Maple Bacon Pancakes

Try this new spin on classic pancakes for a delicious Saturday morning breakfast. I love bacon. Everyone loves bacon. In my house, it's pancakes and bacon or no pancakes at all. I mean, pancakes are good, but they need a counterpart, another component to make them perfect. And bacon happens to fill that spot.
And my husband will never eat pancakes with maple syrup, ever. So I decided to embrace our love of bacon and maple syrup and try adding it to pancakes. It turned out great!

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp melted butter
6-8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1. Mix all dry ingredients, except the bacon, together in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, stir all the wet ingredients together.

2. Combine both mixes together and stirring only enough to incorporate the two batters.

3. Fold the bacon into the batter gently and let batter rest for about 10 minutes.

4. Pour it onto a heated griddle or electric skillet and flip pancakes when bubbles form on the pancake tops. Eat warm, served with butter and maple syrup. Happy breakfast time!

Rum Raisin Cinnamon Scones

For the month of October, we were challenged to make scones by Jaida from Sweet Beginnings! I'm a big fan of starbucks cinnamon chip scones so I immediately decided to try to make something like that and they turned out fantastic.  However my husband requested scones with raisins so I combined two recipes to make one awesome scone, rum raisin cinnamon scone! And it turned out delicious!!

Scones:

2 cups flour

3 tbsp brown sugar

2tbsp white sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, cold

2/3 cup whole milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp rum

1 egg

1/2 cup raisins

Filling:

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp heavy cream, and some more for brushing

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp heavy cream

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp corn syrup

1. Mix all dry ingredients for scones together in a large bowl.  Cut in cold butter using a pastry cutter or two forks until the mixture resembles course crumbs.

2. Add in extracts, milk, egg, and rum. Mix well. Gently fold in raisins. Pour mixture onto a large piece of wax paper to form a rectangle (about 5 by 10 inches).

3. Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and heavy cream in a small bowl for filling. Spread across the top of half the scone dough.

4. Using the wax paper, fold the dough in half by putting the dry scone dough over the side with filling. Press dough down sealing in the filling and stretching the dough out into a large 12 by 6 inches rectangle.

5. Using a sharp knife dipped in flour, cut the rectangle into 8 squares and then cut each square diagonally to make 16 triangle scones.

6. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and brush with cream. Bake on 400 degrees for 13-16 mins.

7. While scones cool, make icing by combining all ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle icing over scones and let it set.

Sources: Adapted from Stella B's Kitchen and Created by Diane

Cinnamon Sugar Topped Banana Raisin Muffins

My husband refuses to eat breakfast in the kitchen like a normal human being, unless it's the weekend. It could have something to do with his crazy long commute. I guess waffles and syrup in the car could lead to some sticky situations...

So therefore I need to have all portable, easy to grab and eat while driving type foods for his breakfast. It does limit many of the classic breakfast foods. Since he's a huge fan of banana bread, I decided to try this muffin variation on classic banana raisin bread, which usually gets sliced and put into individual baggies. It's definitely easier to pop in your mouth while holding a steering wheel. My husband also really loved the cinnamon sugar crusty tops. Hope this makes your breakfast commute a lil easier!


Muffins:

3 Bananas, well-ripened
1 cup of sugar
1/3 cup corn oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cup raisins
2 cups water (for soaking raisins)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Topping:
3 tbsp butter
3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

1. Heat 2 cups of water in microwave or stove top. Add in raisins and set aside to plump.

2. Mash bananas in a large bowl and add all other ingredients.

3. Remove raisins from water and pat dry. Gently fold raisins into batter.

4. Fill muffin tins, lined with wrappers or greased with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

5. Melt butter in microwave.  Pour sugar and cinnamon into a separate small bowl.

6. Dip the cooled muffins into the butter and then immediately into cinnamon sugar. Eat hot or cold, either way they are great!

Nectarine and Blueberry Scones with a Honey Butter Glaze

This month of new home demolition is crazy as ever, but we are beginning to see the progress, which is so encouraging! I'm so very excited to finally move in! Hopefully it will be next month! For now, we are busy bees getting everything ready that we can. And the best part, we are finally free of those scorching hot days!

This month's What's Baking Challenge was to Bake Local, hosted by Lindsey of Our Share of the Harvest. I'm a big fan of using local foods and supporting local businesses so this was right up my alley! I stopped by two farmer's markets and a roadside stand to get my booty for this fun recipe.
My favorite farmer's market purchase was definitely the raw fall honey. It's so different than the honey you buy at a store and it's healthier for you too! I also scored some yummy nectarines and blueberries.

I have a little funny story related here. I was planning to make a stone fruit crostata with my local bought produce for this month's challenge. I started making my normal go-to Lidia Matticchio Bastianich's recipe and, much to my dismay, the dough was not forming at all! It never harden, just stayed liquid. Yuck! I ended up throwing it away. My confidence was starting to get shaken, but I figured I have to try again anyway. So I went for attempt #2, which started out better, but the end product was still lacking. I couldn't figure it out. Why was my dough behaving so funny? The humidity in the kitchen? My ingredients were not chilled enough? Should I have used a different utensil to mix? I was truly baffled by these events!

So I let the dough chill in the fridge overnight, as per the directions. In the morning, it was none the better. I was unable to roll it out, only press it into a disc with my palms to flatten. But I had to try to bake it at this point just to see what would happen. So I threw together my fruit filling and laid in on top and rolled it all up. Finally, it looked pretty good, despite my earlier issues. I popped it in to bake hoping it would turn out well. I left the kitchen for barely a minute or two, then came back to check on it to find.... that the dough had melted! Yes, that's right, melted! Literally. It ran down the parchment, over the pan, off the sides and onto the oven floor where it had already puddled. The best part? The puddle was on FIRE! Needless to say, I was done baking that day... Well, the end of my story is that I cleaned it up and decided to make scones. I am using my mother's kitchen since we are in the middle of moving, and discovered that when I thought I was using flour, the whole time I was using confectioner's sugar!!! My mom keeps them in these large upright Tupperware containers. And I know the spot the flour lives, but apparently she switched up their order in the closet. I can't believe I didn't notice it earlier, but at least I found out why! I guess we need to purchase some labels for our containers... Thanks for listening to my crazy story and now if you are still reading this enjoy these scones! They are so sweet and full of fresh fruit; hmmm... breakfast or dessert?


3/4 cup diced nectarines, peel on
3/4 cup blueberries
4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg, divided
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 cup cold heavy cream, plus additional for brushing
1/3 cup honey
1/4 butter


1. Mix all the wet ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.

3. Slowly add the flour into the wet mixture, stirring periodically. This dough will be quite stiff.

4. Turn the dough onto a well floured surface and knead with floured hands for a minute a two.

5. Flatten your dough slightly and press all your frozen fruits into the dough. Continue to knead for another minute or two to spread the fruit evenly through your dough.

6. Using your hands, shape the dough into a large, flattened circle. Using a floured knife cut the dough in half to form two half moons. Then cut each each half moon in thirds resulting in a total of six wedge shaped scones.

7. Now you can either place a few on a parchment lined baking sheet or you can freeze them for later use. To freeze, simply place scones on a baking sheet in freezer just long enough to harden, then transfer into freezer bags. Defrost and brush with cream when you are ready to bake them at a later date. To bake, brush them with a few tablespoons of heavy cream and place them in a 425 degree oven for about 24-26 minutes.

8. While the scones are baking away in the oven, put the honey and butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave for 90 seconds (a minute and a half) on high, stirring once halfway through.

9. When scones are cooling, brush them with honey butter and let sit for 20 minutes then brush them again. This helps them to stay fresh for up to 4 days. It's a natural (and very sweet) replacement for preservatives!



Enjoy!


Source: Adapted from 5 Second Rule and Baking and Books

Also featured on: Made From Scratch Tuesday, Works for me Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday, Ultimate Recipe Swap

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

This is slightly late, but it's been a crazy month so far. This month's What's Baking theme was to a bake a sweet treat for Mother's Day. I choose these Lemon Blueberry Muffins which I've made a few times before and they always come out great!



1 cup milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour,plus a few tbsps
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 tbsp grated lemon zest





1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients; 3 cups of flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. (The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.)

3. In a small bowl, mix together the milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture. Stir together just until incorporated. (Do not over mix this mixture or the muffins will be tough when baked.)

4. Toss your blueberries with a few tbsp of flour to coat them. (If you are using frozen, do not thaw them first.)

5. Fold in the blueberries and lemon zest very gently to not break the blueberries or you will have blue batter.

6. Fill each lined muffin cup with the batter, using a cookie scoop or an ice cream scoop. Remember to fill any unused muffins cups with water to prevent the pan from warping.

7. Place on the middle rack of a 350 degree preheated oven and bake until very lightly browned and firm to the touch and/or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 - 22 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool. ( I also made a few mini muffins and those bake on the same temperature for 9-11 minutes; test in similar fashion.)

Makes 16 - 18 regular-sized muffins.





Source: Joyofbaking.com, originally from Oregon's Cuisine of the Rain by Karen Brooks.

Also featured on: Foodie Friday

Cinnamon Rolls

It's still cold out and while I can't wait for the warmer weather to come around, I'm enjoying the comfort food that you can only get away with eating in the winter. So here is a great breakfast treat that's sweet and fun to make with the family. We recently made these during a snowed-in day with all my cousins. I've made these cinnamon rolls many times before and always loved them.

Cinnamon Rolls:
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 (1-pound) loaf frozen white bread dough, thawed

Icing:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp mascarpone cheese
2 oz cream cheese
1 tbsp buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla


1. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon and set aside.

2. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to a 12 x 9 inch rectangle.

3. Sprinkle sugar mix evenly on top of the entire stretched out dough, except the outer inch.

4. Brush melted butter on that outer inch of dough without sugar.

5. Beginning with one of the long sides, start rolling up the dough jelly roll style. Pinch edges to seal.


6. Cut in the dough into nine or ten equal pieces and place cut side down into a buttered baking dish. Or if you prefer, you can cut smaller pieces for more cinnamon rolls of a smaller size.

7. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let the cinnamon rolls sit in a warm area to rise for 45 minutes.

8. Bake for about 35 minutes uncovered on 325 degrees until golden brown.

9. While the cinnamon rolls are baking, make the icing. Whisk together the powdered sugar, mascarpone, cream cheese, buttermilk, and vanilla until well combined.

10. Brush melted butter lightly over tops of warm cinnamon rolls and then drizzle icing over the tops. Serve warm!

Source: Giada De Laurentis

Also Featured on Tasty Tuesdays

Monkey Bread

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Another great breakfast that is so fun and easy; Great for New Year's Morning! Monkey Bread is one of my husband's favorites. I mean, how it could it not be? Sugar and cinnamon caramelized in the oven is a great way to start the day, especially a day off of work!

2 large cans (16.3 ounces) refrigerated biscuits
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup pecan halves (I omitted the pecans)

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a bundt pan or tube pan with non-stick spray.

2. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

3. Cut the biscuits into quarters. Dip each piece in butter, roll it in cinnamon sugar, and place it in the pan. Sprinkle pecans onto the biscuit pieces at random. Pour any remaining butter evenly over the biscuit pieces in the pan.

4. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the top springs back when touched. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto a plate, and serve immediately. I also made a cream cheese icing to have on the side for dipping!

Recipe taken from: Ezra Pound Cake

Stuffed Overnight Panetonne Toast for Breakfast

.....Or Dessert!

Panetonne is a traditional Italian bread usually eaten around Christmas and New Year, similar to a brioche bread with raisins. This breakfast can be prepared the night before and then baked in the morning. All the flavors will blend together over night resulting in a spectacular breakfast(or dessert)! It's a great way to use those Panetonne loaves hanging around after Christmas and it's an easy, but special breakfast great for this week between Christmas and New Year since many children and adults are off from work! Maximize your ability to sleep in!

I got this idea from a local diner that makes Stuffed French Toast, so I thought maybe switch the bread and a different process and came up with what I named Ovenight Stuffed Italian Panetonne Bread Pudding/French Toast Breakfast...but that name is unneccessarily long..so I shortened it.


1 stick butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp corn syrup
1 loaf Panetonne bread
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, cubed
6 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp Bailey's Caramel Liquor
1 tsp cinnamon


1. Stir melted butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup together to make a caramel mixture.

2. Pour half of the caramel mixture over the bottom of 9x 13 baking pan. Set aside the other half of the caramel mixture until later (the next morning).

3. Peel the paper off your loaf of Panetonne. Slice the loaf into thick slices. Trim the crust of the bread off.

4. Layer half the slices on top of the caramel mix to cover the bottom of the baking pan.

5. Spread out the cubes of cream cheese on top of the bread layer. For an even sweeter treat, you could add in some mascarpone cheese to this too! I had every intention to do so, but never got to the Shoprite in time!

6. Finish the top layer with another layer of bread slices to make a cream cheese stuffed sandwich.

7. Now to make the custard. Start by whisking the eggs. Add in the heavy cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, salt, and Bailey's, stirring after each addition.

8. Pour the custard evenly covering all the bread in the pan. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight (refrigerate caramel mixture too). You will need to heat it for a few seconds in the morning.

8. Preheat oven to 350. If you are using a glass pan, be sure to take the pan out of the fridge while the oven is preheating so that the pan doesn't crack due to the switch from extreme cold to extreme hot. Remove cover and pour leftover warmed caramel mixture over the top. Bake for 40-45 minutes. When finished, remove from oven and serve warm.

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