Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins for Conference

We gathered as a family again this last weekend. Omelets, muffins, and a chance to be spiritually uplifted.

This year, I made a delicious spin on a blueberry muffin. I love the texture that cornmeal adds to baked goods. The fresh grated nutmeg gave them a wonderful warmth.

Blueberry-Cornmeal Muffins
from Williams- Sonoma Essentials of Baking

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine-grind cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (freshly ground if possible. You can buy whole nutmeg in the spice aisle of most any supermarket. Grate it with a microplane zester)
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
6 T unsalted butter, melted
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2 T granulated sugar mixed with 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 400 degrees F. Butter 12 standard muffin-pan cups or line them with paper liners.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and brown sugar. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. Whisk in the milk and butter. Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula just until moistened. Fold in the berries.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup about three-fourths full. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the tops. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15-18 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 2 minutes, then turn out onto the rack. Serve warm.

Monkey Bubble Bread

The girls came home from school today to find some of these sticky buns in the oven. As with everything we make here in our house...no nuts.


Monkey Bubble Bread
from Baked Explorations

For the Bubble Bread
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons instant yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
5 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the cinnamon-sugar coating
1 1/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Make the Monkey Bubble Bread
In a small saucepan, warm your milk to slightly above room temperature, then remove it from the heat, add yeast and whisk to dissolve. (Do not warm it beyond 110 degrees F or you will kill the yeast).

In a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the flour, sugar and salt until combined.

In a small bowl, beat the egg with a fork and add it to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until combined.

Keeping the mixer on low, slowly stream in the milk until combined. Add the melted butter and mix until the dough comes together. Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook attachment. Continue to mix on medium speed until the dough becomes silky and tacky, but not sticky, 8-10 minutes. The dough should mound together and easily come off the bottom of the mixing bowl. (If the dough is too wet, add some flour. If it is too dry, add a tiny bit of water.)

Spray the bottom and sides of a large bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl and roll it around to make sure it is completely covered in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a dish towel and let it rest in a warm area until the dough has doubled in size, approximately one hour.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Use your clean hands to push down and deflate the dough. Remove it from the bowl and pat it into a rough circle approximately 8 inches diameter. Use a bench knife or serrated knofe to cut dough into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces (about 1/2 ounce each)-alternatively, use your hands to pinch apart the dough. Roll the pieces into balls (they don't have to be perfectly round). Place the balls on the sheet pan (you will get about 60 pieces in all). Cover the balls lightly with plastic wrap.

Make the Cinnamon Sugar Coating
In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Place the melted butter in a separate bowl.

Assemble the Bread
Generously spray a 10 cup Bundt pan with cooking spray. Remove the plastic wrap from the dough balls and dip one ball in the melted butter. Let the excess butter drip back in to the bowl, roll the ball in the brown sugar mixture and place it in the Bundt pan. Continue this process with each ball, until you have several layers, arranging them as if you are building a brick wall.

Wrap the Bundt pan tightly in plastic wrap. Set it in a warm area of the house for about 1 hour, or until the dough balls have doubled in size and appear puffy.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the plastic and bake the Bundt until the top layer is a deep brown and the caramel coating begins to bubble around the edges, about 30 minutes.

Cool the bread for 5 minutes, then turn it out directly onto a platter and serve warm. Should you have any leftovers (this is rare), simply reheat them in a 300-degree oven until warm to the touch.

These are FANTASTIC. I will never make monkey bread from store bought bread dough or biscuits again.


If you need it spelled out for you, this should explain the lack of recipes/appetite lately.

Almond Poppyseed Muffins

These were the perfect little Sunday Morning pick-me-up. The crunchy sugar coated tops were the bomb.

Almond Poppyseed Muffins
from Betty Crocker cookbook

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 T poppy seed
3 tsp sugar
sliced almonds

Heat oven to 375. Line 12 medium muffin cups with paper baking cups (or spray them very well).
In a large bowl, stir together 1/2 cup sugar, the oil, egg, and almond. Beat in sour cream and milk with a spoon until blended. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, soda, and poppy seed until well blended. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle batter with 3 tsp sugar and the almonds.
Bake 14-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Can be enjoyed hot or cold.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.............

My contribution to the semi-annual omelet brunch.

Chocolate Chip Muffins
from the Worldwide Ward Cookbook
Muffins
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (8 oz) plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Topping
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 T brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add yogurt and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill paper lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from muffin tins.
Makes 1 dozen.

Zucchini Cranberry Bread

I am always looking for ways to use up zucchini. This bread is delicious.

recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup finely grated zucchini (I got more than enough from one medium sized garden zucchini)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen whole cranberries (I always buy a few extra bags during the holidays and toss them right into the freezer for later use. I think you can find them in the freezer section of your supermarket. If not, substitute blueberries, sour cherries, use your imagination...)

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a bread pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in the zucchini. Add the flour mixture, and stir to combine; do not overmix. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the cranberries.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake, rotating halfway through, until top is golden and cake tester comes out clean (45-50 minutes). Transfer to wire rack to cool before serving.

Can also make 12 muffins with this batter, just decrease the baking time to 25 - 30 minutes.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

My girls couldn't be convinced that these muffins were healthy.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
adapted from Cooking Light

• 1 2/3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
  
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk (an easy substitute: put 1 1/2 T lemon juice or vinegar in a 2 cup liquid measuring cup. Add enough skim milk to make 1 1/2 cups)
  
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind (I needed almost 2 lemons worth)
  
• 2 large eggs or 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt or sour cream (optional: I often add a big spoonful to muffin recipes...makes them more moist)
  
• 2 cups blueberries (if using frozen blueberries, toss them with 2 T flour to keep the batter from turning purple)
  
• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Place oats in a food processor; pulse 5 to 6 times or until oats resemble coarse meal. Place in a large bowl.

3. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add flours, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt to oats; stir well. Make a well in center of mixture.

4. Combine buttermilk, oil, zest and eggs. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist.

5. Toss berries with 2 tablespoons flour (you can omit the extra flour if your blueberries are fresh), and gently fold into batter. Spoon batter into 18 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle 2 tablespoons granulated sugar evenly over batter. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove from pans immediately; place on a wire rack.

Cinnamon Rolls for a Giant (or the cyclist)

My husband loves cinnamon rolls. So much so that when we are in the mall or at a sporting event and they are making those cinnamon roasted almonds, he gets very upset. He feels like he's being cruelly teased.

How can it smell so much like a cinnamon roll, but not be a cinnamon roll? Oh, the humanity!

So last week, for father's day, I made him cinnamon rolls, but not your ordinary cinnamon rolls, these were HUGE. One roll could easily serve 8-9 normal size people.

Or one cyclist.

I can't blame him. These were SOOOO good.

(Oh, the humanity!)

Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls
recipe adapted from Lion House Bakery

2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 t vanilla
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
2 T active dry yeast
1 cup granulated sugar
1 T salt
7 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted

Place water, oil, eggs, vanilla, and dry milk in the bowl of an electric stand mixer and stir vigorously until milk is dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over liquid mixture, then add the 1 cup sugar, salt and flour.

Put dough hook on mixer and mix for 10-15 minutes on low speed. The dough will be VERY sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap (If you want to make the dough a day ahead, mix dough to this point, cover with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator over night. The next morning, roll out the dough and proceed. It may take the dough a little longer to double in size...my house was warm, so it doubled in 90 minutes) and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and roll out into a rectangle shape. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon. Roll up rectangle lengthwise and cut into 1-inch slices. Grease 2 round pizza pans. Place one slice of dough in the center of the pan. Take the next slice of dough, line up the ends, and wrap it around the center roll, uncoiling the second slice as you go. Do this with additional slices until you've made a dough spiral that fills the pan. Repeat with remaining dough on second pan.
Cover dough with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes. After baking, let jumbo rolls cool slightly before frosting.

Buttercream Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
6-8 T cream or evaporated milk
1 t vanilla

Combine powdered sugar, butter and 3 T of the cream in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, on low speed, combine well. Slowly add the rest of the cream, 1 T at a time, until creamy and smooth but not at all runny. Add vanilla and mix again.

This recipe will make two pizza-pan sized cinnamon rolls, or 18 standard size cinnamon rolls. I suggest the jumbo rolls...it was such a fun presentation, plus you there is so much more of the soft inside to enjoy.

What a good dad.

Whole Wheat Waffles with Honey Cinnamon Syrup

Heaven knows I love brunch. But I really LOVE a brunch that I can feel good about serving my gals. We enjoy waffles a great deal, so we decided to whip up a batch with some fresh ground whole wheat flour. If you don't have a wheat grinder, store bought whole wheat flour should do just fine.

Whole Wheat Waffles
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
4 T oil
1 T honey
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

In a blender, blend the eggs, milk, oil and honey. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Blend well. Cook in a hot waffle iron.

Honey Cinnamon Syrup
1 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
1/2 t cinnamon

Heat honey and butter in a saucepan over low heat until butter is melted. Add Cinnamon. Stir well. Serve warm syrup over hot waffles.

Both the waffle and syrup recipes are from Wheat Cookin' Made Easy

Marbled Banana Bread

I love a good banana bread. THIS is a good banana bread.
Delicious warm out of the oven. Just as tasty cold from the fridge two days later. Next, I think I'll try it toasted and slathered with peanut butter.

Marbled Banana Bread
Recipe adapted from The Best of Cooking Light

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/2 cup egg substitute (I don't stock egg substitute, so I used 1/2 cup of egg whites...about 6 eggs)
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt (I didn't have any in my fridge, so I pureed some low-fat cottage cheese...worked great)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add banana, egg substitute, and yogurt; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist.

Place 1/2 cup of chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl, and microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Add 1 cup batter to chocolate, stirring until well combined. Add remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to chocolate batter.

Spoon chocolate batter alternately with plain batter into a loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Swirl batters together using a knife.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Strawberry-Orange Muffins (Times Two)

"Bake Sale" Strawberry Muffin (split), Cooking Light Strawberry-Orange Muffin (still whole)

We had a bit of a muffin showdown at my house this morning. I wish I could say there was a clear winner, but both fought a good fight.

I was curious to see if there was a difference in a "light" muffin versus a "bake sale" muffin. I think the added sugar in the light muffin made up for the shortage of butter because both were soft, flavorful and delicious.
I added orange zest to the bake sale muffin so that the flavor profiles would be the same when we judged. Omit it if you wish...but I must say, the zest made them taste like morning.

Strawberry Muffins
Adapted from America's Favorites: Bake Sale

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 cup uncooked old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 t vanilla
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
Finely grated zest of one orange

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease bottoms only of 12 standard muffin pan cups or line with paper liners. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir in oats and sugar. Combine milk, butter, egg and vanilla in a small bowl until well blended; stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Fold in the strawberries and orange zest. Spoon into prepared muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full.

Bake 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned and toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Remove from pan. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Serve.

Strawberry-Orange Muffins
Recipe from Cooking Light Magazine

1 1/4 cups halved strawberries
3 T butter, melted
2 t finely grated orange zest
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 t sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the strawberries, butter, zest and eggs in a blender and process just until mixture is blended.
Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, 1 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Add strawberry mixture and stir just until mixture is moist. Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle muffin batter evenly with 2 teaspoons sugar. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pan immediately.

P.S. The cyclist preferred the Cooking Light Muffin. I liked the Bake Sale Muffin. I'm a sucker for oats in baked goods. Go ahead, try them both. Let me know which one you like.

Cider Glazed Apple Muffins

That time of year again. Omelets, spiritual enlightenment, muffins.

2 cups flour
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
3 t baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup finely chopped, peeled, granny smith apple
3/4 cup apple cider (you could substitute juice)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg


Heat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. Grease 12 regular-size or 24 mini muffin cups.
In medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Add apples and stir to coat.
In a small bowl, combine cider, oil and egg. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove pan from oven and put on wire cooling rack. Glaze immediately. Let cool 5 minutes in pan. Remove from pan and cool completely.

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 T apple cider

Combine until smooth.

Silver Dollar Pancake Stacks

My girls told me these pancakes are their new favorite (but they tend to throw around the word "favorite" pretty liberally... actually to describe just about anything I bake for them).
My opinion...these pancakes are DELICIOUS. They could easily become my "every day" pancake recipe. They require no special ingredients or equipment, they are quick to make, and they melt in your mouth. We loved the silver dollar size. You can pop them into your mouth two at a time! (My second born ate a stack of five in three bites.)

Silver Dollar Pancake Stacks
from Williams-Sonoma Cooking Together

1 cup flour
2 T sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup milk
1 large egg
2 T melted unsalted butter
1/4 tsp vanilla
sliced bananas, berries, syrup

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, melted butter and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir until no lumps are visible.
Heat a griddle over medium heat. Lightly grease (I spray with Pam) pan. Using a Tablespoon measure and working in batches, drop small rounds of batter onto the pan. Cook the pancakes, turning them once with spatula, until golden on both sides, about 3 minutes total. Transfer to a platter and keep warm in a 250 degree oven. Repeat with remaining batter.
To serve, make stacks, layering a thin slice of banana between each pancake. Drizzle with syrup or serve with berries.

Sour Cream Belgian Waffles

The cyclist and I are becoming real jet-setters. We are currently (and on short notice) enjoying a week of pizza, insalata caprese, and gelato (like gelato after every meal...sometimes a double scoop.) Having never traveled across this many time zones, this is my first real bout of jet-lag. That is why I have been awake since 2:00 a.m. (7:00 p.m. in my hometown.) I always thought that jet-lag meant you were endlessly tired (hence the word "lag"). Not the case.

We made this for Sunday brunch the day before we left. We LOVED these (at least I thought I loved them, I ate them before I had tried gelato).

Sour Cream Belgian Style Waffles
recipe from my neighborhood cookbook

3 eggs, separated
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sour cream or nonfat plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 T sugar

Beat egg yolks in a large bowl. Add buttermilk, butter and sour cream. In a medium bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Add to sour cream mixture and whisk to combine. In separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff and carefully fold into batter. Bake in Belgian waffle maker and serve with desired toppings. You'll never guess what we topped ours with.

Seriously, about the gelato. How can each new flavor be better than the last? Creme de Argentina? Panna cotta? Yogurt framboise? Do you think there are any gelateria's open at 3:00 a.m.?

Crunchy French Toast

This is one of our favorite ways to use up the second loaf of French bread.

4 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla
1 loaf French bread, sliced into 9-10 (1 inch thick) slices (mine is usually day-old)
3 cups cornflakes, slightly crushed
3 T butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450.
Combine eggs, milk, salt and vanilla in a shallow bowl (I like to use a pie pan). Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture, coating both sides. Press the bread slices into the cornflake crumbs, getting a good coating on all sides (again, a pie pan works great). Place coated bread slices on greased baking sheet and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cornflakes start to brown.
Serve with Lindsey's famous cinnamon syrup.


1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c butter
1/2 c water
1/3 c corn syrup


In small saucepan, combine sugar & cinnamon. Add butter, water and corn syrup and stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves & mixture thickens. Serve hot.


I posted this syrup recipe a long time ago, but I don't think it got the attention that it deserved so I will post it again. We love it on pancakes, waffles, aebelskivers, ice cream, French toast, on its own by the spoonful...

...man shall not live by bread alone...

...but if you had to live on bread/muffins alone, you could happily live on these.

Stuck on a deserted island? Take these muffins (and a raft).

If I weren't already HAPPILY married, I'd marry these muffins.

If these muffins were one of my kids, I could EASILY pick a favorite.

On death row and requesting your last meal? I hate to sound repetitive, but ask for THESE muffins.

If you haven't got the picture yet, these are quite possibly the best conference muffins I have ever made.

Mini Butter Puffs
loosely based on a recipe from Joy of Cooking
Makes 2 dozen standard size muffins, or 4-5 dozen mini muffins (I like the mini...you can eat them like popcorn.)

Muffins
4 cups flour
2 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 cup sour cream
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) warm melted butter

Coating
1-2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon


Muffins
Preheat oven to 375. Coat muffin cups with baking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, sugar and butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over-mix. The batter should not be smooth. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into one or two muffins comes out clean (about 10 minutes for mini muffins, 12 minutes for standard size muffins.)

Coating
Melt butter in a small bowl. Combine sugar and cinnamon in shallow bowl. While muffins are still quite warm, remove from muffin pan. Dip the entire muffin (one at a time) in melted butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar. Set on a wire rack to cool.

Sinless Pancakes

Contrary to popular belief, I do not sit at home, eating home-baked treats all day. Oh, how I wish I could.

Ninety percent of my meals are pretty strictly healthy, and, dare I say, maybe even  boring. Watching what I eat quite closely, coupled with the 25-30 miles I run, helps me justify eating one to two indulgent treats each week. Oh, how I wish it was eight or nine.

This recipe is one of my secret weapons. I eat it almost every morning for breakfast. It was given to me by my ultra-fit sister-in-law. It tastes decadently "carb-y", but actually provides an average woman with 63% of her daily protein (just over 50% for a man). I can eat this right after a run and feel satiated until lunch time rolls around.

Heather's Cottage Cheese Pancakes
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup oats (I use "Old Fashioned Quaker Oats")
3 egg whites
2 packets Splenda (If you're opposed to artificial sweetener, use sugar. It will alter the calorie count)
Splash of Vanilla Extract (I use about 1 teaspoon)
Sprinkling of Cinnamon (about 1/2 teaspoon)
pinch of salt (my addition...I find it boosts the flavor a bit)

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Cook on a hot griddle, sprayed with non-stick spray.

I think these are sweet enough to eat plain, but you can serve them with any syrup (sugar-free if you're watching your waistline), jam, or fresh fruit. I love to add blueberries to the batter (1/4 cup will only add 15 calories...plus some extra fiber and antioxidants). I've also experimented with flavor a little bit. When I'm feeling spunky, I add a pinch each of nutmeg, ground ginger, allspice, and cloves and get gingerbread pancakes. 

This makes one serving. I usually get six average size pancakes out of one batch.

290 calories
4.5 g fat
0.5 g saturated fat
15 mg cholesterol
33 g carbs
4.7 g fiber
29 g protein

This is probably the only time I'll post nutritional info. With desserts, ignorance is bliss.

Cornmeal Pancakes

I love pancakes, and I love cornbread. These are deliciously buttery and the cornmeal gives them a nice bite.

Cornmeal Pancakes
from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook

3/4 c flour
2 T sugar
1/2 c yellow cornmeal
1 T plus 1 t baking powder
3/4 t kosher salt
1 cup milk
5 T unsalted butter
2 large eggs, beaten
canola oil for griddle (I use Pam)

Preheat electric griddle to 375, or place a griddle pan or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.
Combine the milk and butter in a small saucepan, and warm over low heat until the butter melts. Let cool to lukewarm, then beat in the eggs. Whisk the egg mixture into the dry ingredients, and combine. The batter should have small to medium lumps.
Cook on heated griddle. Can keep warm in a 175 degree oven.

Cinnamon French Toast with Caramel Syrup

One of the Cyclist's coworkers paid him for some artwork with some delicious French Toast from Kneaders. He raved about it. He found the recipe for me and requested that I make it for Sunday Brunch. The original recipe is an overnight French Toast casserole, but Saturday night was a bit hectic, so I adapted it to work on the griddle.

This is melt in your mouth, serve to good company, watch your socks French Toast.

Cinnamon French Toast
adapted from Kneaders

1 loaf Kneaders Chunky Cinnamon Bread cut in 8 slices (when I went to buy it, it was sold out so I made my own*. If you don't want to make it and you don't live near Kneaders, look for a good cinnamon swirl bread at your local bakery)

4 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 T. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 T. vanilla
Butter for pan

Preparation:

Heat frying pan or electric griddle to about 300 (medium-medium/high). Combine eggs, milk, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla in a shallow pan. Dip bread slices in egg mixture. Cook in butter in hot pan.

Serve hot out of the frying pan with warm caramel syrup.

Kneader's Caramel Syrup
1 c. Brown sugar
1 c. Whipping Cream
1 c. Light Karo Syrup
Blend together and heat on stove top until sugar is smooth.
Serve warm.

*Homemade chunky cinnamon bread

Bread dough
2 T butter, melted
cinnamon/sugar mixture

Follow the directions for bread dough, stopping after step two.
After the dough has risen in the bowl, dump it out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut off golf-ball size bits of dough. Roll into a ball. Dip in melted butter and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place in a greased bread pan.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350. Place a large pan on the bottom rack of the oven. Bring 3 cups water to a boil on the stove. Pour the hot water into the preheated pan to create a steam bath for the bread.
Bake the bread for 30 to 40 minutes until crust is golden. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and cool completely on a rack.

Spring Conference Muffins

It's that time of year again. Spiritual enlightenment on TV...Omelette brunch... Muffins.

We found a sweet little muffin recipe this year. The lemon flavor was a bit subtle for my taste. I'd probably double the zest next time. Still, a great little bite-size muffin.

Pint-Size Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffins
from Bon Appetit Magazine
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon (packed) finely grated lemon peel
2 large eggs
1/4 cup poppy seeds
(we also sprinkled the batter with a little sanding sugar before baking, to give them a little sweet crunch on top)


PREPARATION
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour three mini muffin pans or line with paper liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and baking soda in medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk and lemon juice in small bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and lemon peel in large bowl to blend. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until mixture is light and fluffy, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture in 2 additions. Mix just until blended. Mix in poppy seeds. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups by generous tablespoonfuls.
Bake muffins until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 22 to 24 minutes (mine only cooked about 16 minutes, so check early). Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove muffins from pans and cool on rack.

Chocolate Waffles with Lorraine's Wickedly Good Hot Fudge Sauce

Remember this virtuous breakfast?

Well today's dish will not be winning any awards for health or nutrition.
But we had Gracie Girl over for dessert today, er, I mean Brunch.

Come on. When you're this cute, you've gotta eat chocolate.


Chocolate Waffles
adapted from the food network

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 whole eggs, beaten
4 T unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
16 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Vegetable spray, for waffle iron


Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl beat together the eggs, melted butter and vanilla, and then add the buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir in the chocolate chips just until combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Ladle the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the center of the iron. Close the iron top and cook until the waffle is crispy on both sides and is easily removed from iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

Serve with fresh fruit (loads of it, it will help you justify chocolate chips and hot fudge for breakfast), whipped cream or ice cream (we used fat free frozen yogurt...see how healthy we are), and a drizzle of Lorraine's hot fudge.

Hot Fudge

½ cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 can evaporated milk
1 t. vanilla

Melt butter. Add sugar, chips and milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 8 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla.

I've tried several hot fudge recipes, and this is always my favorite. Fabulous on a brownie sundae with vanilla ice cream. Thanks Bush's!