It occurred to me this morning that one should be able to order a panful of warm cinnamon buns to be delivered to your door on a Saturday morning, much like you can order pizza on a Saturday night.

Business potential? I’d say so. Although it’s probably best that I can’t pick up the phone and have a warm batch of cinnamon buns delivered straight to my couch.

We didn’t have time to make the real thing from scratch, and since the 101st Calgary Stampede is now well underway, I have pancakes on the brain. Decades of free pancake breakfasts the first week of July every year will do that to the part of your psyche that dictates seasonal cravings. (If you’re not familiar with the Stampede, one of our biggest traditions during its 10 days is free Stampede breakfasts all over the city every morning. It’s a tradition that started at the 1923 Stampede, when chuckwagon driver Jack Morton invited passing citizens to join him for their first meal of the day. And so it began.

This weekend, cinnamon bun pancakes was a delicious compromise. Made with flours and canola oil from Tony and Penny at Highwood Crossing in Aldersyde (who are still recovering from the flood and not yet back in production).

These made the rounds of the interwebs a few years ago – I think my first sighting of them was over at Recipe Girl. You mix melted butter, sugar and cinnamon in a ziplock bag, snip off a corner and squeeze it out in a swirl onto your cooking pancake batter. At first, I forgot the cinnamon (see top photo) – and accidentally made caramel swirl pancakes. But it was easy to stir in some cinnamon once I realized the omission (see bottom photo).

I used my usual pancake formula – two of everything (flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, milk, oil) with some grainy flours in there to balance things out somewhat. My advice: keep the heat moderate – once flipped, that sticky sweet swirl can burn easily. You’ll get the hang of it – I did. It’s worth navigating the cooking time for those crunchy edges and craters of buttery sugar; these pancakes, not surprisingly, don’t need syrup, but are seriously fantastic drizzled while warm with a dribble of sweet cream cheese frosting. And a very good morning to you.

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

AuthorJulie

Yields1 Serving

Cinnamon swirl

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1-2 Tbsp. maple syrup or honey

1 tsp. cinnamon

Cream cheese drizzle

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup icing sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

milk or water, if needed

Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour (or half all-purpose, half whole wheat - or really any combination of flours you like)

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups milk

2 large eggs

2 Tbsp. canola oil or melted butter

Combine the cinnamon swirl ingredients in a zip-lock baggie (snack size is perfect) and squish around to combine. Set aside while you make the batter. (Letting it sit for a bit will allow the butter to firm up somewhat, making it easier to squeeze. If it gets too cool and firm, place the sealed bag in a glass of warm water to soften it again.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth; beat in the icing sugar and vanilla along with enough milk or water to make a drippy drizzle.

To make the pancake batter: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the milk, eggs and oil, just until combined.

Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add a drizzle of oil or spray it with nonstick spray. Ladle about 1/3-1/2 cup batter into the pan and let cook for a minute. Snip a small corner off the zip-lock bag of filling and squeeze it out in a swirl onto the pancake batter. Once the bubbles begin to break through around the edges and it's golden on the bottom, gently flip it with a thin spatula and cook for another 2 minutes on the other side. Wipe the pan out with a paper towel (so that residual cinnamon goo doesn't burn) and carry on with the next pancake. Serve warm, drizzled with cream cheese drizzle.

Categorybreakfast

Ingredients