French Toast

I tried this recipe today for Sunday lunch and everyone loved it. I can't remember the last time we had french toast, so I had to look up a recipe. This is from allrecipes.com :)

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 12 thick slices bread

1. Measure flour into a large mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the milk. Whisk in the salt, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla extract and sugar until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat.
3. Soak bread slices in mixture until saturated. Cook bread on each side until golden brown. Serve hot. 

Granola

I found this recipe the other day and really liked it. I thought I would share...

Fruit + Nut Granola (adapted from Real Simple)

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup unsalted pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups dried tart cherries

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment on baking sheet (located next to the wax paper and aluminum foil) and set aside. In a large bowl toss the oats, almonds, coconut and pepitas with the maple syrup, oil and salt. Pour evenly onto the parchment-lined baking sheet and make sure the mixture is evenly distributed. Bake for 25 minutes (and not a minute longer!). After removing the baking sheet from the oven, pour the dried cherries on top of the mixture and carefully toss. Allow to cool before placing the granola in an airtight container (I like those glass lock containers from Costco).

A few notes regarding ingredients:
Pepitas: I found these at the farmer's market
Unsweetened Coconut: Also at the farmer's market
Pure Maple Syrup: The best price per ounce can be found at Costco with Target being a close second with their Archer Farms brand. I ended up using my favorite syrup, Log Cabin Light and it turned out great.
Dried Tart Cherries: Good versions can be found at Target (again, Archer Farms) or at the farmers market. I omitted these since I prefer fresh berries with my granola in the summer.

Yet another find from www.stephmodo.com via www.cafezupa.com

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Simple and delicious.

Ingredients:

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 Tbl baking powder
2 Tbl. sugar
Dash of salt
1 c. milk
1 egg
2 Tbl oil

Combine dry ingredients. Add wet. Add more milk/water to desired consistency. Melt butter on hot skillet. Cook and enjoy!

I also add vanilla on occasion.

Carrot Cake Pancakes

I am always looking for a good breakfast idea and when I came across this recipe I was very curious. I made them -almost- according to the directions and they were REALLY good. I didn't use as many carrots because I didn't have a pound the day I made them. I probably reduced the carrots to 1 1/4-1 1/2 c. The family ate them up. The spices add a nice surprise and the carrots are hardly noticeable if grated thin.

Carrot Cake Pancakes

1 ¼ cup white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups finely grated carrot (about 1 pound)
Cooking spray

Instructions:Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through ginger) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar and next 4 ingredients (through eggs); add sugar mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in 2 cups carrot.Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Spoon 4 (1/4 cup) batter mounds onto pan, spreading with a spatula. Cook for 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 1 minute or until bottoms are lightly browned. Repeat procedure twice with remaining batter.

Cinnamon Oat Scones

Cinnamon Oat Scones

1 c. white whole wheat flour
¾ c. rolled oats
1/3 c. oat bran
¼ c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 Tbl baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1 Tbl cold butter, cut into cubes
2/3 c. half & half or whole milk
2/3 c. mini cinnamon chips

For Topping:

1 Tbl half & half or whole milk
2 Tbl rolled oats
1 Tbl light brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
2 Tbl mini cinnamon chips

In a bowl, stir together the flour, rolled oats, oat bran, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of peas. Pour the half-and-half over the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in mini cinnamon chips into the batter.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and press together gently until the dough clings together in a ball. Pat out into a round about 1/2 inch thick and 6 1/2 inches in diameter. Cut the round into 6 wedges. A pizza cutter works great to cut out the wedges. Place the wedges 1 inch apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
To top the wedges, brush them with the milk and sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon mixture. Press down on the topping slightly once all wedges have been coated.
Bake until golden brown, about 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The scones can also be frozen and reheated.

Ice Cream Syrup (aka: buttermilk syrup)

This is a breakfast syrup, one you would use on pancakes or waffles. I realize the name might be confusing. We call it Ice Cream syrup because the boys think it tastes like ice cream. Yummy, right? It is now the syrup of choice for breakfast around here.

Ingredients:
1 C sugar
½ C butter
½ C buttermilk (or sour milk - 1/2 C milk + 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice, let sit for 5 min.)
½ tsp. baking soda

Combine into a large saucepan.
Cook until sugar melts and is caramelized in color.
Remove from heat.
Add ½ tsp. vanilla.

White Chocolate Raspberry Scones

1 3/4 c flour
3 T sugar
2 1/2 t Baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/3 c butter
1 egg beaten
1/2 t almond extract
1/2 c whip cream
3/4 c frozen raspberries (or blueberries, blackberries)
3/4 c white baking chips

*In large bowl mix: sugar, flour, BP, salt
*cut in butter
*add berries and chips to dry ingredients
*mix egg, almond extract and whip cream in a small bowl add to dry ingredients
*mix til all is moistened
*pat into 8" circle on a greased cookie sheet or baking stone
*bake 18-23 min at 400. Cool til warm.

Granola

This is my best recipe for granola. I've adjusted it just the way we like it. It's a little time consuming, but well worth the result. I keep ours in the freezer and we eat it for breakfast with berries and yogurt almost daily.

10 c. rolled oats
1 c. wheat germ
½ lb. shredded coconut
1 c. sunflower seeds
3 c. almonds, pecans, walnuts or combination, chopped
1 ½ c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1 ½ c. water
1 ¼ c. oil
1 c. honey
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 tsp. vanilla

In large bowl combine oats, wheat germ, coconut, sunflower seeds and nuts. Blend well. In saucepan, combine remaining syrup ingredients. Heat until sugar is dissolved, but do not boil. Pour syrup over dry ingredients and stir until well-coated. Pour onto 5 cookie sheets. Bake until golden brown (20-30 min), stirring occasionally. (I usually bake 2 sheets and one time and rotate/stir them about every 10 minutes) Cool. (I've also found if you like chunky pieces, you need to let it cool completely on the cookie sheet). Put in airtight containers and store in a cool, dry place

Pancakes

Since I compared Amy's pancakes to mine, I thought it might be good to put mine up for the test.

1 c. flour
1 heaping t. baking powder
scant 1 t. salt
4 T. sugar
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 eggs, separated
1 c. milk

Stir together dry ingredients. In a small bowl whip the egg whites until stiff. Add the other liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Carefully fold in egg whites. Cook on a heated griddle.

To use sour milk or buttermilk, add 1 t. baking soda and decrease the baking powder to 1/2 t. I also mix in all sorts of things: mashed banana, left-over oatmeal, blueberries. It is sort of a hodge podge recipe, but it works well for us. The key is to flip the pancakes over when the bubbles are still wet, if that makes any sense.

Danish Pastry Twists

This are a two-day process, but they are impressive and tasty. You want to use real preserves, not AllFruit or anything like that, the sugar helps the fruit melt into the pastry.

Dough:
2/3 c. milk, divided
2 T. sugar, divided
1 ½ t. yeast
2 ¼ c. flour, divided
½ t. salt
1/8 t. freshly ground cardamom
1 large egg
18 T. unsalted butter (1 T. softened)

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese
3 T. honey
blueberry preserves
peach preserves

Glaze:
¼ + 2 T. powdered sugar
1 T + ¼ t. water
1 ½ freshly squeezed lemon juice

Icing:
½ c. powdered sugar
1/8 t. vanilla
2 T. heavy whipping cream


Directions:
1) Proof the yeast in small bowl with 2 T of the milk (slightly warmed), ½ t. sugar, and the yeast. Let it sit for 10-20 minutes until bubbly and foamy.
2) In a heavy mixer, add all but 1 T. of the flour, the remaining sugar, salt, yeast mixture, and cardamom. Add the remaining milk, the egg, and the 1 T. of softened butter, and mix on a low speed until well combined (dough will be a little sticky and shiny). Put dough in an oiled bowl, turn over once to cover all over with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Gently deflate dough, recover with plastic, and refrigerate for 2-8 hours.
3) On a large sheet of plastic wrap, place the remaining 1 T. of flour mix in with the remaining butter. Once flour is incorporated, shape butter into a 5 inch square.
4) Take dough out of fridge, roll out to an 8 inch square, put butter diagonally in the middle mark it, roll out the flaps a little more, moisten with water, and wrap the dough around the butter. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
5) Gently roll the dough into a 7 by 16 inch rectangle. Brush off all the flour from the surface of the dough and fold into thirds. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20-40 minutes. This is the first “turn.” Do two more turns refrigerating the dough 20-40 minutes between each one. After all turns are done, allow dough to rest in refrigerator for 2 hours.
6) Take dough out of fridge, allow to warm for 15 minutes before working with it so butter can soften a little and not break through the dough. Roll the dough to a 6 by 14 inch rectangle. Cut ½ “ wide strips from the dough. Twist the dough and then coil it like a snails shell on a baking sheet 2” apart. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with a nonstick spray. Allow to rise for 1-2 hours. With your fingers press down the middle two inches of the twist. In the indention, pipe cream cheese mixture around a tablespoon of preserves.
7) In a very well preheated oven, bake twists at 375 for 18-20 minutes. (It is good to have a baking stone to help maintain the oven temperature in the oven. Another hint is to have an oven safe bowl with boiling water on the lower oven rack.)
8) When twists come out of the oven, brush with glaze. Remove to wire racks to cool. About 20-30 minutes after pastries come out of oven, drizzle with icing.

from Pie and Pastry Bible

Awesome Idea! (Yogurt Pancakes)

What an awesome idea, Allison! I'll just jump right in with a recipe that I love to share. (We regularly have this for dinner, and if it makes a difference, the Brays love these as well.)

Yogurt Blender Pancakes

2 cups vanilla yogurt (or strawberry, peach, etc.)
2 large eggs
4 Tablespoons canola oil
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour (I use whole wheat flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

In the blender, whip the yogurt, canola oil and egg until smooth. Add all remeaining ingredients to blender and pulse until completely mixed. Add milk by the tablespoon if batter seems too thick.