Cinnamon Swirl "Egg-less" Pancakes

Today, we are going to stray away from holiday treats - already. But just for one post. Since Brother #2 had a birthday this week, I wanted to do a fun post for him. When asked what he wanted for breakfast on his big day, he said pancakes. But I couldn't do just regular pancakes, so I spiced them up a bit.

These pancakes are so yummy and are great for a quick, delicious "special" breakfast. They can be used for any special breakfast, which could include holidays, birthdays or sometimes even just weekends.

I saw this recipe on Pinterest (where I get a lot of my recipe ideas) and knew that I could easily recreate this with my Fluffy "Egg-less" Pancakes. Not only are they allergy free - they have a lot less sugar than the original and a lot more nutrients!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Cinnamon Filling:

3 Tbsp. butter, just melted 

1/4 cup sucanat

1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon

Pancakes:

1 cup whole-wheat flour (or wonder flour)

1 tsp raw sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup almond milk (or any milk)

1 Tbsp no-sugar added applesauce

1 Tbsp water

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp coconut oil (or butter)

Prepare the cinnamon filling:

In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, sucanat and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a heavy-duty ziploc baggie and set aside.

Prepare the pancake batter:

Combine the first 4 ingredients and mix slightly. Add milk, applesauce, water and vanilla. Whisk together until just combined. Be careful not to over mix - it should still be lumpy. Set aside to rest for a few minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. While pan is heating, add coconut oil. As soon as the coconut oil is melted, add it to the pancake batter. Return pan to stove and stir in coconut oil in to batter.

Cook the pancakes:

When the pan is hot, pour 1/4 cup of batter into the skillet for each pancake. Snip the corner of your bag of cinnamon filling and squeeze the filling into the open corner. You may  need to knead the cinnamon filling before clipping the bag as the filling tends to separate.

When your pancakes begin to form bubbles, add the filling. Starting at the center of the pancake, squeeze the filling on top of the pancake batter in a swirl. Be careful not to get the filling too close to the side. You want to keep it about 1/4 of an inch away from the edge or it will bleed over (your pancakes will still taste delicious, they just won't be as presentable. Which, if you are simply feeding them to a pack of starving children, it probably doesn't matter. Cook the pancake 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bubbles begin popping and the pancake is golden brown on the bottom. Slide a wide spatula underneath the pancake and gently but quickly flip it over. Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until both sides are golden brown. 

When you flip the pancake onto a plate, you will see the cinnamon filling has made a nice swirly pattern on your pancake. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel (or don't if you are too lazy - which sometimes I am) and repeat with the remaining pancake batter and filling.

We liked our pancakes topped with a little powdered sugar. YUM! If you can get fresh fruit, that would add even more yumminess to these pancakes. EXTRA YUM! 

Recipe inspired from Recipe Snobs

Jana