Tag Archives: breakfast

by

BeerBerry Pancakes

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
33

If you’ve been reading for a while, you may already know I have a thing for putting beer in my waffle batter. Not just because it’s a fun excuse to have booze in the AM (it IS fun, though…), but because the effervescence of the beer gives the batter lift and a yeasty-malted flavor that I find irresistible and the perfect foil for copious amounts of maple syrup.

The resounding reason why these pancakes are not waffles is because sometimes I just don’t want to dig my waffle maker out of the recesses of the cabinet. That’s just true life and laziness at it’s finest…thus, the pancake. These pancakes take the griddle-standard blueberry and pairs it with zesty orange and yeasty beer. While the beer and baking powder give these pancakes their lift, the buttermilk brings tenderness, and coconut oil adds a bit of richness, while a teensy bit of cinnamon brings a little interest to the background. Blueberries and citrus are already friends, adding an orange-friendly beer to the mix just makes it a party.

BeerBerry Pancakes

Adapted from THIS recipe. 

I added a dash of Cook’s orange extract and vanilla paste* for a creamy-sweet-citrus note–both are totally optional, but fun additions. 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup beer (I used Blue Moon Valencia Grove Amber)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 Tablespoon orange zest

1/2 teaspoon each vanilla paste/extract and orange extract (optional)

3 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly

Preheat oven to 200˚F and set an oven safe dish inside.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large measuring cup combine the buttermilk, egg, zest, and extracts, whisk to combine well, whisk in the beer. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the beer/buttermilk mix, fold gently for a few turns and add the coconut oil. Continue to fold until just combined–some lumps and streaks of flour are okay, do not overmix. Gently fold in the blueberries.

In a non-stick pan or griddle over medium-high heat, ladle out as many pancakes as you will fit in the pan and cook until bubbles begin to appear around the edges and the surface of the pancakes and the bottoms are golden-brown, flip and continue to cook through. Place cooked pancakes on the dish in the preheated oven and repeat with the remaining batter. Serve with butter and syrup.

 

 

*Cook’s provided me with a complimentary sample of some of their extracts. Though the products were provided to me, free of charge, all opinions expressed are my own. 

by

Blueberry Doughnuts with Lemon and Cream Cheese Glaze

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
21

Guys, it’s still winter.

There’s a slush-fest of snow outside my door and the furnace is still roaring…but, my mind is on spring and sunshine and vibrant berries. And, while I’m a weirdo who actually likes cool temps and a winter wonderland…I can’t help but get anxious for the next season while the current one wanes away. It’s just my nature.

Since I’ve had berries on my brain and lemons are currently in season, I whipped up these blueberry-studded, baked cake doughnuts. These donuts appeal to both late winter and springtime produce—bright lemon and juicy blueberries. I’m always a little heavy-handed with lemon, I like it tart and intense. There’s a good bit of zest in the batter and glaze, as well as lemon juice for extra tang. The berries turn into juicy, purple gems once baked and their sweet nature pairs perfectly with the bracing lemon. Both are folded into a just-sweet, vanilla batter.  The baked doughnuts are cakey, tender, and only benefit from a generous slathering of creamy-tart glaze. Cream cheese glaze just makes sense when we’re talking berries and lemon.

Blueberry Doughnuts with Lemon + Cream Cheese Glaze

Makes about 8 doughnuts.

Adapted from Doughnuts: Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home by Lara Ferroni

These are baked doughnuts. I use a standard, easy to find doughnut pan for this recipe (this one). If you don’t have/want a doughnut pan, go ahead and make these into doughnut muffins. They will be a different shape, but just as delicious. The recipe makes about 8 doughnuts, though I yielded 10 as I filled the pan a bit less than I should have. Don’t be like me.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons lemon zest

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup (be generous) blueberries (washed and dried well) + 1 tablespoon flour

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Lightly spray a doughnut pan with cooking spray or grease with butter. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate, small bowl rub the lemon zest into the sugar until fragrant. Whisk the lemon-sugar into the flour mixture. Rub the butter into the flour mixture—like you would for making pastry dough—until it resembles a coarse meal.

In a large measuring cup, whisk together the milk and lemon juice and allow to sit for a minute or two—introducing acid to the milk will make it curdle and thicken, that’s okay! (if a recipe calls for buttermilk and you don’t have any, acidulated  milk will work in a pinch). Whisk in the vanilla and the egg, to combine well. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and fold to until just combined. Toss the washed and dried blueberries with the 1 tablespoon of flour, shaking off excess, and fold into the batter.

Using either a plastic zip-top bag or a piping bag, fill the bag with the batter, cut a hole at the tip (or corner), large enough to allow a blueberry through, and pipe batter into the prepared pan, about halfway up each doughnut-well. Bake in the center of the oven for 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a doughnut comes out clean and the edges are lightly golden. Allow to cool a few minutes in the pan before turning out. Repeat with remaining batter. Allow to cool to room temperature before glazing.

Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze

2 ounces cream cheese, softened (cut from an 8 ounce block)

1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1-3 tablespoons lemon juice

Using a wooden spoon, beat the cream cheese until creamy (if it’s already soft, this will be a breeze), stir in the confectioner’s sugar until combined, stir in the lemon zest, and begin thinning out the glaze with the lemon juice—beginning with 1 tablespoon and adding more until you reach your desired consistency.

 

by

Orange Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
35

Hey, Tuesday! I hope everyone that had a long weekend here in the US had a great time. We went impromptu car shopping on Saturday (our beloved, old car kicked the bucket and refused to budge) and Sean left for a business trip Sunday. It was a busier,  more emotional weekend than anticipated with the dying of the car and the need to find something in a single day. Which, in retrospect felt like a HUGE, overwhelming deal at the time, but now that things are back in order that huge deal has become NBD (I know, first world probs ya’ll).

I made these pancakes on Sunday as a little Hurray/Farewell, I think they helped AND I think that these are maybe my favorite pancakes ever. Sean always requests chocolate chip pancakes, they are his fave, and since we’re big fans of the classic orange-chocolate combo, I added the zest and juice of an orange for good measure. This pancake recipe is a breezey wet+dry situation and, with the addition of chocolate and orange, they are the kind of special that’s made easy. The pancakes cook up fluffy and tender and perfect. The decadent mix-ins make them irresistible even without syrup and butter, but there’s no judgement if you want a little extra sweetness. Sometimes you need it, ya know?

Orange Chocolate Chip Pancakes

adapted from Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys 

Make about 20, 3-inch pancakes

I add the juice from the orange to the milk–much like I would to make a buttermilk replacement with lemon and milk in a recipe. The acid from the orange may curdle the milk a bit, but that’s totally fine, go with it. If there isn’t enough orange juice to make 1/4 cup add store-bought orange juice to make up the difference or when mixing with the milk, add a bit more milk to make 1 1/4 cup total of liquid. I like mini chips in my pancakes because they suspend in the batter and are less likely to burn on the bottom of the pan. 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

generous 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

zest of 1 orange

1/4 cup orange juice (squeezed from the zested orange)

1 cup milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

vegetable oil, for brushing the pan

maple syrup and butter, for serving

Preheat the oven to 200˚F, place an oven safe dish on the middle rack.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder. Toss in the chips and coat lightly with the flour mixture. Set aside. In a large measuring cup whisk together the orange zest, juice, and milk. Whisk in the egg and vanilla, to combine well. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour the milk mixture into the center of the well. Add the butter and fold the wet ingredients into the dry mixture until just combined–there may be a few small lumps, that’s okay. Do not overmix! or your pancakes will turn out chewy. Allow the batter to rest 5-10 minutes.

Heat a skillet (I use nonstick) or griddle over medium-high heat. Lightly brush the surface of the skillet with oil and pour in a scant 1/4 cup of batter, cook until bubbles begin to form all over the surface of the batter and the bottom is medium, golden brown. Flip the pancake and cook an additional minute or until the middles of the pancake are cooked through. Place the cooked pancake on the warmed plate in the oven. Repeat with remaining batter.  Serve warm with butter and syrup.

 

 

 

 

by

Banana-Yogurt Muffins

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
19

Muffins, ya’ll.

Sometimes a girl–or dude–just wants to bake something that’s homemade, but stress free. Muffins are both of those things and they almost never disappoint.

My favorite thing about the humble, homemade muffin is that it can be almost-healthy to actually-healthy–using flours and germs and brans and fruits and healthy fats to boost the health factor. See, most store-bought varieties are packed with enough sugar and other stuff that makes them basically cake. I mean, cake is delicious and sometimes makes the BEST breakfast, but even I can’t go for cake-breakfast everyday. That’s why I love a muffin. It’s a quick bread in a cupcake outfit.

These muffins are of the almost-healthy variety. They use pantry staples and fresh, ripe banana for tenderness and flavor. The sunflower seeds are in there for some crunch–because I can’t resist adding texture to most things. The batter comes together by simply folding the whisked up wet ingredients into the sifted dry ingredients, and uses only a few dishes. The baked muffins are ultra-moist due to the combination of yogurt, banana, and olive oil. The dusting of powdered sugar is totally optional but makes for a pretty and slightly sweeter muffin.

Banana-Yogurt Muffins

Adapted from Donna Hay Modern Classics Book 2

Makes 12 regular muffins. 

For tender and light muffins, be sure to mix the batter until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Lumpy batter is okay, over-mixing the batter until it’s completely smooth will result in a chewy and dense muffin. 

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup sunflower seeds plus more for sprinkling (optional)

1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt)

2 very ripe bananas, mashed with a fork

2 eggs

1/3 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Spray/grease or line a muffin tin with paper cups.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Toss in the sunflower seeds and mix to combine. In a large measuring cup whisk together the yogurt, banana, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add the yogurt-banana mixture to the dry mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until just combined. Divide the batter between the 12 prepared muffin cups and bake in the center of the oven for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

by

Coconut + Chocolate Chip Cream Scones

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
43

Guys, these scones!

Oh man, what a dream! I mean, toasty coconut and chocolate chips are always a fine pair, but in these scones they are even better.

These are cream scones, which means the main liquid is rich and buttery cream. The cream gives these scones the dreamiest crumb that is at once light and decidedly rich. They are super tender with the help of a soft, low protein flour–like White Lily or even a pastry or cake flour. The soft flour has less protein, meaning less gluten, meaning less elasticity, plus more tenderness. While yeasted doughs benefit from some chew, supple scones definitely do not. The chocolate and toasty coconut make these already special scones a bit more decadent. They would be perfect in a brunch spread or even an easy weekend breakfast. They also make the perfect afternoon treat alongside a cup of something warm and caffeinated.

Coconut + Chocolate Chip Scones

Adapted from Take a Megabite and Smitten Kitchen

Makes 12, 3-inch round, scones.

These scones are still good as leftovers the next day, but are at their very best still warm from the oven. For super fresh scones, I like to freeze the cut and unbaked scones in a single layer on a sheet pan for several hours, then I transfer the frozen scones to a zip top bag and return the the freezer. The scones can then be baked, as needed, from frozen. Just bake an additional 1-2 minutes. 

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 Tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

2 cups low-protein flour (like White Lily brand, pastry or cake flour)

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted, plus more for sprinkling

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1 egg + 1 Tablespoon milk

Preheat the oven to 425*F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone baking mat.

In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the coconut stirring and watching so as not to burn.  Once the coconut is golden and toasty, scrape it into a bowl and set aside to cool completely.

In a measuring cup mix together the cream and vanilla. Set aside.

Whisk together the egg and tablespoon of milk. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Work in the chilled butter quickly with your fingertips, rubbing the butter into the flour until the bits of butter are no larger than peas. Toss the coconut and chips into the mixture to distribute. Add the cream mixture and bring the dough together by folding gently with a spatula. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead–the goal is to bring the dough together in under 12 turns of kneading. Once the dough has just come together, pat it out into desired thickness (go for a rough circle to cut triangles, makes about 8), cut with a biscuit cutter and place on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops of each scone with egg wash and sprinkle with coconut. Bake in the center of the oven for 10-13 minutes or until tops and bottoms are just golden and scones are baked through.

 

 

 

 

by

Double Chocolate + Pistachio Muffins

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
38

Sometimes you want need chocolate for breakfast. Sometimes it’s a perfect pair with your third cup of coffee. Sometimes it’s just what you needed to make a gloomy morning seem brighter.

Chocolate muffins always make me happy–it’s like dessert for breakfast without actually being dessert. These muffins keep it real with healthful yogurt, a touch of olive oil, some nutty wheat germ, a bit of cocoa, some nuts for crunch, and a handful of chocolate chips for good measure. They aren’t too sweet, so go ahead and smear some berry jam on there. Or, if you want need to, a smear of nutella or cookie butter would be amazing–I totes won’t judge.

Double Chocolate + Pistachio Muffins

Makes 8 standard size muffins.

Adapted from this recipe. 

You could definitely leave out the pistachios and make these nut-free, or switch them out for another nut. 

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

7 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons wheat germ (optional)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup coarsely chopped pistachios, plus 1-2 tablespoons for topping

Preheat oven to 350*F. Line a muffin tin with 8 paper liners.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, wheat germ, salt, baking powder, and soda. Fold in the chocolate chips and 1/4 cup nuts.

In a large measuring cup whisk the egg, whisk in the yogurt, oil, milk, and vanilla to combine well. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and fold until just combined. Divide the batter between muffin cups and sprinkle remaining nuts over the tops of each muffin. Bake in the center of the oven for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.

 

 

by

Eggnog Streusel Muffins

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
28

Hello, December!

The holidays are in full swing over here, as this is my ever-fave time of the year. One of my favorite holiday flavors is Eggnog. The thing is…I’m not so much into drinking it. In a latte? Totally. In ice cream, hell-to-the-yes. Cookie, cakes, etc…yup.

Even though eggnog is basically melted ice cream–drinking it is just too much for me. The viscosity gets to me every time. I love to add eggnog to a baked good–like these super soft cookies or this pretty cake. It replaces the dairy in many recipes like a dream. The richness and subtle nutmeg spice is perfect for holiday baking. I threw these muffins together, using my favorite recipe as the starting point, over the weekend. The muffin is tender and fragrant with eggnog flavor. The streusel has hints of nutmeg and the sugary crunch is perfection in top of the tender muffin. They come together quickly and are perfect with a cup of coffee on grey-sky mornings.

Eggnog Streusel Muffins

adapted from this recipe. 

Makes 8 standard or 24 mini muffins.

1 cup all-purpose flour

6 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 egg

1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons eggnog

3 Tablespoons browned butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel:

2 Tablespoons browned butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

tiny pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350*f and line your desired muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.

Brown the butter for the muffins and streusel. Melt 5 Tablespoons of butter in a small pan. Heat over medium until the butter becomes foamy, continue heating–swirling or stirring the butter–until the milk solids become dark golden brown and fragrantly nutty. Remove from heat and divide accordingly into two bowls. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl mix the streusel together by combining the 2 Tablespoons of browned butter with the flour, sugar, nutmeg, and salt. Set in refrigerator until ready to use.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg.

In a large measuring cup whisk together the egg, eggnog, 3 Tablespoons of the cooled browned butter, and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry and fold until just combined. Divide the batter evenly among muffin cups, divide streusel evenly over the tops of each muffin and bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean–about 13-15 minutes for minis and 16-20 for standard muffins. I would check them both after the earliest suggested time and go from there. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

by

Pumpkin Bread with Bourbon Icing

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
34

It’s just a few days before Eat-Fest-USA, aka Thanksgiving, aka only one of the best holidays ever.

It’s just Sean and I this year, as we are staying put, and I’ve had the menu planned for a few weeks now. I’ve ordered our turkey and picked it up, planned the sides, shopped the pantry goods, written my produce list, and picked out the wines. I was going to bake up another batch of this pumpkin bread for Thursday morning, but I’m thinking we’ll go the fruit and cheese route for breakfast and snacking.

Not that this pumpkin bread wouldn’t make a lovely, easy breakfast to share with your fam and friends this thankful holiday. It would be perfect sliced and set-up next to plenty of coffee and/or tea to begin Thanksgiving day and kick-off the feast prep. This bread is super moist–and, I know we don’t all love that word–but it is what it is. And, I channel my inner Jesse Pinkman as I type this…

This bread be moist, yo.

The moisture comes from pumpkin puree, olive oil, and greek yogurt, there’s a bit of whole wheat flour for wholesome goodness, just a little spice, and a buttery layer of bourbon icing just for kicks. I also added some candied ginger to the top, for good measure. Maybe the icing and ginger are a little much but, they fancy-up this super easy quick-bread, making it holiday breakfast AND dessert appropriate.

Pumpkin Bread with Bourbon Icing

Makes 1, 9×5 inch loaf

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Since this is a quick bread, it comes together very quickly with few dishes. The bread also tastes great, maybe even better, the next day. This recipe makes 1 standard loaf of pumpkin bread–however, I baked this batch up in a 6inch round pan and a mini-loaf pan. Either way, this bread is delicious. Feel free to make this bread sans icing for an every-day breakfast bread sitch. I use half all-purpose and half whole wheat flour in this recipe, you could us less whole wheat or go with just all-purpose with great results. I would be wary of making the entire recipe out of whole wheat as it may result in a very dense and even gummy bread. 

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup pure pumpkin puree

1/2 cup olive oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons melted butter

2-4 teaspoons bourbon

milk to thin

Preheat oven to 350*F and grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan, or other baking dish, well. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flours, salt, sugar, baking powder, and spices.

In another bowl, mix together the pumpkin, olive, oil, beaten eggs, yogurt, and vanilla. Mix well to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and fold to incorporate until just combined and there are no longer any dry flour streaks. Be careful to fold the batter and not overmix it. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake in the center of the oven for 50-60 minutes (about 45 for the round pan) or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

For the icing, whisk together the melted butter, bourbon, and powdered sugar. Add milk to thin to desired consistency. Spread icing over cooled bread. Sprinkle with chopped, candied ginger if desired.

Will keep for 2-3 days wrapped well at room temperature.

 

by

Pumpkin-Beer Waffles

Tags: , , , , , , ,
25

I believe that Sundays are for easy living. If breakfast happens closer to lunch time, who cares!? Sundays aren’t for scheduling.

This lazy Sunday, in particular, was much needed. Mid-week, last week, our 4-year-old Chihuahua-mix fell ill–which landed us at the emergency vet where our girl, Luxe, had to have a blood transfusion (something I never even realized was something that happens for dogs until it did) and had to spend a few nights at MSU’s small animal clinic. Needless to say, there was a lot of stress, a lot of tears, and a lot of worrying. I hate it when animals get sick or injured because they just can’t tell you! and, the thought of her scared and in an unfamiliar place just broke my heart. She responded super well to her treatments, to the vet and our great relief, and got to come home Saturday evening.

So, when a fresh Sunday rolled in, and the sun seemed to be shining just a little brighter, I woke up earlier than most weekend mornings, took the pups out for a romp in the leaves, then promptly began putting these waffles together. Since I already opened a can of pumpkin for feeding Luxe her meds (I crush up the pills and mix it with a teaspoon or two each of plain yogurt and pumpkin–it’s a treat with a medicinal surprise! yeah, I am THAT dog mom and I learned the trick from this dog mom…), I decided to use the remaining pumpkin in a lightly spiced, crispy edged waffle.

These waffles use beer for lightness and a little extra lift. It’s my favorite way to mimic a yeast-raised waffle batter in a fraction of the time. There’s brown butter because, well if you’re going to melt it anyway, why not brown it? The bit of whole wheat lends a little texture and toastiness without getting dense or heavy. These waffles taste like October and comfort and carefree Sundays…which is sometimes just what you need, with a side of pup cuddles for good measure.

Pumpkin-Beer Waffles

Makes 12-16 individual waffles.

Adapted from this recipe. 

The beer in these waffles isn’t simply a gratuitous addition–it brings a yeasty flavor and makes for a light and airy crumb, akin to yeasted waffles sans the rise time. No dense waffles up in here. I used a Belgian Wheat Beer for these, but I bet a seasonal pumpkin ale would be pretty magical. Waffles freeze like a champ, simply place on a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer, freeze for 30 minutes, remove and place frozen waffles in a resealable gallon bag and freeze for up to 1 month–reheat in a toaster. 

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup beer

5 Tablespoons browned butter, cooled to room temperature

In a small skillet melt butter over medium until it becomes foamy. Once foamy, continue to heat butter over medium-low until the milk solids begin to brown at the bottom of the pan, you can whisk or stir it if you would like–the butter will become nutty and fragrant–allow it to brown as long as you dare before it burns. You will know by the smell if it is burnt. Pour into a heat-proof bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 275*F and have a sheet pan ready to keep waffles warm. Preheat the waffle iron according to manufacturers instructions. Oil, butter, or spray the iron lightly if needed.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flours, salt, baking powder and soda, sugar, and spices. Set aside. In another mixing bowl combine the vanilla, milk, pumpkin, and eggs. Whisk well to combine, gently whisk in the beer. Make a well in the dry mixture and add all of the pumpkin/beer mixture, followed by the cooled brown butter, fold until just combined and there are no longer large dry pockets within the batter–some small lumps are okay. Ladle batter into the waffle iron–I used about 3/4 cup per each batch, this may vary depending on your iron–and bake according to manufacturers instruction. Place baked waffles onto the baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while you continue with the remaining batter. Serve warm with butter and syrup.

Luxe on the mend. What a champ!

 

 

 

by

Maple-Pumpkin Granola

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
14

Sometimes, when stressed and trying not to eat a whole pizza worth of feelings, I turn to something crunchy. It’s just so dang satisfying and if I’m going to eat my feelings, my jaw should have to work a little for it.

Enter granola. I tend to make it pretty healthful–reaching for honey or maple in place of plain sugar, and filling it with plenty of seeds and nuts for texture and interest. Granola can be as plain-jane as you want it or as crazy as you’d like–it’s versatile that way. This batch is flavored with lots of maple for sweetness and fragrance, olive oil encourages maximum crunchiness, pumpkin makes a subtle earthy appearance, warm spices and toasty nuts + seeds add depth, thick-rolled oats add great chewy-crunchy texture. This granola makes a great pair sprinkled over yogurt or swimming in a bowl of milk. It’s also great, out of hand, for crunching through some stress.

Maple-Pumpkin Granola

Adapted from this recipe. 

I use Bob’s Red Mill Thick Rolled Oats here, which I find at any supermarket in the natural foods section. I like the more substantial chew of these particular oats, but any brand you like works just as well. The pumpkin isn’t front-and-center in this recipe, it’s mostly a background flavor, as the puree softens the oats and works against that crunchy texture so beloved in granola. Also, I added a variety of seeds and nuts–I usually just add whatever is left over from other recipes–feel free to switch them up or omit as desired. 

3 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup raw walnuts

1/2 cup raw almonds

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

3 Tablespoons flax seeds

3 Tablespoons sesame seeds

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 Tablespoons plain pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 325*F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

In a large bowl combine oats, nuts, coconut, seeds, salt, and spices. In a large measuring cup whisk together maple, oil, vanilla, and pumpkin. Pour the maple-pumpkin mixture over the oats mixture and stir to coat well. Spread the mixture onto the baking sheet in an even layer and bake 15 minutes, stir, and continue to bake in 10-15 minutes intervals, stirring well between each, until the granola is uniformly golden and no longer moist. The granola will crisp a bit more as it cools. Store completely cooled granola in airtight containers for  1-2 weeks.