breakfast

Eggnog Breakfast Crumble Crunch Cake.

November 28, 2011 · 136 comments

Eggnog is a funky thing.

Wanna know how I really feel about it? Exactly how Clark feels about it when cousin Eddie tells him he’ll be taking his beloved RV with them when they leave next month. I’ll gladly guzzle spiked eggnog in a situation like that too… and that’s about it.

But let’s be honest… the best part of that scene is the dickie that Eddie is wearing. Seriously.

So… the nog.

I like it… but I only want a few sips out of each glass.

As a kid who grew up hating milk, it’s a miracle that I enjoyed eggnog at all given the creamy, thick texture. I’m pretty sure it was a tradition type sort of thingamajig… for years on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, my dad would haul up the Christmas decorations after we had tortured him for four days, but only in time for us to have a little glass of eggnog sprinkled with nutmeg and pull apart all of those annoying branches on the artificial tree before going to bed. Uhh, come to think of it, my parents had a point there. I hate separating those stupid things now and the idea of a child just got much more desirable.

I’d then slurp my eggnog while suffering from extreme sleep anxiety and lay on the couch while my mom began to string the first of her nearly 3000 lights on a 6 1/2-foot tree.

Oh. Yes. This is a real thing. I wish I was exaggerating. You can see the tree from space. I’ll show you a picture this year. Swear.

But anyhoooo.

Best of both worlds here today!

1. Cake for breakfast. Always.

2. A lil’ eggnog spice for your holiday season.

Plus a bit of crunch and crumbly junk going on.

FYI: I tried to take a pretty picture by my tree.

Actually, I tried to take like 4,500 pretty pictures by my tree.

I failed.

We don’t have too strong of an eggnog flavor here, but just enough of a hint to make you wish to be a Griswold. In other words, people who claim to hate eggnog (like my husband) won’t even KNOW there is eggnog in this when they take a bite.

Especially if you, uh… don’t tell them. Like I did.

One of the best marriage saver secrets I can offer here, people. Soak it up.

Eggnog Breakfast Crumble Crunch Cake

makes one 9×13 dish

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon + an extra 1/4 teaspoon

1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar + and extra 1/3 cup

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup eggnog

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. In another small bowl, combine flours, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon, then whisk to combine.

In a large bowl, add butter and sugars and whisk until smooth. Whisk in eggs one a time, mixing until completely combined, then stir in vanilla extract. Stir in dry ingredients, mixing until a batter forms, then whisk in eggnog until smooth. Pour half of the batter in the baking dish, then sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture over top. Cover with remaining batter, gently using a spatula to spread over sugar if needed. Don’t worry if some of the sugar peeks through. Top with the crumble below.

crumble topping

1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over cake, then bake for 30-35 minutes, or until cake is set in the middle. While cake is baking, make glaze below. After removing cake from oven, immediately poke holes all throughout the cake with a toothpick, then drizzle glaze over top.

Note: You can use dairy or non-dairy eggnog. In the last month I’ve made this with cow’s milk eggnog and coconut milk eggnog – great result each time!

 

Eggnog glaze

[lightly adapted from heathers dish]

1/3 cup eggnog

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of nutmeg

Whisk all ingredients together in a small saucepan over medium heat, and allow to come to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat and let sit until cake is finished.

‘Tis the season to be merry!

{ 136 comments }

Day After Thanksgiving Breakfast Hash with Cheddar Mashed Potato Pancakes.

November 25, 2011 · 41 comments

First… you stuff yourself silly.

Then… you fall into a nice long food coma.

And THEN! You wake up starving, pile all sorts of junk into a skillet with butter and eat it for breakfast. Seriously… you want to do this. I mean, it’s just like toast.

Thanksgiving Breakfast Hash with Cheddar Mashed Potato Pancakes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2-3 cups of leftover stuffing

one recipe of mashed potato pancakes + 1/3 cup grated cheddar

3-4 eggs

fresh parsley for topping

any additional breakfast ingredients you wish (such as bacon/onions, if it’s not in your stuffing or apples to caramelize or even corn!)

In a large skillet (I used a cast iron), heat olive olive over medium heat and add butter. Set potato pancakes in the pan, then fill in the holes with stuffing. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy, then gently flip the pancakes and the stuffing, and cook for 3-4 minutes more. While the potatoes and stuffing are cooking, heat another skillet and cook eggs as desired. Add eggs on top of stuffing, garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

Finally, you’ll probably eat it straight out of the skillet. It happens.

 

{ 41 comments }

Baked Red Velvet Cake Doughnuts.

October 17, 2011 · 197 comments

I swore that I wouldn’t do this.

I didn’t want to buy a doughnut pan.

I didn’t want to bake doughnuts.

I especially didn’t want to bake doughnuts and post them on my blog.

I reallllly didn’t want to succumb to the doughnut pan trend.

I didn’t want to do something that I didn’t want to do.

 

You can see how well that all worked out. Obviously.

But seriously, I didn’t want to bake doughnuts when, let’s be real… they are pretty perfect all on their own after a big bath in the fryer. And they come out with a somewhat funky shape that looks like a doughnut but isn’t a real doughnut. See above.

And while we are on this topic, is it “doughnut” or “donut?” Is it maybe only “donut” because Dunkin’ Donuts says so? I like “donut” better but that’s simply because I’m lazy and would rather not type out an extra “ugh.” Truth!

 

So, remember when Ashley brought me those doughnuts last week? Yeah. The day after that I had to pack for a trip and work on a few recipes and do a bunch of other stuff that I normally do, but instead of that I drove over an hour just to buy a doughnut pan. Oh and that place didn’t even have a doughnut pan. So I had to drive somewhere else.

Then instead of doing all of the work I was supposed to do, I made about six batches of doughnuts. I took them to my parent’s house that night where they were promptly demolished. Then the next day, the morning of the day we were leaving for our trip, when I should have been doing laundry/cleaning/packing/showering/working, I made two more big batches of doughnuts to take as road trip snacks.

I was all excited and junk because now not only had I decided that I really loved doughnuts, but Mr. How Sweet already loved them. I mean… loved. I figured he’d be pumped. Until he came home from the airport that morning and relayed his breakfast and “power” snacks consisting of one jumbo blueberry muffin, one Cinnabon bun and two Krispy Kremes.

Anyway.

All I could think about on our trip was doughnuts. I wanted to make more and wanted to experiment and wanted to bake a billion apple cider doughnuts and live on them alone. But there were two very specific flavors that I couldn’t get out of my mind; two flavors that were really gnawing at my brain: mint chocolate chip and red velvet.

 

Mint chocolate chip was my number one choice, but someone in this house hates the chocolate + mint combo. And given my doughnut fixation, I did not think it would be wise to bake a large batch of doughnuts for me, myself and I. Apparently… doughnuts do not an everyday dinner make. Uh… who makes the rules here?

 

So. Instead of doing anything important last week, I baked red velvet doughnuts. I’m a total sellout. They were way too good not to share, and the good news is that I already own a deep fryer. Fried doughnuts coming up next! Me and the treadmill are BFF’s.

Baked Red Velvet Cake Doughnuts

[adapted from the doughnut recipe of the back of the Wilton pan]

makes 10-12 standard-sized doughnuts

1 cup cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup buttermilk + 1 tablespoon

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon red food coloring (I used “no taste red” gel)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, sugar, salt and baking powder, then mix with a spoon. Add in buttermilk and egg, mixing to combine. Stir in butter. In a small bowl, mix baking soda and vinegar together, then add in vanilla. Add the mixture to the doughnut batter, then stir in red food coloring. Using a pastry bag or spoon (I found a spoon was easier since this batter is more cake-like) fill each doughnut mold 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 7-8 minutes, thne let cool for 5 minutes before removing.

Notes: I tried these with all-purpose flour and while they did work, they weren’t nearly as cakey as the ones made with cake flour. Also, depending on your red food coloring brand, you may want to add it gradually and go by the color of the batter to determine the amount to add.

 

Whipped Cream Cheese Glaze

1/4 cup whipped cream cheese, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup powdered sugar

4-5 tablespoons heavy cream, or more depending on texture

In a bowl, whisk cream cheese vigorously until it smoothes out. Add in sugar, vanilla and cream one tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly. This glaze will be a bit thicker (almost like a thin frosting), so add more or less cream depending on your desired consistency. Either dip doughnuts or frost them with a small spoon, then cover in sprinkles or shaved chocolate.

P.S. The whipped cream cheese glaze will make you overdose. Just sayin’.

{ 197 comments }

Apple Pie Breakfast Cakes.

Apple Pie Breakfast Cakes serves 2 adapted from blueberry breakfast cakes 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/4 cup all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon a pinch each of nutmeg, ground ginger, & ground cardamom 1 medium apple, peeled and diced into cubes Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix until well combined. Add in vanilla and yogurt and stir. Mix dry ingredients together and add to batter, only mixing until just combined. Fold in apple chunks. Spray 2 ramekins {I used the 6 ounce, 3 1/2 inch} with non-stick spray and pour batter into them equally. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. For the brown sugar topping, I simply combined 1/2 tablespoon flour, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, a pinch of salt and 2 teaspoons of melted butter and then crumbled it over top before baking. For an optional glaze on top, combine 3-4 tablespoons of powdered sugar and a drop or two of milk [...]

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Grilled Corn Summer Breakfast Hash.

Grilled Corn Summer Breakfast Hash serves 3-4 4 slices of bacon, chopped 4 medium yukon gold potatoes, chopped into cubes 1/2 red onion, chopped 1 medium zucchini squash, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 red pepper, chopped 2-3 ears grilled corn on the cob, cut off the cob 1 teaspoon olive oil (you may not need this) 2 green onions, chopped 3-4 large eggs smoked sea salt + pepper Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add chopped bacon and cook until crispy and fat is rendered – about 4-5 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Add potatoes with a sprinkle of salt and pepper to the bacon fat and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring and tossing every few minutes. While potatoes are cooking, heat another skillet on medium high and cook your eggs as desired, then set aside over low heat. Add peppers and onions (and another little sprinkle of salt and pepper) to potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring. At this time you may need to add the additional teaspoon of olive oil depending on how much bacon fat is left. After 5 minutes, add in the [...]

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Caprese Baked Egg Cups.

Caprese Baked Egg Cups makes 4 cups [2 x 3 1/2 in ramekins] 4 or 8 eggs (depending on if you want 1 or 2) 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved 3-4 ounces mozzarella cheese, chopped (I used marinated mozz from Trader Joe’s, hence the seasoning) 8-10 fresh basil leaves 2 teaspoons cream or milk salt and pepper softened butter Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter each ramekin and fill with a few pieces of tomato, cheese and basil. Crack one or two eggs into each and season with salt and pepper, then add 1/2 teaspoon of cream to each egg to prevent them from drying [used this tip from Ina Garten]. Add a few tomatoes, cheese and basil on top and set on a baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes, then turn on the broiler and bake for about 5 minutes more [this resulted in slightly firm yolks for me, broil less if you them runny]. Watch carefully to determine how runny/firm you want your yolks. Serve hot with toasted, crusty bread.

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Blackberry Cobbler Waffles.

Waffles are totally underrated. They get a bad rap as pancakes’ not-quite-as-fluffy and not-quite-as-simple ugly cousin, with nooks and crannies just deep enough that the glob of butter won’t melt and a front left quarter that frequently hogs all the syrup.   I mean, really. Waffle irons are kind of a pain. As if I don’t have enough pots, pants, mixers, bowls, lids, quesadilla makers, toasters, platters and other necessary items that I use twice a year, you’re telling me that I need to find a uniquely shaped space, somewhere between my cupcake-shaped cake pan and my never used must-have All Clad asparagus pot, for a 13-pound waffle maker that I might drag out on occasion?   Yes. I am. If only to make these waffles. Go buy one. I’ll take the blame. I listen well. Just try me. You can scream and yell and holler all you want at your screen and I will just… sit here and listen.   I would’ve been positively devastated if I didn’t get that asparagus pot, by the way. Pancakes were much more accessible and commonplace when I was younger, so when it came time to register for wedding gifts, I was over [...]

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Cake Batter Cinnamon Rolls.

So… I didn’t just make one outrageous cinnamon roll last weekend. I clearly made two. I think this is the end of the cake batter era. Unless I come up with something even more ridiculous to create with a cake batter flavor, I’m pretty cake battered out. Even the glaze is a cake batter glaze! These are just as simple as the regular cinnamon rolls, and perhaps simpler than the cookie dough stuffed version. I layered a good amount of cake mix on the dough along with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. It worked perfectly. They mix dissolved, leaving the rolls with the cake batter flavor. In all of this cake batter madness I’ve had going on lately, there is one thing I haven’t been able to master: the cake batter flavor without the actual cake mix! I have tried trial after trial of sugar + vanilla combination and just can’t get it. I can’t even find anything on google… and google usually answers everything. Every other “cake batter” recipe I find uses the actual cake mix, hence my usage of the mix. I don’t mind – I’m still using the same box from the cake batter chocolate bark – [...]

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Whole Wheat Cherry Vanilla Bean Pancakes.

Happy National Pancake Day! Usually I attempt to stay away from trends, but I think we can all agree that I have a thing for pancakes. I practically need pancake rehab. Just call me the Charlie Sheen of pancakes. I can’t stay away. This is quite obvious considering I’ve shared red velvet pancakes, cake batter pancakes, chocolate french silk pancakes, white chocolate coconut pancakes, whole wheat chocolate peanut butter pancakes, peanut butter and jelly pancakes, apple bacon pancakes… just to name a few. Somebody stop me! But really… don’t. Perhaps I just should have prepared a post dedication to pancakes? Nah. I couldn’t help but share another one. The highlight of these pancakes are the cherries – the frozen cherries to be exact. If you’ve been following along for a while, you know I adore cherries. There is a fairly short window of time where I can find good ones in Pittsburgh, and when they happen to be available I tend to buy $18 worth. Which only yields about two snacks of cherries. I like my cherries. I always happen to have frozen cherries on hand since they are one of my favorite things to throw in smoothies. I couldn’t [...]

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Stuffed Cinnamon Rolls.

Cookie dough isn’t just for [closet] eating. Or dipping! It’s for stuffing too! Stuffing cinnamon rolls to be exact. You may remember that I made my first batch of cinnamon rolls ever this past Christmas. Yes, first ever. It was also my first time ever tasting a homemade cinnamon roll. I really had not lived before that. A common question I receive is if I have a recipe for cinnamon rolls. I do – but it certainly isn’t my own. In December I made The Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls and will probably never even attempt another recipe. There is no need to. This recipe is simple, foolproof, and yields the most incredible cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted. And if you recall… I didn’t even like cinnamon rolls before. I’m not a pastry gal. Well, at least I wasn’t before. I really didn’t think there was any way these could possibly taste better. But then I stuffed them with chocolate chip cookie dough. Yeah. I’m sure you can just imagine how that turned out. And I topped them with the vanilla cream glaze I first made in December. Good gosh I practically slurped it off the spoon. I ended up [...]

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