Brown Sugar Pancakes

These pancakes were good, but nothing amazing. They were easy though, so I would make them again. I've been searching for a good brown sugar recipe ever since we went to New Zealand and had the most amazing brown sugar pancakes there.



Brown Sugar Pancakes (BakingBites.com)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar (pref dark.)
3 tbsp butter, softened
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 cups milk, any kind
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt together brown sugar and butter. Stir well, then set aside to cool slightly.
in a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking power and salt. Pour in eggs, milk and vanilla extract, along with brown sugar mixture and stir until well combined. No streaks of dry ingredients should remain.
Heat a skillet or griddle over medium-high heat, until a drop of water skitters around when dropped on the surface. Lightly grease with butter or oil, and drop pancake batter by 1/4-cup measures on the pan. Cook until pancake is slightly dry around the edges and small bubbles form in the batter (bottom will be browned). Flip and cook for another minute or so on other side, until bottom is browned.

Buttermilk Waffles

I'm getting closer to the perfect waffle recipe. I love that this recipe uses brown sugar and I think that makes the difference. They could have been a bit sweeter, but otherwise they are really tasty.



Buttermilk Waffles (Sister' Cafe)

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, melted
2 cups flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat waffle iron. Beat eggs until fluffy. Beat in everything else just until smooth. Cook in waffle iron.

Buttermilk Blueberry Scones

These scones were pretty good, but I'd recommend eating them right away. They didn't taste as great later in the day. I also think that I should have cooked them a bit longer to get a more golden glow.



Buttermilk BlueBerry Scones (Average Betty)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tbsp salted butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)

For the tops:
2-3 tbsp buttermilk
1 tsp sugar

Preheat oven 400(F).
In a bowl, combine flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together.

Cut stick of butter into pieces. Add butter pieces to dry mixture.Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, incorporate butter pieces until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl combine egg, 2/3 cup buttermilk and vanilla.

Carefully coat blueberries with dry mixture. This will also prevent blue “bleed.”

Create a well in the center of mixture. Add buttermilk mixture all at once to the well. Carefully combine, just until moistened.

Pour onto lightly floured countertop and shape into a circle. Cut into 8 pieces.

Brush tops with buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake in a preheated 400(F) oven for 12-14 minutes until golden brown.

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

I love quiche. Its really easy to make and you can put pretty much anything into it and it tastes good. One of my favorites is a simple spinach and mushroom quiche.



Spinach and Mushroom Quiche (Adapted from Paula Deen's Spinach and Bacon Quiche)

Ingredients
6 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Salt and pepper
2 packages chopped frozen spinach, defrosted and press the water out
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (I used Gruyere)
1 8oz package mushrooms
1 small onion chopped
dash red pepper flakes
1 9inch pie crust (see below)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Add spinach, mushrooms, red pepper flakes, and onion. Mix until combined. Pour into pie shell. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set (My oven took 65 minutes). Cut into 8 wedges.

Pie Crust (Martha Stewart)

Ingredients:
Makes 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

French Toast

French toast is really easy to make and a great way to use up leftover french bread. This recipe is pretty much foolproof.

French Toast (allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
6 thick slices bread (I used french bread)
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
salt to taste

Directions:
Beat together egg, milk, salt, desired spices and vanilla.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle of skillet over medium-high flame.
Dunk each slice of bread in egg mixture, soaking both sides. Place in pan, and cook on both sides until golden. Serve hot.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I love pumpkin and pancakes, so this combo is excellent. The pancakes puffed up a lot so if you like thinner pancakes you might want to thin the batter out a bit.



Pumpkin Pancakes (The Way the Cookie Crumbles)

Serves 2-3

1 cup (5 ounces) flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ nutmeg
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
½ cup pumpkin
1 cup buttermilk
vegetable oil for the pan

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the egg until thoroughly combined, then add the butter, pumpkin, and buttermilk. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk gently until batter is mostly mixed but still contains small lumps. Let batter rest while pan heats, at least 5 minutes.

2. Heat non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Add a few drops of oil and spread it over the bottom of the pan. Using a ¼ cup measure, pour pancake batter onto hot griddle. When pancake is golden brown, flip to cook other side. Keep warm in oven heated to 275 degrees.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

After 2 weeks without a fridge, I am finally back in business! Its amazing how much your life is dependent upon keeping things cold ;)

To celebrate our working fridge, I made a coffee cake. This is a sour cream coffee cake with a pecan-cinnamon streusel. It turned out really good and I highly recommend it. The cake was moist and the streusel added some great flavor. I doubled the streusel recipe and I recommend you do as well. Next time I make it, I would do more layers of streusel instead of just the bottom, middle, and top.



Sour Cream Coffee Cake (foodtv.com)

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream (I used fat free)
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel (this is doubled from the original):
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional (I used pecans)

For the glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. (I used a bundt pan)

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the nuts, if desired.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. (I put it on the bottom, middle, and top, but I think it would be even better with more layering.)

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners' sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.