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Carrot Cake Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Have you ever had it where you go to the doctor and they say because of your compromised immune system you will most likely get the common side effects of the antibiotics they are giving you? So, you read the labels and see that you are going to be starving, have difficulty sleeping, and dealing with excess energy. However, the exact opposite happens?
Pretty sure that was me this past week. No energy. No appetite. Definitely no energy to make or talk about food. But let me tell you, when my appetite hit. . .at 3 a.m. (why does ravenous hunger always hit at the most inopportune time?!), I was more than ready to make some food. So, while I ate an apple and some crackers, real exciting, I thought about the food that I wanted to eat!
My mind went instantly to breakfast food. Did I want pancakes? Oh, cinnamon rolls sounded good! Wait, what about carrot cake?! Yeah, my mind was definitely not on a nutrition kick! 🙂 So, I decided, around 4:30a.m., that later that morning I may as well just combine all of those foods into one! Plus, pancakes are a lot faster than carrot cake or cinnamon rolls, and I was hungry! 😉

Here are the results! Pancakes that taste like carrot cake with that distinctive cinnamon swirl of a cinnamon roll, and, of course, cream cheese glaze! I tried to make them a little healthier by using some whole wheat flour, as little butter as possible, and only making enough glaze to cover half of the pancakes. So, if you want to have glaze drizzled over every pancake, you will want to double the ingredients. Also, you can leave the cinnamon swirl out of half of them and serve them in stacks of two and you will still get that great cinnamon swirl flavor. However, there is enough in the ingredients to swirl all of the pancakes. Enjoy!

Carrot Cake Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Yield: 8-10 (6-inch) pancakes

Ingredients

  • For the Pancakes
  • 1/2 C whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 C all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp ginger
  • 1/8 tsp cloves
  • 1/4 C brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 C non-fat buttermilk
  • 1 tbsp non-fat plain yogurt
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 C shredded carrots, about one pound
  • For the Cinnamon Swirl
  • 1/4 C butter, melted and cooled
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 C brown sugar
  • For the Cream Cheese Glaze
  • 2 oz 1/3 of the fat cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 C confectioner’s sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2-4 tsp non-fat milk, to reach desired consistency
Directions
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and brown sugar. Add in eggs, buttermilk, yogurt, and vanilla. Whisk until just combined. Gently stir in shredded carrots. Set aside.
  2. Heat non-stick skillet to medium heat.
  3. Prepare cinnamon swirl by stirring together butter, cinnamon, flour, and brown sugar until well-combined. Pour mixture into a ziploc bag. Let sit for mixture to thicken.
  4. Prepare the cream cheese glaze by beating with a whisk or an electric mixture the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add in the sugar, vanilla, and milk. Beat until well-combined. **Using all of the milk will make it more of a glaze than a frosting. Set aside.
  5. Lightly spray skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Pour pancake batter by 1/3 cup onto skillet. Spread batter into a circle using a spatula.
  6. Snip off the very end of the ziploc bag with the cinnamon mixture. Starting at the center of the pancake, squeeze a spiral of the cinnamon mixture onto the top of the pancake. When pancakes start to look bubbly on top and the edges start to turn a light golden brown, about 2 minutes, flip pancakes over to the other side. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
  7. Remove pancakes to a plate. Carefully wipe off skillet with a paper towel. Lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray and repeat with rest of batter and cinnamon mixture.
  8. Right before serving pancakes, drizzle with the cream cheese glaze. Eat up! 🙂

Laura @ The Rookie Cook

Tuesday 7th of May 2013

These look amazing!! I am going to have to make them sometime when we're having company. I finally found someone who likes pancakes as much as I do :)

vincent

Saturday 6th of October 2012

Hello,

We bumped into your blog and we really liked it - great recipes YUM YUM. We would like to add it to the Petitchef.com.

We would be delighted if you could add your blog to Petitchef so that our users can, as us, enjoy your recipes.

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Mariel

Friday 5th of October 2012

Thanks for linking up on 'Or so she says...', hope to see you again tomorrow for another round of 'Your Great Idea'. www.oneshetwoshe.com

Kari@Loaves and Dishes

Wednesday 3rd of October 2012

Holy, YUMMY!!! This is so creative. Love it.

Jessica

Wednesday 3rd of October 2012

This looks amazing! I wanted to invite you to Wonderful Food Wednesday at At Home Take 2... love it if you could link up 2-3 recipes. Hope to see you there.

Jessica @ At Home Take 2... Check out our Wonderful Food Wednesday