Cinnamon roll pancakes

I love pancakes, and I love cinnamon rolls. So why not combine them? Duh. So that is what I did. I had found a recipe for one on Pinterest and was linked to this website. It was very detailed and had great instructions, though I made a few twinks to it when I made this scrumptious breakfast food. 

My family, especially my little brothers, loved these pancakes. They really loved it with the attached cream cheese  glaze/syrup that goes on top of these wonderful pancakes. 

When I made these the first time, I used a pancake mix I had on hand and mixed it up like I normally do. 

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Filling:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, just melted (not boiling)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Filling:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

2-ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pancakes:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

Directions:

Prepare the cinnamon filling: In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a quart-sized heavy zip baggie and set it aside (see *Tips below).

Prepare the glaze: In a small pan, heat the butter over low heat until melted. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cream cheese until it is almost smooth. Sift the powdered sugar into the pan, stir and add in vanilla extract. Set the pan aside while you make the pancakes.

Prepare the pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the milk, egg and oil, just until the batter is moistened (a few small lumps are fine).

Cook the pancakes: Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-heat and spray with nonstick spray. Use an ice cream scoop (or 1/3 cup measuring cup) to add the batter to the pan. Use the bottom of the scoop or cup to spread the batter into a circle (about 4-inches in diameter). Reduce the heat to medium low. Snip the corner of your baggie of cinnamon filling and squeeze the filling into the open corner. When your pancake begins 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 (just as you see in a regular cinnamon roll). Cook the pancake 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bubbles begin popping on top of the pancake and it's golden brown on the bottom. Slide a thin, wide metal spatula underneath the pancake and gently but quickly flip it over. Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the other side is golden as well. When you flip the pancake onto a plate, you will see that the cinnamon filling has created a crater-swirl of cinnamon. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, and repeat with the remaining pancake batter and cinnamon filling. Re-warm the glaze briefly, if needed. Serve pancakes topped with a drizzle of glaze.

Tips:

*Quick and easy tip: Use a boxed pancake mix as the base for this recipe.
*Tips for the cinnamon filling: Before swirling, open up the baggie again and give it a good stir to re-incorporate any butter that may have separated from the sugar. You want the mixture to thicken a bit- it's best when it's similar to the squeezing texture of a tube of toothpaste, which will happen if you leave it at room temperature for several minutes. Don't try to use the filling for the pancake swirl unless it has thickened as it will be too runny to make a solid swirl.

*Keep the heat low or your pancakes might cook up too quickly. Don't flip them until you see those bubbles starting to pop on top. Flip them with a wide spatula so you can grasp the whole thing without batter and filling dripping all over the place!

***I found this directly from this wonderful website called Recipe Girl. She has a wonderful site, check it out. 

Thanks and enjoy!

Peace, love, bake on.

                                           Andrea 

                                

Cream cheese frosting

Who all loves cream cheese? I love cream cheese. Though my dad doesn't like it in desserts such as cheese cake, he does like it in dinner foods, such as dips, like Chicken Buffalo Dip. And he does not like cream cheese frosting, he hates it. But I love it. One of the many differences between my dad and I. 

For Easter this year, I made many desserts including a carrot cake and with carrot cake, you must have cream cheese frosting. So I decided to share my cream cheese frosting with you. It is super easy and yummy! So here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces cream cheese(1/2 cup)
• 4 ounces butter, softened (1/2 cup)
• 2 cups powder sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Directions:

• Using mixer beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Mix in powder sugar until smooth. Add vanilla extract. Beat until smooth. Enjoy!

It's that easy. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. I do quite often. If you want it to be thicker add a half cup or more of the powder sugar to make it thicker. 

Thanks and enjoy!

                      Happy Easter! 

                            Andrea 

Blueberry Cobbler

Everyone loves blueberries, right? Well this dessert will sure be hit with anyone who does. It's so good and guess what? Really easy to make as well. (YES!) 

My dad for a while had been wanting me to make blueberry cobbler, and so I found and used my favorite cobbler recipe. 
The great thing about this recipe is that you don't have to use blueberries. You can use any fruit. It's very versatile. This recipe double nicely. Also, I should note that, I use this cobbler recipe as the base for all my cobbler. So, if I make peach cobbler is just sub in peaches for the blueberries. 
I could eat this whole thing by myself. There's not just eat one serving. It's so scrumptious. Words or pictures really can't describe it loveliness. It's even better served warm with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream. Consider yourself warned. 

Blueberry Cobbler

adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients: 

• 6 tbs. butter
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup self-rising flour (or 1 cup flour, 1 1/3 tsp. baking powder, & 1/3 tsp. salt)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 (21 oz.) can blueberry pie filling or other fruit(You don't have to use pie filling)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter and pour into a 2 or 2.5 quart casserole or baking pan. Mix sugar, flour, and milk together.
3. Pour mixture into pan over butter, but do NOT mix. Pour blueberry pie filling over mixture, but do NOT mix. 
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 
5. Serve warm with ice cream, if you desire to do so. 

*When I made this I wanted to get it baked in 45 minutes, so I preheated the oven 375 degrees instead of 350 degrees. At 375 degrees I baked it for 45 minutes. I would still recommend to cook at 350 for 1 hour if you have the time. 

** My 2 and 2.5 quart casserole/ baking dishes were being used or dirty, so I used a 9x13 pan, which was 3 quarts instead of 2 or 2.5 quarts, but it baked nicely and looked good, too.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. Good luck, as always! 

Peace, Love, Bake on.

                                                          Andrea