Cinnamon Roll Pancake Squares

My family loves pancakes for breakfast.  Maybe they really just love the syrup, some days I can't tell. 

The downside of pancakes for such a big crowd (and I consider my family a crowd) is how long you're standing at the stove cooking.  Yes, you can make them early and call everyone to breakfast while the pancakes have been staying warm and toasty in the oven, but you still need to stand there, watch them, flip, pour, repeat. 

Enter... waffle iron!  Then, I can pump out four servings at once, it's faster to cook and I can actually sit with my family and enjoy breakfast.

But NOW, woah!  Not only have I figured out how to make "pancakes" in the oven, but there's a simple variation that turns them into a cinnamon roll!  SO FAST!  Gobbled up by my family for a snack just now, I HAD to come tell you about it!  I JUST HAD TO!  I felt like I shouldn't keep it to myself.

You can make this for breakfast on a SCHOOL DAY!  I swear!  If you're feeling industrious, you can mix the dry and wet ingredients separately the night before, combine in the morning and you'll have earned your Supermom status for yet another day!

I used all whole wheat flour and did not have cream cheese so used a simple glaze of 1 cup icing sugar with a bit less than 2 Tbsp 10% cream.

I feel fairly certain these will still be excellent after they've cooled.  I even see me cutting up the leftovers to wrap and freeze for lunches. 

Baked Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
from Big Red Kitchen
1 1/2 cups milk
4 Tbsp melted butter
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp sugar
2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
- Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease an 11×17 inch jellyroll pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together milk, butter and egg. Add sugar, then gradually beat the flour in. Carefully stir in the baking powder and salt.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Squeeze out swirls of Cinnamon Roll Filling over pancake batter- 4 swirls across, 3 down, for 12 pancakes.  You can vary the size if you like.
- Bake in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until centre is set and does not give when pressed with your finger.
- Remove from oven and drizzle with Maple Cream Cheese Drizzle.
- Serve immediately. Makes 12 large pancakes.

Cinnamon Roll Filling
4 Tbsp melted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp cinnamon
In a small bowl mix filling ingredients together until blended well. Place in a pastry bag or plastic ziptop bag and snip corner to swirl over pancake batter.

Maple Cream Cheese Drizzle
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp good maple syrup
milk
Mix the first three ingredients in a bowl until smooth, dripping in small amounts of milk until mixture is a drizzling consistency. I like to place mine in a pastry bag and drizzle that way.

My goodness, these were so easy and I think you guys can come up with some variations of your own to share with me.

Chocolate waffles (pancakes too)

Oh yes, I did.

I had a playdate this afternoon and brought my four kids, waffle mix and my waffle iron.

We were all well-received. 

This is actually the underside of the waffles, they're always prettier upside down.

The chocolate waffles were very convenient because the kids (there were nine kids in all - she had five there and I have four) could come in and grab a waffle and go sit and eat or even walk around.  They don't demand a topping like a plain waffle would, they were sweet all by themselves (I mean the waffles, but the kids were great too!).  Neat and tidy, my kind of snack.

Plus, the waffle iron I have makes four squares at once so it's easy to keep up with the demand.  And there was demand, let me tell you.

I'll do this again, everyone was happy with waffles or "huffles" as my middle kids call them.

I've brought my waffle iron to a brunch as well and it was a lot of fun.  Yep, I'll do it again.

Waffles by Rana.  I could host waffle parties!  I could hire myself out with my traveling waffle iron.  "Have waffle iron, will travel."  I can see it now, we'll travel the World my waffle iron and me.  I'll be rich!

Woah, I'm not going to get rich if I give out the recipe now am I?  Ah well, I'd rather share with you for free.  Your gain.

Chocolate Brownie Waffles
straight out of the little cookbook that came with my Cuisinart
makes 14 waffles (approx.)
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups milk (may use evaporated fat free milk) (I used skim milk)
2 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly**
1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate morsels
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
** I used 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce and 1/4 butter, melted to cut back on the fat a little

Place the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk to blend. Add the milk, egg and vanilla extract. Stir with a whisk until well blended and smooth. Stir in melted butter / applesauce. Let batter stand 5 minutes. Preheat Cuisinart® Waffle Iron on setting #4.  When preheated, green indicator light will illuminate. Stir chocolate morsels and chopped walnuts/pecans into batter. Pour 1/3 cup batter onto center of each preheated waffle maker square.  Help batter spread out from center slightly. Close lid of waffle iron – green indicator light will turn off. When green indicator light turns on again, waffle is ready. Remove waffle using a heatproof plastic spatula. Repeat with remaining batter. For best results, serve immediately. Waffles may be kept warm in a 200°F oven in a single layer arranged on a wire rack set in a jelly roll type pan until ready to serve.

Oh you know you can drop this batter onto a hot griddle or frying pan to make a stack of pancakes too!  You can top it how you please, get creative.  Fruit, chocolate sauce, melted peanut butter, whipped cream, ganche... limitless.  You can serve these for breakfast, snack or a fancy dessert, they dress up real nice.

And these freeze really well.  Make sure they are completely cool, pop them into a bag and seal tightly.  When you want them, take the bag out and let thaw then toast them on a light setting on your toaster.  I'd say these were as good or better after being frozen.