Cinnamon roll pancakes with cream cheese glaze

Mix dark brown sugar, melted butter and cinnamon until smooth with no lumps, so it can be piped later.

Microwave the cream cheese less than 20 seconds to soften, then whisk it alone until smooth before adding anything else, or the glaze ends up lumpy.

Whisk in powdered sugar, melted butter and vanilla extract; set the glaze aside.

Stir together all-purpose flour and baking powder.

Whisk a room-temperature egg and a little vanilla into the milk.

Add wet to dry and stir only about eight times (spelling out 'pancake') to avoid overmixing.

Add the melted butter last; added to the cold milk it would set into lumps.

Heat the griddle to 325F, about medium; too hot burns the outside and leaves the middle raw.

Pour a third of a cup of batter per pancake and cook about two minutes, until bubbles form and the surface loses its shine.

Swirl the cinnamon filling over the top from a squeeze bottle; microwave the filling if it firms up.

Flip only once the bubbles ('pancake pillars') hold up the surface, so the pancake stays thick; cook one to two minutes more until golden brown.

Stack, drizzle with the cream cheese glaze and sprinkle with toasted pecans.