The Best Coffee Cake Ever!

This recipe for delicious coffee cake comes from the Pioneer Woman Blog. I wanted to make something sweet and simple for a friend that was coming over for coffee. I had everything on hand for this recipe and PW just raved about this coffee cake, so I knew I had to make this.

 The cake part of this coffee cake is super fluffy and moist and the ample brown sugar and pecan topping scented with cinnamon is incredibly good. I will definitely put this recipe in my 'favorites file' and make it anytime I want something delicious and simple for breakfast or brunch or really, anytime.

The Best Coffee Cake Ever!
Source: Pioneer Woman

I halved this recipe and baked it in a 9 x 9 glass dish (there was only two of us enjoying this). I added the measurements I used in red.

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE:
1-1/2 stick Butter, Softened  (6 T Butter )
2 cups Scant Sugar (1 cup)
3 cups Flour, Sifted (1 1/2 cups) 
4 teaspoons Baking Powder (2 tsps.) 
1 teaspoon Salt (1/2 tsp.)
1-1/4 cup Whole Milk (6 oz milk)
3 whole Egg Whites, Beaten Until Stiff  (2 egg white)
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FOR THE TOPPING:
1-1/2 stick Butter, Softened (6 T Butter)
3/4 cups Flour (1/4 cup + 1/8 cup)
1-1/2 cup Brown Sugar (3/4 cup) 
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon (1 T )
1-1/2 cup Pecans, Chopped (3/4 Cup) 

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat egg whites and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until combined. Don't over beat. Fold in beaten egg whites with a rubber spatula. Spread in a well-greased 9 x 13 (or LARGER!) baking pan. A cake pan with higher sides would be best.

In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Sprinkle all over the top.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until no longer jiggly. Serve warm---delicious!

* I added a half teaspoon vanilla to the cake batter and thought it was definitely a good addition. Gave the cake a good flavor.

Green Chili and Egg Bake

This egg casserole is super simple to make and bakes up so light and fluffy. The combination of green chilies, shredded cheese and eggs is delicious. You can also make this the night before, refrigerate and then bake it in the morning. What's not to love?

Green chilies are lined in the bottom of a buttered glass dish. I halved this recipe as it was only my husband and I enjoying this and used an 8x8 dish. Use whole green chilies if you can find them. If not, diced chilies work too.

Top the chilies with shredded cheese

And pour over a creamy mixture of eggs, sour cream, salt and pepper.

At this point, it can be wrapped with plastic and refrigerated.

Or, bake it in a 350 degree oven until fluffy and light golden brown on top. Mine came out of the oven with a large puffy center that deflated as it cooled. 

This slices up really easy and pops right out of the pan. Serve this with salsa, fresh guacamole or a dollop of sour cream. Yum!

Green Chili and Egg Bake

Source: Tara/Foodnetwork
Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) can whole mild green chilies, drained and stemmed
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely grated
12 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sour cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Salsa, additional sour cream, and guacamole for serving, optional
Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the chiles in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Arrange in 1 layer on the bottom of a buttered 13 by 9-inch baking dish Cover with the cheese. Whisk the eggs with the sour cream in a large bowl until blended. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the eggs over the cheese, smooth the top, and bake in the middle of the oven until golden, about 45 minutes. Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole on the side, if desired.

Pumpkin Pancakes!

Yes. I am on the bandwagon with all of those who start making and searching out pumpkin flavored foods and treats at the first sign of fall. I've already enjoyed a pumpkin latte and made pumpkin cranberry cookies. So, when I walked into Trader Joes and saw this pumpkin pancake mix, I just had to try it!

These pancakes are easy to make and have a wonderful pumpkin flavor. It was exactly what I was craving. I had some leftover pumpkin puree from some cookies I baked, so I made a second batch of pancakes and added a splash of vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and a couple good dollops of pumpkin puree. These doctored pancakes turned out wonderful as well! Either way, they both make for excellent fall flavored pancakes.

The batter is a pretty orange color too.

And they cook up nicely.

I topped mine with real maple syrup (also from TJ's) and that's all they needed. Of course, a smear of melted butter would be heavenly too.

So, if you have a Trader Joes by you, just know that their pancake mix is really good and worth trying out! Also, their spices like cinnamon, cloves and pumpkin pie spice are only $1.99 each (and they're nice glass jars too.)

If you're feeling adventurous, make some cinnamon butter to go on top!

Cinnamon Butter

3/4 cups unsalted butter

1 tbsp corn syrup 

1 tsp brown sugar 

1 tsp granulated sugar 

2 tsp cinnamon

Using an electric mixer, whip room temperature butter until fluffy. Add corn syrup, sugars and cinnamon and beat to combine.

Morning Muffins

If you're looking for a healthy way to start off your morning, look no further than these Fiber Rich Muffins. I was making a bowl of Hodgson Hill Multi Grain Oatmeal and spotted this muffin recipe on the back. I decided to whip some up so I could have a quick and healthy snack for the next few mornings.

These muffins are loaded with shredded carrots, diced apples and blueberries along with some other healthy grains and ingredients. 

I substituted applesauce for the vegetable oil and brown sugar for the white. I also added a handful of blueberries.

For a healthy muffin, packed with lots good-for-you-stuff, these are pretty tasty. They're perfect for a quick bite in the morning and are quite filling with a cup of hot coffee!

Blueberry Muffins

Need something sweet to start off your morning? Try one of these oh-so-yummy blueberry muffins. They're super moist, loaded with blueberries and have a great crunchy topping. What's not to like? They're perfect with your morning coffee.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup buttermilk (or reg. milk)
1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries (any fruit works well)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Cooking Club: April 2010

Theme: Eggs
All the dishes at this month's cooking club were so delicious! Who knew there were so many yummy things you could make with eggs as the main ingredient? Great job ladies.

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Summer (Host): Scrambled Egg Breakfast Pizza (Pictured above)

Linda: Vanilla Bean Cake with Lemon Glaze

Shauna: Lemon and Basil Eggs over Foccacia

Susan: Shrimp Crab Cakes

Lori: Coconut Creme Brulee

Betty: Smoked Salmon and Dill Egg Salad Tea Sandwiches 

Sarah: Spaghetti Alla  Carbonara

Summer: Lemon Meringue Pie

Teresa: Deviled Eggs

Chris: Mini Quiche

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Smoked Salmon and Dill Egg Salad Tea Sandwiches 

Long name, tasty sandwich. Great flavor from the smoked salmon, capers and dill.

Mini Quiches

Very versatile. Great basic quiche that you can adapt to your tastes. This one has a surprise ingredient of cottage cheese that lends a nice texture.

Coconut Creme Brulee

What's not to love about this creamy dessert? The hint of coconut in these makes them superb.

Deviled Eggs

Super creamy filling with a nice tang. Everything you want in a deviled egg.

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

"Tastes like it came straight from a gourmet restaurant". This was really, really good. 

Shrimp Crab Cakes

These were excellent. Great flavor and texture. Loved the big chunks of fresh shrimp.

Lemon and Basil Eggs over Foccacia

This was incredible. The top middle section of a loaf of foccacia is taken out and replaced with a delicious mixture of eggs, parmesan and basil and baked to perfection.

Vanilla Bean Cake with Lemon Glaze

If there were any left over, I would enjoy one with a cup of coffee the next morning. Light and fluffy vanilla cake is topped with a punch of zesty lemon glaze and crunchy sanding sugar.

Fruity White Wine Sangria

Lightly sweet, refreshing punch with slices of fresh fruit.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Great lemon flavor. This pie didn't quite set up but it was still delicious! 

Enjoy the photos. Recipes coming soon.


Next month: Luau Theme (Hawaiian Tropical Attire)
Sunday, May 23 @ 5:00
Host: Linda

Valentine's Breakfast

My family and I enjoyed a relaxing day in for valentine's. We started the morning off by cooking a healthy breakfast together. We put on classical music and whisked up some whole wheat, honey and oat pancakes and scrambled some eggs.

My husband happened upon this Kodiak Cakes Flapjack and Waffle Mix at the grocery store. My favorite part about the healthy mix is the simple ingredient list and the fact that you only have to add water to make them.

We thought some ground cinnamon, applesauce and a splash of vanilla would be a tasty addition to the mix and it was! This Santa Cruz applesauce is really good. 

These turned out amazing! Very fluffy, moist and a really great hearty flavor. The applesauce on top was an experiment, since we weren't using butter or syrup and it was really good, honest. 

These pancakes were healthy, tasty and better than any sugar laden ones fried in butter you would get at a restaurant. The topping of applesauce and fruit was a delicious substitute for butter and syrup. We bought two boxes of pancake mix and a package of applesauce and we will be making these again very soon.

Whole Wheat, Oat and Honey Pancakes

1 1/2 cups Kodiak Cakes flapjack and waffle mix

1 cup water

1 container applesauce

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla

Whisk ingredients until just incorporated. Follow directions for cooking on back of flapjack mix package. Top with a dollop of warm applesauce and fresh fruit. Enjoy

Berry Scones

This recipe for delicious blueberry scones comes from America's Test Kitchen. I made one batch with raspberries and one with blueberries. I also sprinkled sanding sugar on top before baking for texture and sparkle. The scones were wonderfully flakey with a great buttery flavor. The raspberries added a nice tart flavor and the blueberries were mild and sweet.

These do take a bit of work, but are very tasty and worth the effort.

Tip: The raspberries added extra moisture, so when they came out of the oven they were a little doughy. They need to be baked slightly longer than the blueberry.

Christmas Morning Quiche

This is the ultimate, foolproof spinach quiche recipe and it's so simple and delicious. The recipe comes from my lovely Aunt Susan. I remember every time time I would visit her when she lived in Baker's Field, CA. and Avondale, AZ. she would make this quiche at least once for breakfast. I always looked forward to this quiche on my trips.

The smell of this baking in the oven brings back many memories. My grandma, my mom and my uncle also make their own versions of this. My uncle likes to add chopped up ham to his. I'm sure any breakfast meat would be good, or cheese for that matter, as this recipe is very versatile.

A frozen pie crust makes this a breeze to throw together. But, I prefer to make a buttery pie crust from scratch.
A buttery, pastry shell is filled with a savory custard made of eggs, cream, spinach and cheese. A surprise ingredient provides the seasonings and flavor for this yummy quiche.

Susan's Spinach Quiche

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk (whole)

1 cup grated cheese (cheddar or mixed)

1 (10oz) pkg. frozen spinach (thawed, water squeezed out)

1 pkg. Knorr vegetable soup mix
1 9in. Unbaked Pie Shell

Preheat 375

Beat eggs together in a large bowl for one minute; then add milk and beat an additional minute. Stir in thawed spinach, cheese and soup packet. Mix until ingredients are incorporated. Pour mixture into an unbaked pie shell. Bake on middle rack for 50-60 minutes. Allow to rest for 15 minutes.

* The filling mixture may over flow crust, so if making crust from scratch, form high edges. If using a store bought crust, fill not quite to the top.

Sour Cream Crumb Cake

This recipe was inspired by a desire to get back to the basics and whip up something sweet and tasty without having to pull out all the heavy kitchen equipment.

This recipe is very simple and versatile. You can add fresh or frozen berries or fruit to the batter and spices to the streusel.

I split the batter into thirds and added cranberries, blueberries and pears to each portion.

For my topping, I added oats for texture and cinnamon, nutmeg and all-spice for a more warm flavor.

Right from the oven, the cake puffed up beautifully and was golden brown.

I coarsely chopped and macerated the cranberries in sugar and a pinch of cinnamon for 15 minutes before adding them to the batter. All three versions turned out fluffy and moist. I had my mom over to try a taste of each straight from the oven and we both liked all three. A pear/cranberry or blueberry/pear crumb cake would be delicious also.
Pear Crumb Cake: Once baked the pears have a subtle flavor. They would be good mixed with another berry.
And lastly, blueberry with a few pears scattered in. Yum.

Each cake turned out buttery and moist. The crumb topping added a nice sweet crunch. These would be excellent for breakfast or brunch. I enjoyed mine with a cup of tea. Make them your own and try adding spices or your favorite fruit to the batter and nuts or spices to the streusel. My additions are in purple.

Sour Cream Crumb Cake

The Splendid Table Newsletter, Jan. 14th 09'

Make 15 Bars
Cake:
2-1/2 cups cake flour (I made my own with AP flour and cornstarch*)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, soft
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
(I added Blueberries, Cranberries and Pears)

Streusel:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, soft
1/3 cup oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 13" x 9" baking pan. For the cake, in a small bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2to 3 minutes. One at a time, beat in the eggs and then the vanilla extract. Beat in the flour mixture and sour cream alternately until just combined, ending with the flour. Spread the batter evenly in the pan.

For the streusel, in a small bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until mixture begins to clump. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the batter. Bake the cake in the center of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan set on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into squares and serve while still warm.

Update: I had a piece of cranberry crumb cake for breakfast and it was still so moist and the topping was buttery and crisp. I heated it up in the microwave for 12 seconds and it was sooo good. I will be putting this recipe in my favorites file!