Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Say hello to the most delicious pancakes ever. I realize this is a strong statement, but it is the truth. The pancakes themselves are perfectly fluffy and with the addition of cinnamon and maple glaze puts these pancakes over the top. The first time I made these my supposed pancake-hating husband devoured them. I constantly crave these pancakes, but due to the butter content, I reserve them for a once in awhile treat.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Ingredients for the pancakes:
1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbps white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsps baking powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp vanilla

ingredients for the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
dash of salt
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1/4 whole milk*

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, corn syrup, butter, and vanilla. Stir flour mixture into the egg mixture.

Heat a lightly greased griddle over medium/low heat. Pour about a 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle. Brown on both sides.

To make the icing whisk together the powdered sugar, butter, salt, maple syrup, and milk until combined.

Serve pancakes warm with icing drizzled on top.

*I have tried making the glaze with fat-free milk and the consistency and texture is not the same. I recommend using whole milk for this recipe.

Source: Pioneer Woman

Blueberry Scones

These are probably one of the very best scones I have ever tried – perfectly tender and buttery. My absolute favorite thing about them is that they tasted just as good baked from the freezer a couple weeks later as they did the day I made them. That makes these perfect to keep on hand for a quick, freshly baked breakfast treat. They are even husband and toddler approved!

Blueberry Scones
Ingredients:
8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen whole
1 1/2 cups (7½ oz.) fresh blueberries
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups (10 oz.) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
Adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat to 425˚ F.  Grate the frozen butter on the holes of a large box grater (alternately, use a food processor).  Place the blueberries in the freezer until needed.

Whisk together the milk and sour cream in a medium bowl; refrigerate until needed.  Combine the flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest in a medium mixing bowl.  Whisk to combine.  Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.

Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until combined.  Transfer the dough to a generously floured work surface.  Dust the top of the dough with flour, and knead with well floured hands, 6-8 times, just until the dough holds together in a ragged ball.  Add small amounts of flour as needed to prevent sticking.

Roll the dough into a 12-inch square.  Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter (a dough scraper really helps with these steps).  Fold the short ends of the dough into the center in thirds, to form an approximate 4-inch square.  Transfer the dough to a plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Return the dough to the floured work surface and roll into an approximately 12-inch square again.  Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the surface of the dough, and gently press down so that they are slightly embedded in the dough surface.  Using a dough scraper, roll the dough up to form a tight log.  Lay the log seam side down and press the the log into a 12 by 4-inch rectangle.  Using a sharp, floured knife, cut the rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles.  Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles.  Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.

Brush the tops of the scones with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar.  (If freezing ahead of time, flash freeze on the baking sheet for 20 minutes, then wrap individually and store in a freezer bag until needed.)  Bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18-25 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Source: Annie’s Eats

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blackberry Sauce

One weekend I was trying to decide what to make for our breakfast and I came across a container of ricotta in the fridge. I also had some homegrown lemons that my friend Brittany gave me from her lemon tree and some fresh blackberries that needed to be used. That basically told me that I had to make these pancakes. These pancakes were nice and fluffy with a nice hint of lemon. The blackberry sauce was the perfect compliment to these pancakes. All three of us really enjoyed these!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blackberry Sauce
Ingredients:
For the blackberry sauce:
12 oz. blackberries, rinsed and drained
¼ cup sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. cold water

For the pancakes:
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup milk
3 large eggs, separated
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1½ cups cake flour*
1 tbsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
¼ cup sugar

*You can substitute ¾ cup all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons of cornstarch per 1 cup of cake flour.

Directions:
To make the blackberry sauce, combine the blackberries and sugar in a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries begin to release some of their juices and the mixture is simmering.  Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl; whisk until smooth.  Add the cornstarch mixture to the blackberries and mix well.  Reduce the heat to medium and let cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a low boil and thickens slightly.  Remove from the heat and keep warm if desired.  The sauce will thicken slightly as it cools.

To make the pancakes, combine the ricotta, milk, egg yolks, lemon zest and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl.  Whisk to combine.  Add in the cake flour, baking powder and salt and mix just until incorporated.  In another clean, dry mixing bowl, beat the egg whites on medium-low speed until foamy.  Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and continue to beat, adding the sugar gradually, until medium-soft peaks form.

Fold one third of the egg white mixture into the ricotta mixture with a spatula until completely incorporated.  Add in the remaining egg whites and fold in gently until the mixture is smooth and light.

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat.  Grease as needed.  Ladle a scant ½ cup of batter onto the cooking surface for each pancake.  Allow to cook until bubbles begin to form on the top surface.  Use a large spatula to carefully flip the pancake and cook the other side until light golden and cooked through.  Repeat with the remaining batter.  If desired, keep finished pancakes warm in a 200˚ F oven until all the batter is cooked.  Serve warm with fresh blackberry sauce.

Yield: about 12 pancakes

Source: Annie’s Eats

Banana Pancakes

One of my favorite things about Sunday’s are making a delicious breakfast for my husband and daughter. It gives us a chance to sit down and eat breakfast as a family, enjoy something other than cereal, and it gives me a chance to try new recipes. Win, win, win! It’s becoming even more fun now that Alana is eating pretty much everything we eat. She is so funny to watch and thoroughly enjoys a good meal. These banana pancakes were a hit with everyone. They are perfect topped with some banana slices and maple syrup.

Banana Pancakes
Ingredients:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, plus additional for greasing the pan
1½ cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 small ripe banana, mashed
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
½ tsp. vanilla extract
Additional banana slices, for serving
Maple syrup for serving

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 200˚ F.  Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl; set aside to cool slightly.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; whisk together to combine.  In a another bowl, combine the mashed banana, milk, eggs and vanilla and whisk to blend.  Add the melted butter and the banana mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix gently with a rubber spatula until just blended (the batter should be slightly lumpy).

Heat a pan or griddle over medium heat.  Grease lightly with butter.  Drop the batter in 1/3 cup portions onto the heated cooking surface.  Cook until a few bubbles form in the top surface and the bottom is golden brown, about 2 minutes.  Carefully flip the pancake over and cook on the remaining side until golden brown, 1-2 minutes more.  Transfer finished pancakes to a plate in the warm oven while you use the remaining batter, re-greasing the pan as needed.  Serve warm with maple syrup and sliced bananas as desired.

Yield: about 8 pancakes

Source: Annie’s Eats originally from Williams Sonoma

Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

During the week I rarely eat anything other than cereal. It’s quick, it’s a habit, and I just like it. However, on the weekends, I like to take time to make a breakfast we normally wouldn’t eat during the week. It’s fun to try something different every week and play around with whatever I have leftover in the fridge. That’s where these cinnamon rolls were born.

These cinnamon rolls were delicious. The dough was light and tender and the blueberry and lemon complimented each other nicely. If you’re hesistant to work with yeast — just do it! It really isn’t that hard and the results are worth it.

Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls
For the cinnamon rolls:
6½ tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
5½ tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp. lemon zest
3½ cups bread flour
2 tsp. instant yeast
1 cup plus 2-4 tbsp. whole milk or buttermilk, at room temperature

For the filling:
3 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sugar
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
1½ cups fresh blueberries

For the glaze:
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
6-7 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. lemon zest

Directions:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugar, salt and butter on medium-high speed until smooth.  Mix in the egg and lemon zest.  Mix in the flour, yeast and milk until a dough forms.  Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed, about 8 minutes until the dough is silky and supple. The dough should be tacky, but not sticky. Extra liquid or flour may need to be added to achieve this texture. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, turning once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Mist a work surface with spray oil.  Roll it out into a rectangle with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the dough with flour if needed to keep it from sticking .  Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix to blend.  Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the surface of the dough.  Sprinkle the berries over the top evenly of the dough.  Starting with the wide edge, roll up the dough into a  log, creating a cinnamon sugar spiral as you roll.  Pinch the seam shut, and with the seam side down, slice the log into your desired number of rolls.  Transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, placing the rolls about ½-1 inch apart.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 75-90 minutes, until the rolls have grown into each other and have nearly doubled in size.  At this point, the rolls can also be covered and retarded in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.  Pull the pan out of the refrigerator 3-4 hours before baking to let the dough proof.

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool in the baking about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.  Whisk together the glaze ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth and then swirl over the top of the cinnamon rolls.  Let cool at least 15-20 minutes before serving.

Source: Annie’s Eats, originally from The Bread Bakers Apprentice

Pumpkin Scones

I have been a bad blogger. I guess being a Mom and full-time doctoral student has left very little time for blogging. It hasn’t kept me away from the kitchen, but somehow sitting down to write in my blog just doesn’t happen anymore. Between chasing a 9 month old, studying, working on a thesis, and spending some time with my husband, life just got busy!  This must change because I truly miss having a way to chronicle my kitchen endeavors.

Now, on to these scones. Oh my, these are good! I decided on a whim one morning to whip these up. I had someone coming over and after quickly glancing through the ingredient list and directions I decided I could make it happen. I was so pleasantly surprised both by how quickly these came together and how delicious they were. Sometimes with scones it seems like you have to pick which of the two you would like, but not with these! I almost decided to omit the spiced glaze and just using the regular glaze. I’m so glad I didn’t as the spiced glazed added another dimension of flavor. Make these to enjoy one fall morning. You won’t regret it!

Scones Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
7 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 Tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 Tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg

Sugar Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk

Spiced Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Scones Directions:

Preheat oven to 425˚F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Use a pastry blender or food processor to cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly in texture and resembles coarse cornmeal.

In a small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, half and half, and egg.  Fold into the dry ingredients until barely combined.  It is very important not to over mix the batter.  At this point it should still be kind of dry and crumbly.

Loosely form the dough into a ball.  Pat it into a 1-inch thick, 9″x3″ rectangle onto a lightly floured surface.

Use a sharp knife to slice the dough through it’s width into three equal portions. Cut each section diagonally to produce 6 triangular slices of dough.  (Or, you can slice “X’s” in each section to form 12 triangles.)

Place each slice on prepared baking sheet and bake for 14 – 16 minutes, until the scones are golden brown.

Let cool completely on wire rack, and then continue with glaze directions below.

Sugar Glaze directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until smooth.  If it’s too runny, add more sugar.  If too thick, add a little more milk until reaching desired consistency.  Brush glaze over the top of each cooled scone.  Let harden before proceeding to the spiced glaze directions.

Spiced Glaze Directions:

After the sugar glaze hardens, combine the spiced icing ingredients.   Use a whisk to drizzle over each scone and allow to dry before serving.

Yield: 6 scones, or 12 mini scones

Source: Pennies on a Platter

Rich Buttermilk Waffles

It’s not very often that Joe and I have lazy weekend mornings where I have the opportunity to make a nice breakfast. A couple of weekends ago we had just that. I decided to bring out my waffle maker and try a new recipe. No matter how many wonderful flavor combinations there are I always seem to go for plain ‘ole buttermilk. These were really good especially topped with some fresh, seasonal fruit.

Rich Buttermilk Waffles
Ingredients:
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsps baking soda
1 3/4 Cups buttermilk
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, separated
4 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Canola oil or cooking spray for waffle iron

Directions:
Combine the dry ingredients. Mix together the buttermilk and egg yolks and stir in butter and vanilla.

Brush the waffle iron lightly with oil and preheat it. Stir the wet into the dry ingredients. Beat the egg whites with the whik or electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. Stir them gently into the batter.

Spread a ladleful or so of batter onto the waffle iron and bake until the waffles are done, usually 3-5 minutes, depending on your iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a low oven.

Source: Smitten Kitchen

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Yet again, another recipe that is so much better than store-bought. I love making yeast breads. No matter how many recipes I have tried I continually get a kick out of watching the dough rise. This is the first sweet bread I made and the first time I rolled a loaf up. I did end up with a little air pocket in the middle of the loaf so maybe next time I will try to roll tighter? Regardless, the bread was great. I will be making this again and again!

I halved this recipe because I didn’t want to end up with two loaves if we didn’t enjoy it. Now, I’m really sorry I did. I wish I had another loaf to pull out of the freezer. Don’t make my mistake — make two loaves! I also used all dark raisins instead of half golden half dark since that is what I had on hand. Next time I would like to try it with golden.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water (105-115 F)
1 cup warm milk (105-115 F)
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 Tbsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
6 to 6 1/4 cups bread flour, plus more as needed
3/4 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup dark raisins

for the filling:
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions
In a bowl, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of granulated sugar over 1/2 cup of the water and stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fittened with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining 3/4 cup water, milk, butter, remaining sugar, salt, egg and 2 cups of flour. Beat on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the yeast mixture and 1/2 cup of the flour and beat for 1 minute. Add the raisins, then beat in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Switch to the dough hook. Knead on medium-low speed, adding flour 1 Tbsp at a time, if the dough sticks, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Transfer the dough to a greased deep bowl and turn to coat. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled, 1 to 1.5 hours.

Lightly grease two 9-by-5 inch loaf pans. Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Divide the dough in half and roll or pat each half into an 8-by-12-inch rectangle. Lightly sprinkle each rectangle with half of the filling, leaving a 1 inch border on all sides. Beginning at the narrow end, tightly roll up each rectangle into a compact log. Pinch the ends and the long seam to seal in the filling. Place each log, seam side down, in the prepared pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough is about 1 inch above the rim of the pan, 1 to 1.5 hours.

Preheat an oven to 350 F. Bake until the loaves are golden brown and pull away from the sides of the pan, 35-40 minutes. Turn the loaves out onto wire racks and let cool completely.

Yield: 2 9-by-5 inch loaves

Source: Williams-Sonoma

Buttermilk Pancakes

My favorite meal of the day is Breakfast, so it is very suiting that my first post is Buttermilk Pancakes. This recipe is a definite go to for me.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, plus extra from greasing

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine wet ingredients combining gently. Pour wet ingredients into flour mixture and combine until moist being careful not to overmix. Preheat a griddle over medium-high heat. Once griddle is heated pour 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle spacking pancakes about 2-3″ apart. Once batter bubbles (about 2-3 minutes) flip pancakes and cook 1-2 minutes. Keep warm until served.  

Adapted from: The Joy of Baking