Cinnamon Bun Pancakes

Do you ever have a craving for cinnamon rolls? Ummm, I do! But that craving usually hits first thing in the morning. Making cinnamon rolls from scratch takes way too long to satisfy my immediate cravings, and store-bought, MSPI-friendly cinnamon rolls are few and far between.

Fortunately, these simply amazing pancakes satisfy those cinnamon roll cravings. They are crazy good. My oldest daughter is often pestering me to make cinnamon rolls, and she said: "Mom, these pancakes taste just like cinnamon rolls! Please make them again!"

Don't worry, Libby, I'll be making these quite often!

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes
Source: Adapted from Baked Bree

For pancakes:
1½ cups flour (can use combination of regular and whole wheat)
3 tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup rice milk
2 tbsp. pure maple syrup or honey
1 tbsp. vanilla
4 tbsp. coconut oil, melted (I use Nutiva.)

Put all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, syrup and vanilla. Continue to whisk the wet mixture while drizzling in the melted coconut oil. (Make sure to whisk in the coconut, otherwise the oil will seize up into a large blob when it hits the cold batter.) Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined.

Coat a griddle or large saute pan with cooking spray (or brush it with oil) and preheat it over medium heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the hot griddle. Cook pancakes until brown on both sides. Serve hot pancakes drizzled with icing.

For icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp. coconut oil, melted
2 tbsp. rice milk

Whisk the ingredients together until smooth and a pouring consistency. If too thick add more rice milk, if too thin, add more sugar.

Tip: You can substitute a different kind of oil for the coconut oil, if you prefer, but I love using the coconut oil. It adds a great richness to the pancakes, similar to butter, and it has some tremendous healthy attributes! When using coconut oil in baking, I've found that my batter usually becomes quite thick upon standing, but I believe that's because coconut oil has such a low melting point. Once the batter begins to cook, things will loosen up, so don't become too concerned about the thick batter.