If you love cinnamon rolls but don’t always have the patience for yeast and rolling dough, these are exactly what you need. It’s a fluffy pumpkin spice pancake with a spiral of buttery cinnamon sugar piped right into the batter as it cooks, so you get that same warm cinnamon roll flavor in every bite without any of the waiting around. A browned butter maple cream cheese icing on top ties the whole thing together and makes it taste like dessert for breakfast.
What Makes This One Special
This isn’t a pancake with cinnamon just stirred into the batter. Piping the cinnamon sugar filling directly onto the pancake as it cooks means it caramelizes right into the surface, giving you those same little pockets of gooey cinnamon sugar you’d find in an actual cinnamon roll. The browned butter in the icing is what takes it over the top. It adds a deep, nutty flavor that plain melted butter just can’t match.
What You’ll Need
This recipe comes together in three parts:
- Pumpkin pancake batter — flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt for the dry mix, plus eggs, melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, buttermilk, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice for the wet mix.
- Cinnamon sugar filling — just brown sugar, softened butter, and cinnamon, mixed together and left to firm up before piping.
- Cream cheese icing — powdered sugar, cream cheese, browned butter, and maple syrup, whisked into a smooth, pourable icing.
How To Make It
Make the Cinnamon Sugar Filling
Start with the filling since it needs a little time to set up. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, softened butter, and cinnamon until smooth. Let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
🤎 TIP: This mixture will look very thin and almost liquidy right after mixing, that’s normal. Give it the full 10 to 15 minutes to firm up into a spreadable, pipeable consistency. If you try to pipe it while it’s still runny, it won’t hold its shape on the pancake.
Once it’s firmed up, transfer it to a piping bag, squeeze bottle, or a ziplock bag with a small corner snipped off, and set it aside at room temperature until you’re ready to cook.
Make the Icing
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then keep cooking it, swirling the pan occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes. It’ll foam up first, then turn golden brown with little brown flecks at the bottom of the pan and start smelling nutty. That’s your browned butter. Pull it off the heat right away once it gets there and let it cool slightly in a bowl.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, cream cheese, browned butter, and maple syrup until smooth and creamy. Set aside for now. Feel free to add powdered sugar to your desired sweetness too.
Make the Pancake Batter
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the eggs, melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, buttermilk, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice right into the same bowl, then whisk just until combined.
🤎 TIP: Don’t overmix here — a few lumps in the batter are totally fine and will actually help keep the pancakes light and fluffy instead of dense.
Cook the Pancakes
Heat a griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake, then let it cook undisturbed for about 2 minutes before piping the cinnamon sugar filling in a spiral over the top. You want to pipe it just right before it’s ready to flip.
🤎 TIP: The sugar will caramelize slightly as it cooks, which is exactly what you want. Keep an eye on it since it can darken faster than the batter around it — if it’s browning too quickly, lower the heat a bit.
Then flip and cook for another 2 to 3 more minutes, until golden brown on both sides. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling.
Stack the pancakes up and finish with a generous drizzle of the cream cheese icing right on top of each one before serving.
Tips & Variations
A few things worth knowing before you make these:
- Let the cinnamon sugar filling firm up for the full 10 minutes before piping, or it’ll be too runny to hold its spiral shape
- Keep the heat at medium so the filling caramelizes instead of burning
- The icing can be made ahead — just let it come to room temperature and give it a stir before drizzling. You can also warm it up slightly if you prefer that.
- Don’t overmix the pancake batter, since a few lumps keep the texture light and fluffy
Make Ahead & Storing Leftovers
These are best fresh off the griddle, but leftover pancakes keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a toaster or skillet to bring back some of that crisp edge, then drizzle with fresh icing before serving.
Craving More Like This? Try These Recipes Out!
- Pumpkin Bread with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting — The moistest pumpkin bread on the blog, topped with a rich brown butter cream cheese frosting.
- Pumpkin Coffee Cake — A spiced pumpkin base with a thick, buttery cinnamon crumb layered throughout.
- Pumpkin Bagels — Chewy, perfectly spiced bagels packed with cozy fall flavor.
- Pumpkin Pie French Toast — Crispy, golden French toast dipped in a pumpkin spice custard.
- Pumpkin Pie Hawaiian Roll French Toast — The classic French toast recipe made fall edition with soft Hawaiian rolls.
If you make this recipe, make sure to leave a comment below and let me know how it turns out — I love hearing from you! And if you snap a photo, don’t forget to tag me over on Instagram or TikTok so I can see your creations too.
You can also find this recipe and so many more on my Pinterest — perfect for saving to your board for later. And if you’re more of a visual learner, check out my YouTube channel, where I walk you through recipes step-by-step just like this one.
Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Ingredients
PUMPKIN PANCAKES
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
CINNAMON SUGAR FILLING
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
CREAM CHEESE ICING
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, browned
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
Instructions
MAKE THE CINNAMON SUGAR FILLING
- In a small bowl, add the brown sugar, softened butter, and cinnamon, then stir with a spoon until smooth and fully combined.
- Let the mixture sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes, until it firms up into a spreadable, pipeable consistency. It will be very thin at first — if it’s still runny, it won’t hold its shape when piped, so give it the full 10 minutes before using.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag, squeeze bottle, or ziplock bag with a small corner snipped off, then set aside at room temperature until ready to use.
MAKE THE ICING
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the butter, then let it melt completely. Continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes, until the butter foams, then turns golden brown with small brown flecks at the bottom of the pan and smells nutty. Remove from the heat immediately and let cool slightly.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar, cream cheese, browned butter, and maple syrup, then whisk by hand until smooth and creamy.
MAKE THE PANCAKE BATTER
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then whisk by hand until well combined.
- Add the eggs, melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, buttermilk, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice to the same bowl, then whisk just until combined, being careful not to overmix.
COOK THE PANCAKES
- Heat a griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat.
- Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake, then let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes before piping the cinnamon sugar filling in a spiral over the top.
- If needed, cook the bottom for another minute or until golden brown. Then flip and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown and caramelized.
- Repeat with the remaining batter and filling, then stack the pancakes, drizzle with the cream cheese icing, then enjoy!
Notes
A: Yes, the icing can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes and stir before drizzling, since it will thicken slightly when chilled. Q: Why do I need to brown the butter for the icing?
A: Browning the butter gives the icing a deeper, nuttier flavor that pairs really well with the pumpkin and cinnamon. You can use regular melted butter instead if you’re short on time, though the flavor will be milder. Q: Will the cinnamon filling burn on the griddle?
A: It shouldn’t at medium heat — the sugar will caramelize slightly as it cooks, which is exactly what you want. Just keep an eye on it since it can darken faster than the batter around it, and lower the heat slightly if it’s caramelizing too quickly.
Did You Make This Recipe?
If you make this recipe, leave a comment below and let me know how it turns out. I love hearing from you!
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