Mother's Day Breakfast: Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes with Apple Cream Topping

If you ever look at Pinterest with your kids, you're bound to wind up with a few recipes like this. My son doesn't love many foods, but he loves pancakes...with cinnamon...and sugar...and whipped cream. The apples were my own little bit of genius. So take your kids' sweet cravings and indulge yourself (or your own mother if she's near enough by; sorry Mom) a bit this Sunday.

For these, I use my normal pancake recipe, which is nothing fancy and which contains whole wheat flour. Which--when added to these indulgent pancakes--is sort of like taking your Mormon date to an after-prom party. Yet in my humble opinion, the whole wheat sort of worked as its substance played nicely against the sweet that this recipe otherwise is (what? you think that sentence is awkward). Which just goes to show why Mormons are so awesome to date and even better to marry and produce children with and then serve Mother's Day breakfasts to (what? you think my prepositions are dangling).

I could not get my Pinterest link to work for these, so I just followed the commenter's directions. The original recipe recommended swirling the cinnamon sugar combo (which I did) and then topping it with a frosting-like syrup (which I did not) figuring that whipped cream would do us just fine (which it did). However, after my last pancake I had some leftover cinnamon stuff and I had an apple just sitting there right next to the stove. Coincidence? I think not. I heated a little butter, peeled and diced the apple and threw it in the butter to soften up a bit (about 2-3 minutes) and then covered it with some of the rest of my cinnamon/sugar concoction. After 2-3 minutes it had thickened into the most delicious apple syrup ever. And then I put that on the whipped cream. And then I ate my pancake. I didn't even have the decency to feel guilty about it. And it wasn't even Mother's Day.

Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes with Apple Cream Topping
makes about 8 pancakes with leftover cinnamon stuff
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Cost: $.85 (for pancakes and cinnamon swirl)
(flour: .20, milk: .15, butter: .25, sugar: .25)


1 C whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 C milk or buttermilk


1/4 C butter
6 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon

Whipped Cream

1 apple
1/2 Tbsp butter
leftover cinnamony stuff

Start by preparing your cinnamon stuff. Melt the butter in a bowl with the sugar and cinnamon.

I did this in the microwave. You'll want to mix them and let it sit long enough that your sugar dissolves somewhat.

If you don't allow the sugar to dissolve a bit and then mix it thoroughly, the butter/cinnamon will rise to the top while your sugar gets left in the bottom. I then put mine in this little plastic bottle that is meant for making chocolates, but that we use for homemade BBQ sauce.

It worked perfectly, but if you don't have one, a measuring cup with a spout or even just a spoon and a bit of grace would work fine too.

Now make your pancakes. Combine dry ingredients and add milk. Mix them up, but leave a few lumps.

Pour onto a hot buttered pan and then add your cinnamon concoction (give it a shake before you pour just to be sure that heavy sugar isn't sinking to the bottom). You can make a cinnamon swirl as we did.

And yet it occurs to me that you could make any shapes you desired--stars, hearts, initials, zig zags, peace treatises--the sky's the limit. The swirly-do keeps it's shape very well (provided you can flip a pancake; if you can't I don't judge you; I always seem to get one that folds on itself too), so your shapes will be very delightfully preserved.

Until you put the whipped cream on them, of course.

You can stop there or add syrup or add berries or add apples, butter, and more cinnamony stuff.

To do that, melt a pat of butter in your pancake pan, and add peeled, chopped apples. Allow this to cook 2-3 minutes, giving it an occasional stir. Then douse it with a good dose of leftover cinnamon stuff and let that cook another 1-2 minutes until it has become syrupy and smells like exaltation itself.

Put this on top of your whipped cream if you're a glutton. Pretend it's healthier that way if you're a glutton in denial. And have a great Mother's Day. We love you.

PRINTABLE RECIPE