Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes 1/28

On weekends we are home and don't have a ton to do, I like to try out new pancake recipes.  This morning, for whatever reason, I was thinking Cinnamon Raisin Pancakes might be fun.  I think it was because I saw the Raisins in the pantry.  As I started to think about it, it reminded me of the cinnamon rolls with the raisins folded in, and I wondered if somehow I could capture that in a pancake.  I jumped online and came up with several similar recipes that basically came down to this Cinnamon Swirl Pancake Recipe.

So I started digging in my pantry and fridge, and started gathering ingredients.  I was missing a few things, and decided on a few changes so here goes...

First off I halved the recipe.  It was just for Eric and I and I didn't want a million leftovers.  I also decided to try and use my half whole wheat flour, half bisquick recipe, which basically means 1 cup bisquick, 1 cup whole wheat flour, a tsp of baking powder and tsp baking soda.  I also added in a tsp of cinnamon and a tsp of nutmeg.

I mixed the cinnamon swirl ingredients per the recipe, and poured out the pancakes, adding in a few raisins to each one.  I only had golden raisins so I hoped those would do!

They definitely look great when you first drizzle in the mixture.  Though the pan and the spatula get instantly sticky after the first batch, so you definitely need a nonstick pan, and will want to wash the spatula between each use.  After flipping the pancakes the cinnamon sugar cooks into the pan and spreads out leaving some sweet looking swirls into the pancake.  I liked the look, but almost wished I had figured out a way to make it more batter consistency so it didnt run out of the pancake into the pan as much.

The next part was tackling the cream cheese icing.  Unfortunately I didnt have cream cheese, but I read that you could mix cottage cheese & yogurt and puree it really fine to essentially make cream cheese.  I tried it and it seemed to work, but when I mixed in the rest of the ingredients, the mixture seemed to get a little lumpy.  It worked out though, because when I spread it on the hot pancakes it melted in and didn't look quite as lumpy anymore.  And the taste was still good!

The verdict?? Decent!  I'd like to try these again and not use the whole wheat flour this time.  I'd also make sure to have all the ingredients on hand so I could really make the frosting and use dark raisins.  Overall they were fun and something interesting.