Buttermilk Syrup

I've had this recipe posted along with my blueberry buttermilk waffles recipe, and my mom recently asked me to give it its own post so that she could find it easier.  I got this recipe from my aunt Julie, but since eating it for the first time at a family reunion, I have seen it all over the place!  You can get creative with this and try new things to change it up.  I have a friend who adds cinnamon to her recipe and it is delicious.  You can also use maple flavoring instead of vanilla extract.  I'm sure there are tons of other variations that you could try and it will still be amazing!  I am posting this recipe with the changes that I made and use all the time now--less butter and less baking soda (personal preference).  I'll add notes next to the ingredients, if you want to do it the high fat, extra frothy way.  

Buttermilk Syrup

by: Uncle Greg and Aunt Julie

1/4 c. butter (1/2 c. in the original)

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. buttermilk (I use 3/4 c. regular milk most of the time and it still tastes great!)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking soda (1 tsp. in the original)

In a saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter and sugar, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil.  Add the milk (or buttermilk) and return it to a boil.  Remove it from the heat and wait one minute.  I don't know why this step of waiting one minute is important, but I haven't dared skip it for fear that my yummy syrup wouldn't come out as frothy and delicious as it should.  So just obey it.  Then stir in the vanilla and baking soda and serve it immediately.    

Creamy Maple Syrup

 

I love breakfast food.  But lately, I have been a little sick of breakfast, and I realized why.  It's because I am bored with the syrup!  I found this recipe for Creamy Maple Syrup, and suddenly, my waffles were exciting again!

Creamy Maple Syrup

slightly adapted from: abountifulkitchen.com

1 c. heavy cream

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. maple flavoring

dash of salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream and brown sugar to a boil.  Let it boil for one minute and then remove it from the heat and stir in the maple flavoring, salt and vanilla.  Serve it over your favorite (again) breakfast food.

Overnight Oatmeal

I guess it is time to jump on the Overnight Oats bandwagon.  I saw a recipe for this one day, and the next day, the Internet was feeding me recipe after recipe of overnight oatmeal.  I've read many of the recipes, and they are all very similar, so I'm putting this on here as the base that I have been using, but you can change it up and add any fruit/nuts/nut butter/flavoring/yogurt that you think would be delicious, and it probably will be!  I eat mine cold, with granola and fruit on it, and it has been a delicious, hearty, quick meal in the morning for me.

Overnight Oatmeal
by: www.abountifulkitchen.com

1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. almond milk
1/3 c. old fashioned oats
1 1/2 tsp. chia seeds
1 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Pour all the ingredients into a jar, shake it up really well, and place it in your fridge overnight or for 8 hours.  The next morning, give it another shake to stir it up again and then pour it into a bowl.  Top with granola, fresh fruit or coconut.

Homemade Bagels (for a fraction of the cost of store bought)

During quarantine, back in April, we practiced our pioneer skills of making everything homemade, and this was one of the recipes we tried at that time.  And it was one of my favorites!  To me, these bagels tasted almost exactly like Einstein Bagels, and when we figured out the cost, homemade bagels cost around .08 cents per bagel, and a fresh, store bought bagel costs $1.80!

Homemade Bagels

by: sallysbakingaddiction.com

1 1/2 c. warm water

2 3/4 tsp. instant or active dry yeast

4 c. bread flour

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. salt

1 egg white, mixed with 1 Tbsp. water

2 quarts water

1/4 c. honey

In your kitchenaid mixer (or by hand), mix together the warm water and yeast, cover and let it rest for 5 minutes.  Add the flour, brown sugar and salt and beat it on low speed for 2 minutes.  The dough will be stiff and a little dry.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it (by hand) for 4-5 minutes.  Place the dough into a large bowl, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Cover it, and allow it to rise until it is double in size, for about 60-90 minutes.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.  When the dough is ready, punch it down and divide it into eight equal pieces.  Shape each piece into a ball.  Press your finger through the middle of the ball to make a hole and shape it into a bagel shape.  

Cover the bagels with a light towel and let them rest for a few minutes while you prepare the hot water bath.  Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Fill a large pot with 2 quarts of water and the honey.  Bring it to a boil then reduce the heat to medium-high.  Drop the bagels in the water and cook them for 1 minute on each side, then remove them and place them on your lined cookie sheets.

Using a pastry brush, brush the egg white mixture on the top and sides of each bagel.  If you want to sprinkle some (or all) of them with cinnamon sugar, or some other delicious topping, now is the time to do it.  Otherwise, they will be plain bagels, which were also delicious.  Bake them for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.  The bagels will be golden brown.  

Liege Waffles (Authentic Belgium Waffles-Like in the Train Stations)

When I was in my early 20's, I backpacked around Europe for a few weeks with my roommate.  We ate so much delicious food!  Of all the amazing things we tasted, my favorite was the waffles in Belgium, eaten fresh from the cart in the train station.  Sooo delicious!  It is more like a cookie than a waffle.  A thick, sweet, sugar crystal filled, waffle shaped cookie.  For years (before the internet was as amazing as it is now) I tried to figure out what the secret sugar ingredient was in the waffle.  Now, all you have to do is a google search, and you'll know it is Belgium Pearl Sugar.  You can buy it on Amazon for about $10 a bag, and it's worth it to have the authentic stuff, straight out of Belgium.  My sister gave me a bag for my birthday, and we loved trying out different recipes to see what we thought was the most like the waffles from the train stations in Belgium.  A downside to these waffles: they are pretty high maintenance.  You need to plan a day in advance of when you want them.  They are like bread, they have to have time to rise.  And, they are a lot of work!  But they are definitely worth it!  I am going to put on two recipes: an easier recipe, which although still delicious, was not quite authentic, and the more time consuming recipe, which was my favorite of the two.

Liege Waffles

from the back of my Waffle Pantry pearl sugar bag

1 c. milk

2 1/2 tsp. instant dry yeast

4 c. flour

2 eggs

6 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 generous pinch of salt

10 oz. butter

1 c. Waffle Pantry Belgium pearl sugar

Heat the milk to lukewarm.  In a large bowl, pour the milk in and stir the yeast into it and let it sit for 5 minutes.  Add the flour, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt.  Mix it to form a sticky dough.  Add the softened butter and mix it until it is just combined.  Cover the dough and let it rest for 2-3 hours.  After it is good and rested, gently fold in the pearl sugar.  Divide it into 10 portions and rest for 15 minutes.  Bake it in the waffle iron until it is golden.  I baked some at this point, and saved some for the kids for the next morning.  Those that I baked the next morning tasted a little better to us.

Recipe #2 (the harder, but more authentic version)

from: ashleemarie.com

1 Tbsp. yeast

1 tsp. sugar

3/4 c. whole milk, warmed

2 eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

4 c. bread flour (For 1 c. worth, I just used 2 Tbsp cornstarch, mixed with enough flour to make 1 c.)

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. butter, softened

2 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. Belgium pearl sugar

Pour the milk, yeast and sugar into your mixing bowl, and let it sit for 5 minutes.  Add the eggs and 1 1/2 cups of the flour and mix it until it is smooth.  Sprinkle the remaining flour over the mixture to keep it from getting a crusty top, and let it rise for 90 minutes.  When it is done rising, add the brown sugar and salt and blend on medium speed.  While it is mixing, add the honey and vanilla.  Add the butter, 2 Tbsp. at a time.  Mix the dough for 4 minutes, at medium low speed.  Let the dough rest for 1 minute, then mix it again for 2 minutes, then rest and repeat the process until the dough balls up on the hook.  Cover it and let it rise for 4 hours.  When it is done rising, punch the dough down, wrap it in plastic wrap, place it in a bowl and weigh it down with something (like a bowl) and refrigerate it overnight.  In the morning, place the dough (it will be firm) on a lightly floured surface and knead in the pearl sugar, a little bit at a time.  Divide the dough into 13 balls, and let it rise for another 90 minutes.  Cook it in a waffle iron for 3-4 minutes.  If the waffle iron gets too hot, the sugar will burn, so pay attention to the temperature of your waffle iron (the recipe says to keep it at 360 degrees.  I can't tell the temperature on mine, but I didn't have any problems cooking them).  Be careful when you eat these, the sugar is very hot!  You will want to let them cool for a minute.  And enjoy, after all that hard work!

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes Dos

For our family reunion this year (my immediate family totals 30 people now!) we divvied out the meals to make it easier on everyone.  Carolyn and I picked up a breakfast, (because who’s kidding, we’d both rather be trying a new pancake or waffle recipe any day), and came across this one, Lemon Blueberry Pancakes.  I know you’re saying to yourself, but Nicole, you’ve tried a million variations of Blueberry pancakes.  Aren’t you satisfied yet?  The answer is NO people.  I will always be trying new variations of my favorite pancake because every time I try a new one I find it exciting and delicious and just a little different than the last.  (Although it truth be told, I do have a favorite basic recipe that I use most often.)  This one was no exception.  Everyone loved them, especially when we put it over the top with Buttermilk Syrup!  Oh it was so yummy!  You should definitely make this, especially if you have an insatiable love for blueberries and lemon (and pancakes) as I do!

Side note: If you have picky eaters like, you know, all of my nieces and nephews (so what if I myself was an extremely picky eater most of my life), I made the lemon pancakes for them, sans blueberries, and the freshness of the lemon was a delicious twist on a regular pancake too.  They loved it (all minus one who shall not be named and ate toast for 2 mornings).

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

from About.com, Southern Food

Ingredients:

1 large egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh blueberries, or use frozen thawed blueberries

Preparation:

Beat egg until frothy; beat in remaining ingredients except blueberries, beating just until smooth. Gently stir in blueberries. Grease a heated griddle. Cook as usual.  Serve with Buttermilk Syrup if you want to make it exceptional.

Oh look, the picky-eater herself.

Creme Brulee French Toast

Christmas Eve this year turned out very snowy for the few of us down in Southern Utah, Matt and I and my parents.  The weather ended up being too bad to travel up north to visit my sisters and their families for Christmas Eve, so we made the best of it (which ended up being an awesome time with my parents).  We made a special breakfast Christmas morning, including this amazingly rich and delicious Crème Brulee French Toast… and double sausage, which Matt always got on Christmas morning.  A Merry Christmas to both of us.  I think I might make this a Christmas morning tradition, but you should not wait until next Christmas to try it!

Crème Brulee French Toast

From Sixsistersstuff.com

1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1 loaf Texas Toast bread or other thick sliced bread (I just bought French bread and cut into thick slices)
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of cinnamon

In a small saucepan melt butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup over medium heat until smooth, stirring occasionally.  Pour mixture onto large, greased jelly roll pan (18x13x1").  Spread around to cover surface. Place 12 slices of bread in a single layer to cover pan.  Mix together eggs, cream, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Spoon mixture over each piece of bread.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.  Remove from pan and serve.  If not serving immediately, turn each slice of bread over (this will prevent bread from sticking to the bottom of the pan).  You should definitely do as we did, and eat this with our Buttermilk Syrup that is insanely good.  

It's hard to believe, but that bread just soaks all of the mixture right up by morning.  The butter/sugar mixture creates the creme brulee effect on the bottom of the french toast, caramelizing it into sweet, rich goodness. 

Pumpkin Roll Pancakes

Heaven.  Given that pumpkin rolls are my favorite dessert, you can imagine my excitement to try these pancakes on for size.  And, as Our Best Bites say themselves, they're not as dessert-ish and unhealthy as you might think.  I even tweaked the recipe a little bit to make them even more healthy even less unhealthy:)  

If you can believe it, I had never tried real maple syrup until this year!  In all honesty, at first I didn’t think I liked it in place of my oh-so-familiar imitation-flavored maple syrup on breakfast foods; however, I had it with these, and in combination with the cream cheese topping it was so amazing!  If you can, I would definitely recommend splurging for the pure maple syrup.  It just adds decadence to the pancakes.  (Can pancakes be decadent?  Yep.)

Pumpkin Roll Pancakes
Idea completely credited to the wonderful minds of Our Best Bites (Thank you so much!)

Recipe slightly adapted from Our Best Bites

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
3/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon applesauce

1 tablespoon canola oil
2 eggs
2/3 cup pumpkin puree

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream
4 ounces cream cheese (low fat is fine, no fat free)
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup whipping cream (heavy or regular) whipped until medium peaks form

Or

4 ounces cream cheese

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Lite Cool Whip*

Pure maple syrup for serving

*(I folded in starting with about a cup until I reached the desired consistency and sweetness.  Remember this topping is meant to be less sweet than typical Pumpkin Roll filling; it makes it feel more breakfastyJ)

Instructions
Prepare whipped cream by beating cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy.  Take 1/2 of the whipped cream (that you already whipped) and beat it in until smooth.  Add the rest of the whipped cream and use a spatula to gently fold in (do not beat).  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.   

Prepare pancakes.  Whisk together flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.  Make sure to break up any clumps of brown sugar.  In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vanilla, oil, eggs and pumpkin.  Combine wet ingredients with dry and gently combine until mixed.  Do not overmix.

Heat a nonstick griddle to medium heat.  When hot, use butter or nonstick spray to coat the pan.  Drop 1/4 cup pancake batter to form each pancake and cook until edges set (if you wait until they bubble, it might be just a bit too long).  Flip pancakes and cook remaining side.
Serve warm pancakes with a dollop of cream cheese topping and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Makes 12-14 large pancakes.

Coconut Crusted French Toast

When Nicole visited last April, we thought it would be fun to make something different and delicious for breakfast on Easter morning.  At that time I was going through a coconut phase (still am, a little bit) and so this was an obvious choice for me.  It has taken me a long time to post it, but I have actually made it a couple more times because it is so delicious.  It definitely works best with a thicker bread, but is also yummy with regular bread.  We served ours with buttermilk syrup and fruit.  Mmmm. (P.S. this is Carolyn posting :)  

Coconut Crusted French Toast

adapted from: twopeasandtheirpod.com

3 eggs

3/4 c. coconut milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

1 c. shredded sweetened coconut

6 slices french bread, cut into 1/2 inch slices (texas toast bread would work great, too) From the pictures, you can see that we used a thicker, regular bread, but I have also used french bread.

Heat a griddle or frying pan.  In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, vanilla and salt.  Pour the shredded coconut into another shallow dish.  Dip both sides of the bread in the egg mixture, then dip both sides into the shredded coconut (to coat the bread).  Place the bread onto your griddle or frying pan and then drizzle a little of the egg mixture over the top.  It will take a little more time to cook than usual.  When it is done, serve it with syrup or fruit, or both!

Easy Maple Granola

I found this recipe from Alton Brown, on the Food Network. It is an easy granola, and was really crispy, light and sweet.  It may become my new favorite granola!  Nicole just happened to make the same granola the other day and also loved it.

Easy Maple Granola
adapted from: Alton Brown (www.foodnetwork.com)

3 c. rolled oats
1 c. sliced almonds
3/4 c. shredded, sweetened coconut
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. maple syrup (I used homemade)
1/4 c. vegetable oil
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 dashes nutmeg


Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.  In a large bowl combine the oats, almonds, coconut and brown sugar.  Stir it well.  In another bowl, mix together the maple syrup, oil, salt, vanilla and nutmeg.  Combine the oil mixture in with the oat mixture and stir them well.  Spread the granola evenly onto two cookie sheets.  Bake it for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring it every 20 minutes.  When it is done, let it cool completely before putting it in a zip lock bag.  

Vanilla Pudding Sauce over Blackberry Pancakes

This was amazing!  I wish I could eat this every morning, or evening, as was the case today.  It was amazing over blackberry pancakes.  Doesn’t that just sound incredible, Vanilla Pudding Sauce over Blackberry Pancakes.  It was as good as it sounds.

Vanilla Pudding Sauce

Adapted from Creations by Kara

2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla

Mix cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Whisk together milk and egg thoroughly and gradually stir in. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, till mixture comes to a boil. (Don’t be tempted to turn up the heat; if it gets hot too fast, the egg will cook.) Boil for at least 1 minute, still stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm or chilled.

Sour Cream Waffles With White Chocolate and Cranberries

I have been working on this recipe in my mind for a while now.  I love the flavor combination of cranberries and white chocolate and thought it would be great in a waffle.  And I was right!  The sour cream waffle was soft on the inside, crispy on the outside.  The craisens (much easier than cranberries) and white chocolate added a delicious sweetness.

Sour Cream Waffles with White Chocolate and Cranberries
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 1/4 c. water
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. plain yogurt (I used Greek)
1/4 tsp. lemon juice
1 c. white flour
1 c. wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
white chocolate chips
Craisens (dried cranberries)

In a bowl, combine the water, sour cream, yogurt and lemon juice.  Add the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar and mix well.  Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to combine.  Heat your waffle iron.  Spray it with cooking spray and pour some batter on (the normal amount).  Take a little handful of white chocolate chips and Craisens and sprinkle them onto your waffle batter before closing the lid (as you can see, I had children who requested no Craisens on their half :).

Cook it.  Serve it with buttermilk syrup or powdered sugar. 

See the little white chocolate chips, peeking out?  Mmmm.

Fresh Asparagus Omelette with Smoked Gouda and Hollandaise Sauce

The other day, I went to lunch with some friends and one of them ordered the most amazing omelette I had ever tasted.  So I recreated it.  And although it was a little more time intensive than I normally like, it got easier the second time around (I made it again a couple of days later for Lynnette).  I had to research how to make the perfect omelette and found a great blog that gave a step by step guide (http://confessionsofaplateaddict.blogspot.com/2011/12/how-to-make-best-omelette-you-will-ever.html) .  I also found an easy blender hollandaise sauce recipe.  In the end, I have made this as easy as I could for posterity's sake.  But I don't think you'll be disappointed in the amount of effort.  The Gouda and the asparagus with the omelette were amazing.  It really is one of the most delicious egg recipes I have ever had!


Fresh Asparagus Omelette with Smoked Gouda and Hollandaise Sauce


3 eggs
2 Tbsp. milk
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. butter
4-5 asparagus stalks
1 small tomato, diced
1/4-1/2 c. shredded smoked Gouda cheese
Hollandaise sauce (see recipe below)


To start off, steam your asparagus.  When the asparagus is tender, take it off the heat and set it aside.  Then make the hollandaise sauce and set it aside.  You will want to keep it warm if you can.  I kept mine on the stove top, where I had heat from my steaming asparagus and then my cooking omelette.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a wire whisk.  You will want to beat them for a couple of minutes, until they are very frothy.  Add the milk and salt and pepper to taste.  Melt the butter in your pan.  Add the tomatoes and cook them for a couple of minutes, or until slightly tender.  Then pour in your egg, over the top of the tomatoes.  For instructions on how to cook the omelette (there is no shame in not knowing, I had to research like crazy) read the above link, or this one helped, too: http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/eggsdairy/r/omelet.htm

So, according to those lovely directions, cook the omelette.  When the omelette is close to being done, place the steamed asparagus on one side and then sprinkle the gouda over the entire thing.  Let it cook for a few more minutes.  You may want to put a lid on the pan to help the gouda melt.  I didn't.  But, it might have helped my cheese to melt a little better.  Fold the omelette in half, over the top of the asparagus and put it on a plate.  Pour the hollandaise sauce over the top of the whole thing.  Then sit back, (finally) relax and enjoy the fruits of all that hard work!



Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce
adapted from: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_blender_hollandaise_sauce/


3 egg yolks
pinch of chili powder
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 c. warm water


Melt the butter in a small saucepan.  Try not to let it boil.  Put the egg yolks, chili powder, lemon juice and salt in the blender and mix it at a medium high speed until it lightens in color, about 30 seconds.  Turn the blender to its lowest setting and slowly add in the melted butter.  Continue to blend for a couple more seconds after the butter is all incorporated.  If you want yours a little thinner, add the warm water and blend it again.  It should taste buttery, lemony and a little bit salty.  If you need to add a little more lemon or a little more salt, just blend it well after you add it.  (The link gives more detail on the creaminess and flavor, if you are interested)  

Toasted Nutmegged Almond and Coconut Waffles

I wanted to be specific with the title so you knew the yummy goodness that this waffle offers.  I got the idea for adding the nutmegged (is that an adjective) almonds from the Klutzy Chef and loved the flavor so much I tried it in a lot of different things.  I also love toasted coconut so I always add this as well and the combination is awesome.  Add fresh fruit on top and you've got some amazing flavors and textures.

Toasted Nutmegged Almond and Coconut Waffles

Ingredients:

Basic waffle recipe  (One of my favorites is this one, minus the bacon of course.)

Sliced almonds

Shredded coconut

Nutmeg 

Cinnamon

Sliced fruit (optional)

Directions:

Whip up your waffle batter.  Spread sliced almonds on cookie sheet and lightly spray with cooking spray or lightly drizzle with vegetable or olive oil, toss until they are all lightly coated.  Sprinkle with nutmeg then toss again.  Add shredded coconut to the cookie sheet.  Put your oven on broil and (set a timer if you're like me and you always forget and/or have set your oven on fire the last time you toasted coconut) toast the coconut and almonds until lightly browned.

When you're ready to make your first waffle, pour batter onto hot waffle iron then sprinkle generously with cinnamon, coconut, and almonds, right there on top of the batter.  Close the lid on that sucker and wait til all that deliciousness is baked right inside of that hot, fluffy waffle.

Slice fresh fruit on top and drizzle slather with syrup.  I can almost smell the nutmeg and cinnamon right now.

Birthday Cake Waffles

Lynnette told me one day that the best french toast she had ever eaten were dipped in cake batter.  I had never heard of this, but thought it would be fun to try it with waffles (of course I did!).  As you can imagine, the kids loved them.  They affectionately named them Birthday Cake Waffles.  The only thing that could have made them better would have been a candle on top to blow out!

Birthday Cake Waffles

by: Carolyn 

1 white cake mix

1 3/4 c. white flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. milk

1/4 c. oil

2 eggs

In a mixing bowl, mix the cake mix according to the package directions and then set it aside.  In another large bowl combine all the other ingredients and mix it well.  Bake the waffles in your waffle iron and then set them aside.  Spray a griddle with cooking spray.  Now, take a waffle and dip it in the cake batter and cook it on the griddle (like you would french toast).  

The cake batter gets pretty thick on the waffle, and this is OK.  The more batter the merrier.  It just makes it more cake-y. 

Serve these with syrup, powdered sugar or whipped cream.  And preferably sprinkles and a candle.  Happy Birthday!

Cream Cheese Stuffed Lemon French Toast

 

I found this recipe on Our Best Bites a couple of weeks before Valentine's Day and thought it would be so fun to surprise Dustin with breakfast for the Day O' Love.  Little did I know (until 11:30 PM the night before) that he was planning on leaving for work by 6:25 AM that day.  Luckily, these were all prepared and waiting in the fridge for him to pop in the oven at 5:20 AM so that we could eat by 6:20 and he could be out the door on time.  How romantic of me to have him put his own surprise breakfast in the oven at that early hour!  Be aware that the reason that these were all prepared is because after you get them in the sauce, they have to sit for 8 hours in the fridge.  They are a little bit of a high maintenance meal, but so tasty and fun, especially for a special event. Here is a little tip: instead of buying expensive croissants, look for them in the Day Old section of your grocery store.  I got mine so much cheaper that way.  Plus they're supposed to be a little dried out.  Perfect!  They come partially dried out!

Cream Cheese Stuffed Lemon French Toast

adapted from: www.ourbestbites.com

4 large, stale croissants

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened (I accidentally used the lower fat kind *gasp* and it was still great)

1 1/4 c. powdered sugar, divided

2 lemons

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. milk

strawberries, sliced

sweetened whipped cream

Grease a 9X13 baking dish.  Slice the croissants in half lengthwise and set them aside.  In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, 3/4 c. of the powdered sugar, zest of one lemon and the strained juice of one lemon.  Mix it with your electric mixer until it is light and fluffy.  Spread the cream cheese mixture over one half of each croissant and replace the top.  You are going to put quite a bit of cream cheese on each croissant, using up all of your cream cheese.  Cut each croissant in half and place them in the baking dish.  They get pretty squished in there together, but that is okay.  In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, zest from the other lemon, juice from the other lemon and the rest of the powdered sugar (1/2 cup).  Pour it evenly over the croissants and cover it with tin foil.  Refrigerate it for 8-10 hours (that is why overnight is such a great idea!).  When you are ready to bake it, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Bake it for 30 minutes, then remove the tin foil and bake it for another 20-30 minutes.  The croissants will be golden and the liquid will be mostly absorbed.  After you take it out, let it stand for 5 or 10 minutes.  Serve it with sliced strawberries and sweetened whipped cream.

Red Velvet Pancakes

For Valentine's Day this year I decided we needed to try something festive.

Pancake Batter
1 1/4 cups flour
2 cups red velvet cake mix (I had about 1 1/2 cups of the dry cake mix left so if I made this again I'd probably use 1 3/4 cups to split it evenly between two batches).
1 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 -2 cups milk

Whisk all the ingredients for the pancake batter, but adjust the milk as necessary to your desired consistency.  Use small children if available.

My new griddle (this is the first time using it) ended up happiest at about 375, and I eventually didn't burn a few of these.  I attempted heart shapes but I'm not sure if it was noticable in the end.

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix the cream cheese and butter, then add powdered sugar and milk until you're satisfied. Don't add 2 cups of milk instead of 2 Tbsp, no matter how early in the morning it is. I already tried that and it didn't work out.

Add some sprinkles to the pancakes to make them into even more of a dessert.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Apple, Potato & Sausage Waffles

This recipe comes from a waffle cookbook that Nicole gave me, and I liked it.  Lynnette and I made it together one night for dinner.  The added sausage, potatoes and apples make it a more filling waffle and a heartier meal.  

Apple, Potato & Sausage Waffles

adapted from: The Best of Waffles and Pancakes

1 c. wheat flour

1/2 c. white flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. milk

3 eggs

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

6 oz. sausage

1/2 c. peeled, chopped, cooked potatoes (I used 2 small-ish ones)

1/2 c. peeled, chopped apples

In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the milk, eggs and butter and stir it well.  Stir in the sausage, potatoes and apples.  Grease your waffle iron and cook it as you normally would.  Serve it with maple syrup.