated.
- If the pancakes brown sooner than the tiny bubbles form on the raw side, then lower the heat of your skillet. It takes some practice, and the first batch rarely comes out perfectly. Just keep trying.
- If you need to keep the already-cooked cinnamon swirl pancakes warm while cooking the remaining batter, place them in a warm oven. You can use a temperature of 200ºF (94ºC). Make sure the baking tray is covered with a lid or foil to prevent the pancakes from drying out.
FAQs
Is it better to cook pancakes in butter or oil?
Technically, if you have a high-quality pan, you won’t need any fat to act as a lubricant. But, if you want to use one or the other, use butter instead. It’s a lot more flavorful and gives the pancakes a sweeter flavor. Just don’t use high heat for cooking pancakes in butter, and make sure to wipe the pan clean between uses to remove any burnt butter.
How do you store cinnamon swirl pancakes?
If you have leftover pancakes, it’s best to store them separately from each other. If they touch, they will stick together and even become mushy. You can stack them if you have to and plan on eating them the next day.
Can you freeze cinnamon pancakes?
If you decide to freeze the pancakes, you have to wrap them individually in plastic wrap and foil. It’s the only way to protect their delicate texture and flavor. Make sure to label the contents. Once they are wrapped individually in plastic, you can stack them in a container and wrap the entire container with foil.
More Delicious Breakfast Recipes
Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes – An Easy And Flavorful Festive Treat
Ingredients
For The Cinnamon Swirl Mix
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- Pinch of nutmeg, optional
For The Pancake Batter
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups milk (of your choice)
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
Make the cinnamon swirl mixture
- To start, combine the melted butter, brown granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg (optional) in a mixing bowl.
- Whisk these ingredients together until it is uniform and lump-free.
- Pour the swirl mixture into a chef's squeezy bottle, measuring jug, thick syringe, or piping bag.
- Set the mixture aside for later use.
Make the pancake batter
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix the ingredients to ensure they are evenly distributed.
- Then, in a separate bowl, whisk together the milk and water.
- Slowly pour the wet ingredient mixture into the dry ingredient mixture. Whisk slowly while you are pouring the liquids.
- Keep whisking gently until you have a uniform batter. Don't overmix the ingredients. There will be some small lumps, and that's perfectly fine.
- Leave the pancake batter to stand (rest) for about 15 minutes. Give it a gentle mix again before starting the cooking process.
Cook the cinnamon swirl pancakes
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Test the heat of the skillet using the water droplet test in the tips section.
- Add 1/4 cup of pancake batter to the preheated skillet. Don't overcrowd the pan. if you can only cook two or three at a time, then so be it!
- While the pancakes are cooking, add some of the cinnamon swirl mixture on the uncooked (top) side. I create a swirling effect. But you can really do any pattern you want.
- The pancake will be ready to be flipped when loads of tiny bubbles appear on the top (uncooked) side. This can take between 2-3 minutes.
- Flip your cinnamon swirl pancakes and leave them to cook for another minute or two on the other side.
- Once they are perfectly cooked and beautifully browned, remove them from the skillet and set them aside.
- Serve the pancakes warm with their swirl side upwards. They go great with butter, maple syrup, or more cinnamon swirl mix!
