Single Serving Vegan Pancakes

Who doesn't look forward to a long-awaited day off from work?

And, more importantly, let's talk about what you'll do on your coveted day off.

For me, the only way to start an off-from-work day is with a not-so-ordinary breakfast. A bowl of cereal with a banana simply does not make the cut, folks. That's definitely a Work Day Breakfast.

Instead, I turn to my single serving Vegan Pancake recipe. I discovered this recipe for Blueberry Pie Pancakes on Katie's blog a few months ago, and it's rare that I've gone a week without making it since.

This special breakfast is super-fast to pull together, ridiculously delicious (blueberry pie for breakfast anyone?) and oh-so-healthy. Plus, the single serving size ensures that you don't go overboard on the first meal of the day (when faced with unlimited quantities of delicious food, I have no shame).

This morning, I started my day off with a scrumptious plate of pancakes, the latest edition of Vegetarian Times, and a little Today Show action on TV.

Life is good :)

Do you have a day from work coming up? These are some of my favorite "Day Off" breakfasts:

• Whole Wheat Cinnamon Buns
• Donut Muffins
• Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns
• Blueberry-Banana Yogurt Pancakes
• Carrot Cake Pancakes

Single-Serving Blueberry Pie Pancakes (Vegan)

(adapted from Katie's recipe at Chocolate Covered Katie)

These can also serve as a quick work-day breakfast. Just measure and mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl the night before. In the morning, add the wet ingredients and blueberries, and you're ready to go!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup flour (I use whole wheat)
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 TBSP rolled oats
• 1 tsp. brown sugar (if you like sweeter pancakes, you may want to add more sugar)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup vanilla almond milk, unsweetened
• 1/2 cup blueberries, coarsely mashed (I mash after I stir them into the batter)
• 2 TBSP toasted chopped walnuts

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until well-combined. Heat a skillet over medium heat and spray liberally with cooking spray. Use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop 2 pancakes onto the skillet. Cook for about 2 - 4 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom. Flip and repeat on the opposite side. Serve with blueberry sauce.

Yogurt Coffee Cake

When I got out of town for a few days, I have fairly accurate picture of what goes on in the house while I'm gone.

Single Man Mayem ensues.

Let me explain:

Netflix viewing is surely restricted to episodes of Entourage, Family Guy, and various manly action-thriller movies that involve explosions, guns, and large sums of money.

Internet news is limited to ESPN--hockey scores specifically.

Shaving? Who needs it.

And food? I could right a book on the diet of bachelors. I have no doubt there are a lot of fried potatoes, beer, and chocolate chip cookies on the menu.

Last week, I traveled out of town for the annual state Social Work conference. Prior to leaving, I did my wifely duty of preparing several dishes for Adam to eat in my absence. Although the man does at least 50% of the cooking in our house (if not more), I know that when I'm gone and Single Man Mahem occurs, his cooking skills go out the window...right along with his desire to tune into Grey's Anatomy with me.

For breakfast, I created a variation on his mom's fantastic coffee cake recipe. This delightful breakfast ring is moist and sweet--almost like pound cake for breakfast. I made a huge bowl of nutty crumb topping to layer in the middle and cover the top. I could eat that crumb topping straight out of the bowl if someone let me.

Did I need to tell you that the cake stand was empty when I returned home?

Yogurt Coffee Cake

(recipe adapted from Adam's mom, Kathy)

This is one of my go-to company-is-coming breakfasts. Apparently, it's now also the breakfast I make for Adam when I go out of town. I need to start making it for me!

Cake Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 - 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups flour

Streusel Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 2 - 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 5 TBSP cold butter
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Glaze Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• about 2 TBSP milk
• splash of vanilla

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a 9 " tube pan with cooking spray.

2) In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar for the cake. Add eggs and beat well. Fold in the sour cream and vanilla. Sift together remaining dry ingredients for the cake and fold into the batter.

3) To prepare the streusel, combine the brown sugar, flour, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in butter and "stir" with a fork until crumbly. Stir in nuts.

4) Pour half of cake batter in the tube pan. Sprinkle with half the crumb topping. Pour remaining batter on top and sprinkle with remaining crumb topping. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, or until a lightly browned a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5) Combine glaze ingredients in a small bowl, adding more sugar or liquid to reach desired consistency (as needed). Drizzle over the top of the cake.

Company-is-Coming Breakfast

The March 2011 Daring Baker's Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria's Collection and Jamie of Life's a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged the Daring Bakers to bake a Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

The next time you have company visiting overnight, you MUST make this Coffee Cake. Seriously. It's going to be a new company-is-coming breakfast requirement at your house. It definitely is at mine.

Once again, the Daring Bakers put my baking skills to the test with a delightful treat I'd never heard of, much less attempted in the kitchen. This breakfast ring is essentially a yeast coffee cake, filled with chocolate and nuts.

It tastes like a chocolate-loaded pastry straight off the rack at Panera. Only ten times better.

And honestly, it wasn't near as difficult as I expected (far easier and less awkward to work with than the Stollen). The best part? Definitely the ooey gooey chocolate in the middle, which firms up beautifully once the bread has cooled.

We've all got our company-is-coming breakfast treats. Growing up, my mom always made Cinnamon-Sugar Monkey Bread for breakfast visitors. I hadn't found my own visitor breakfast niche yet...until I baked this baby last week.

Consider my niche found.

Yeasted Meringue-Chocolate Coffee Cake
(recipe from Jamie at Life's a Feast)

Dough Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 TBSP sugar
• 1/4 + 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 - 1/8 tsp. yeast
• 1/4 + 2 TBSP milk
• 2 TBSP water
• 1/4 cup butter at room temperature
• 1 large egg

Meringue Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 cup sugar

Filling Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 TBSP sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Topping:

• More semi-sweet chocolate chips! (about 1/2 - 3/4 cup?)
  

Directions:
1) In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Set aside.

2) In a small saucepan, combine the milk, water, and butter and heat until just warmed and the butter is melted.

3) Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture with your mixer on low speed. Mix until well-combined. Increase mixer speed and beat for about 2 minutes. Add egg and 1/2 cup flour and beat for another 2 minutes.

4) Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 - 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic (add more flour as neeeded).

5) Place dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray and turn to coat. Cover the bowl and allow it to rest in a warm place, undisturbed, for an hour (it should double in size).

6) Meanwhile, prepare your filling: Combine the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl.

7) Once the dough has doubled in size, prepare your meringue: Beat the egg whites and salt together on high speed until light and foamy. Add the vanilla, and start adding the sugar 1 TBSP at a time. Continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.

8) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Punch dough down and roll into a rectangle (about 20 x 10 inches). Spread the meringue over the rectangle, leaving a 1 - 2 inch border around the edges. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar on top, then the nuts, and then the chocolate chips.

9) Roll the rectangle up, jelly-roll style, from the long end. Transfer the rolled log (funny terminology, isn't it?) onto the prepared baking sheet, seam-side down. Pull the two ends together to form a wreath/ring shape, and pinch the edges together to seal. Use a sharp knife to cut slits around the ring, a few inches apart from each other.

10) Cover the coffee cake ring with plastic wrap and set in a warm place for about 60 minutes to rise.

11) Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until golden and risen.

12) Once the coffee cake has cooled, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Spread or drizzle over the top of the coffee cake and allow to cool and solidify before serving.

Irish Soda Bread

I know, I know: I'm almost a week behind the whole St. Patrick's Day bandwagon.

But it's never too late for a new bread recipe, right? And a bread recipe that requires no rising? I'm all over it.

Enter Irish Soda Bread. I was put to task to bake this sweet, raisin-studded bread for our local food co-op's Spring Open House. I'm not sure what possessed me to volunteer for a baked good that I'd never made before, but I'm so very glad I did.

Here's the run-down on this luck o' the Irish loaf:

• It's super-easy: Mix dry ingredients, cut in butter, mix-in wet ingredients. Voila!
• It's dense n' moist--easy to cut, perfect texture
• It's just sweet enough. It'll curb your crave for sugar, without doing the damage of a Cookie Dough Blizzard (although, I'm not necessarily opposed to Blizzard-related body damage)
• The raisins are a tasty addition. How do I know? Adam refuses to eat baked goods with raisins baked in (weirdo, right?)...but he loved every last crumb of this lucky loaf :)
  
• It tastes DELICIOUS! This is really the only bullet point you need.

So friends, while green beer may be last week's news, and meaty Irish stew is so out-of-style, the goodness of Irish Soda Bread comes all year long.

Irish Soda Bread

(adapted from this original recipe found at Foodnetwork.com)

My favorite way to eat this bread is spread with a thin layer of butter on each slice. The original recipe also calls for Caraway seeds--I opted out because I'm not a huge Caraway fan. But if you're a Caraway-lovin' gal (or guy), go for it!

Ingredients:

• 2 - 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup + 2 TBSP sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 - 1/4 cup milk
• 1 large egg white

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a loaf pan with cooking spray.

2) Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is course and crumbly. Stir in raisins. Beat in milk and egg white until thoroughly combined. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

3) It's really that easy!

Beautiful Buns

Vegan. Whole Wheat. Cinnamon Buns.

Winning!

I discovered these bodacious breakfast buns on With a Side of Sneakers, and knew it wouldn't be long before they made an appearance in my kitchen. Do you recall last month's botched bun attempt? Ever since that disastrous morning, I've been determined to roll out a new recipe (pun intended).

This recipe will defy everything you previously thought you knew about cinnamon rolls. They contain no butter or oil, and only a modest amount of sugar. Best of all, they don't require a lengthy rising time--nor a lengthy prep time--which is just what this hungry girl wants on a Saturday morning.

The trick to these ooey gooey breakfast gems is to just barely bake them 'til done--it'll give them that oozing, doughy quality of bakery buns. We drizzled (covered) the tops with a powdered sugar glaze, but if you're not in a vegan-kinda mood, I urge you to whip up a bowl of cream cheese frosting.

Now please: Do your loved ones justice and step away from that tube of refrigerated cinnamon rolls. Tubes belong to socks, tops, and flotation devices, but they certainly do not belong in your refrigerator.

Vegan Whole Wheat Cinnamon Buns

(recipe from With a Side of Sneakers blog)

These buns will change your opinion of breakfast forever. And it's a good change.

Dough Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond milk
• 2 - 1/4 tsp. yeast
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup bread flour (plus more for kneading)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 4 TBSP applesauce

Filling Ingredients:

• 2 - 3 TBSP vegan non-hydrogenated margarine
• 2 - 3 TBSP applesauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Glaze Ingredients:

• Powdered sugar
• Almond milk
• Vanilla extract

Directions:

1) Heat the almond milk in the microwave until just warm. Sprinkle yeast on top and set aside.

2) Meanwhile, Combine the dry bun ingredients in a large bowl. Add milk mixture and applesauce and mix until a soft dough forms (add more flour as needed). Knead dough for a few minutes--I cheated and used the dough hook on my stand mixer :)

3) Roll the dough out into a large rectangle. Spread with the vegan margarine, then the applesauce.

4) In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling. Sprinkle evenly over the dough rectangle. Roll up the dough, lengthwise, and cut into 10 rolls. Place in an 9 x 9 inch baking dish (coated with cooking spray). Cover and allow to rise briefly while you do the dishes and tidy up the kitchen :)

5) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake buns for 20 minutes. Combine glaze ingredients in a small bowl in your desired amounts (I just kept mixing sugar and milk until I got to the amount and consistency I wanted!). Drizzle on top, and eat up.

Gingerbread Scones

Moms can be pretty great, right?

They mail you homemade treats when you're miles away. They listen to you ramble about your everyday, endless worries. They might even walk your dog when your day is too long and you don't see home 'til after dark.

For these reasons, among a million others, today's post is for both of my moms. My mother-in-law Kathy, with a heart of gold and the baking skills of Ina Garten, and my own Mom who is always at the ready to lend her ear--and a helping hand--when I need it the most.

I set out to bake some treats for my mom last night, and, of course, I turned to one of Kathy's perfect recipes: Gingerbread Scones.

I know what you're thinking: Christmas is long-gone and we're closer to Spring than we are to Winter. Gingerbread should packed away with the tree ornaments and the Santa Clause hand soap.

But I beg to differ. See, it's a rainy, gloomy day here. My heart is craving sweet, warm comfort to wrap up for mom, and I knew this recipe would do just the trick. Scones have such a lovely texture--they're dense and cakey--somewhere between a muffin, a biscuit, and a cookie. They pair perfectly with your morning cup of coffee or a glass of almond milk.

My results didn't turn out quite as perfect as Kathy's, but my heart was in the right place :)

To both my Moms: Thank you.

Gingerbread Scones

(recipe from Kathy)

I added a simple confectioner's sugar glaze and some toasted pecans to the tops of these gingery scones...per Adam's suggestion :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 TBSP brown sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup cold butter
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg, separated
• Granulated sugar
• Powdered sugar glazed
• Chopped, toasted pecans

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees and coat a baking pan with cooking spray.

2) Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in butter until the mixture becomes crumbly.

3) In a small bowl, combine the molasses, milk, and egg yolk. Gently stir into the flour mixture--GENTLY! Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 6 to 7 times. Pat dough into an 8 inch circle and cut into 8 wedges.

4) Whisk the egg white until frothy. Brush onto tops of wedges and sprinkle with extra sugar.

Place about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until bottoms are browned.

4) To prepare confectioner's sugar glaze--mix powdered sugar (oops! I didn't measure) with a splash of vanilla extract and milk. Continue adding sugar or milk until glaze reaches desired consistency. Drizzle on scones and sprinkle with chopped, toasted pecans.

A Donut Muffin Homecoming

I survived!

The trip to New Orleans was absolutely fantastic, and I managed all of the plane rides with only one minor incident (but what's a little hyperventilating in the grand scheme of life, right?).

The city was beautiful, vibrant, warm (no jacket needed), and full of life. We experienced vegetarian versions of all the classic "Nawlins" foods: Po' Boy Sandwiches, jambalaya, red beans and rice, a Muffeleta, Pecan Pralines, and (my personal favorite) beignets.

I discovered that beignets are the must-have breakfast food when you're visiting New Orleans--they're supposedly the French version of a donut. Think: a small square of fried dough (hello, funnel cake!), covered in powdered sugar.

If you pay the city a visit definitely hit up Cafe Dumonde for the classic diner atmosphere and some perfect beignets.

Since there's always that readjustment phase when you get back from a trip (you mean I have to do laundry again?), I thought I'd ease us back into home life with a breakfast reminiscent of those New Orleans beignets: Donut Muffins.

That's right friends: Muffins. That taste like donuts. Big, cakey, cinnamon-sugar-covered donuts.

Adam devoured these babies so fast I almost didn't catch a picture. Since the weekend is coming up, I recommend you make them for Sunday morning breakfast. It just might be your new favorite morning treat.

With that being said, I'm off to do laundry. And un-pack. And get back to the real world.

Donut Muffins
(recipe found here at Allrecipes.com)

The original recipes calls for min-muffins, so if you're in the market for a bite-sized treat, proceed to the link above. If you're like me though, and you've got a hankerin' for a big, honkin' donut-tasting muffin, go with the full-sized muffies.

Muffin Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup non-hydrogenated vegan margarine (or real butter), melted
• 3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup milk (I used vanilla almond milk)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

Topping Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup non-hydrogenated vegan margarine (or real butter), melted
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a muffin pan with cooking spray (or use muffin liners if you have them).

2) In a mixing bowl combine the melted butter and sugar (from the muffin part of the ingredient list!). Stir in the nutmeg, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Gently stir in baking powder and flour.

3) Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly.

4) In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and sugar from the topping ingredient list. Dip each muffin in the melted butter (from the "topping" ingredient list), and then in the cinnamon sugar. I dipped in the sugar multiple times, for the multiple the goodness :)

Chocolate for Breakfast

Chocolate muffins are really just an awesome excuse to eat cupcakes for breakfast, right?

When I saw Monet's recipe for double-chocolate muffins a couple weeks ago, I knew I had to give them a try. (Remember how good her chocolate bread was?)

And while I can't bring myself to indulge in chocolate for breakfast, I knew Adam's lab-mates would have no difficulties polishing off a dozen of these "morning" treats without a second thought. Every guy in that brainy bunch somehow manages to maintain the metabolism of a 14 year old boy.

Ultimately, they raved that these muffins are chocolate intense--in the best possible way. Moist and tender and oh-so-chocolatey, they'll make the perfect breakfast treat for your co-workers, your neighbor, or your warp-speed-metabolism self.

Eat up! You're having cupcakes...er, muffins...for breakfast.

Double-Chocolate Muffins

(recipe from Monet at "Anecdotes and Apple Cores")

These muffins would make a wonderful Valentine's Day breakfast treat for someone special. Or, you could top them with peanut butter frosting and disguise them as a cupcake. No one would know the difference :)

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 1 - 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 - 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tsp. vinegar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tin with muffin liners (or coat with cooking spray).

2) In a large mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, vanilla, vinegar, and butter. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients--don't over-mix! Fold in the chocolate chips.

3) Fill muffin cups (I filled mine pretty high!) and bake for 20 - 25 minutes. This made 12 muffins, plus 2 extra jumbo muffins.

Pancakes and Fraggle Rock

What more can a gal ask for than to wake up to a steaming stack o' hot-cakes on her birthday?

Not much. Unless, of course, they happen to be Lemon-Blueberry Cornmeal Cakes. That makes for an extremely joyous birthday girl.

It's true, friends. I turned 27 yesterday. I'm inching my way closer to 30 every day, and yet I'm still commonly mistaken for a high school student (Try as I might, even my "grown-up" clothes don't seem to cue people that I was born in the era of Fraggle Rock and Cabbage Patch kids....not the Jonas Brothers and iCarly.).

I wear my age badge with pride, and delight in the fact I typically go to bed before 11:00pm, prefer NPR to pop radio, and enjoy a good Sunday morning crossword puzzle with my husband.

My student intern recently told me that I was born "old." I laughed heartily. And then smugly smiled to myself...I love being an adult, and I have no doubt that I was genetically designed to wake up at 6:00am.

But let's get to the good stuff. You didn't tune in to hear me rave about my aging pride. You're here for those hotcakes. Adam made a steaming good stack of Lemon-Blueberry Cornmeal Cakes for my birthday breakfast, and they certainly got my day off on the right foot. As you know, my pancake preference is loaded up with lots of mix-ins, so these babies were weighty with blueberries, chopped walnuts, and a healthy dose of flaxseed. Adam noted that the batter was a bit too liquidy for him, so he plans on reducing the amount next time around.

So let's raise our glasses to the beauty of aging. And cheers to all those other 1980s babies out there-- Smurfs, splatter paint, and teased bangs define who we are today.

Lemon-Blueberry Cornmeal Cakes

(adapted from a recipe in Veganomicon Cookbook)

I love lemon-blueberry combos. These two fruits were designed to go together, and when you throw in some course-grain cornmeal, you're truly in breakfast paradise.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. flaxseed
• 2 TBSP nonfat vanilla yogurt
• 1 - 1/4 cups milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 TBSP maple syrup
• zest from 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1 cup of blueberries
• Blueberry Sauce for topping

Directions:

1) Preheat a griddle to 350 degrees and prepare with cooking spray.

2) Mix dry ingredients (first 6 ingredients) together in a large bowl. Gently stir in the remaining ingredients, through the lemon zest. Fold in walnuts and blueberries.

3) Use a 1/4 measuring cup to pour batter onto the griddle. Cook until browned on the bottom and bubbles form on the top, about 4 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook until the bottom is browned. Serve with blueberry sauce.

Cornmeal Pecan Muffins

Friends, I'm heading to the great state of New York for the remainder of the week. We're attending a family wedding, and since Adam will be rocking the Groomsman role, we need to arrive a few days early for the pre-wedding festivities (read: fellowship + beverage of choice).

Sadly, I won't be cooking or baking again until Sunday. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with Adam's family though, as well as embarking on a scavenger hunt...to find vegetarian food in Buffalo, NY.

(While Buffalo is famous for many food specialties--super hot wings, jumbo pizzas, and softball-sized meatballs--I've heard that vege-head food is not exactly a city favorite.)

I plan on taking the city by storm. Painting it red. And spreading vegetarian love over it like a spoonful of hummus.

Until my return, I'll leave you with a fantastic recipe for Cornmeal Pecan Muffins. I adapted Monet's recipe, and absolutely loved them. How much did I love them? My intention was to bake the whole batch for my sister and her boyfriend. In reality, I ended up plating half for my sister...and half for the Hungry Spoon kitchen.

One more thing: Many thanks to Lisa and Cynthia for tagging me with the Stylish Blog Award. I'm honored to be mentioned by both of these snazzy ladies! In keeping the with Stylish Blog tradition, I'd like to call out the following stylish food blogs I love:

All Kinds of Hungry

Anecdotes and Apple Cores
Baking Serendipity
Beth's Journey to Thin
Cilantropist
Gingerbread Bagels
Girl Paraphernalia
I Heart Vegetables
Keep n' the Faith
Peas and Crayons

Cornmeal Pecan Muffins
(adapted from Monet's recipe at Anecdotes and Apple Cores)

If heaven took the form of a corn muffin, this would be it. You can use sour cream in place of the yogurt if you'd like...and please don't forget to toast the pecans! It adds an un-beatable flavor.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 - 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt (I used nonfat)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup chopped, toasted pecans

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners (or coat with cooking spray).

2) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal , baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk in the brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well-combined. Stir in the butter, yogurt, and milk and gently stir until thoroughly combined. Fold in toasted pecans.

3) Spoon batter into muffin cups (mine made 12 muffins, plus 3 extra muffins). Bake for 17 - 19 minutes, or until top is lightly browned. Serve warm with butter. And be sure to give at least half to your sister :)

Week of Sweets Conclusion: Colossal Blueberry Muffins

Friends, today marks the conclusion of my Week of Sweets.

It's true. We've noshed on Oreo Truffles. We've covered our cookie plates with Red Velvet Cookies. And who could forget the Eggnog Muffins?

This bake-happy week resulted in plenty of full stomachs, several empty boxes of butter, a number of sugary smiles, and one satisfied Hungry Spoon. Tomorrow, it's back to those vege-head recipes our gastrointestinal tracks start craving after the December sugar-high.

But for now, let's bring our Week of Sweets to a close with my Christmas morning breakfast: Colossal Blueberry Muffins. I can't take credit for this breakfast myself. We're fortunate to be spending our holiday at Adam's parents' home, and with all the comforts his parents' provide, my mother-in-law's fantastic cooking is amongst my favorite (remember her Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread? Oh heavens, yes.).

After returning from an early-morning walk with Adam and Dora, we were greeted by the aroma of fresh muffins baking: Kathy's Colossal Blueberry Muffins and Banana-Nut Muffins. Adam and I split one of each (there may or may not have also been some spiked eggnog involved. Totally appropriate.). The blueberry muffins were literally overflowing with blueberries--a fruit I've missed after the last several months of baking with apples, pumpkin, and bananas. And who doesn't need a little more crumb topping in her life?

The rest of the day involved lots of napping, reading by the fire, and me losing miserably to several games of Boggle. Hey--we've all got our talents. Mine just doesn't happen to include finding words in a scrambled cube of letters.

Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope you're enjoying a weekend filled with happiness, family, and plenty of good eats.

Colossal Blueberry Muffins
(recipe adapted from one on CD Kitchen)

This blueberry muffin hit the spot for Christmas morning breakfast. It's super moist, and bursting with berries. The crumb topping takes it up a notch, too.

Muffin Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 - 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 beaten eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• Optional: A little lemon zest would be a great addition, but isn't necessary

Crumb Topping Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place large muffin liners in a jumbo-size muffin tray (this recipe makes 6 jumbo muffins)

2) Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and butter. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and stir gently until just combined. Fold in blueberries. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups

3) Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (Kathy's took 30 minutes). Remember: If you're using regular-sized muffin cups, the baking time will be significantly reduced!

Week of Sweets: Day 5, Eggnog Muffins

This past weekend my friend Amy made a massive batch of delicious homemade eggnog.

We're talking lots of egg-separation and egg-beating, plenty of cream-whipping action, and...a healthy dose of Rum.

Talk about a recipe for beverage success.

I've heard through the grapevine that not everyone likes eggnog (gasp!). I don't understand the dislike, friends. What's not to love about liquid ice cream laced with Rum?

Needless to say, I love the stuff.

In the spirit of the season, and inspired by Amy's homemade nog, I whipped up a batch of Monet's Eggnog Muffins last night. Holy deliciousness. Is it possible for a muffin to taste so awesome? I promise you, eggnog-haters: even you will beg for more of these nog-tastic muffies.

And yes, I just said "nog-tastic." (To be fair, Adam coined the phrase first. As my official taste-tester I like to remember the first words out of his mouth when he takes the first bite of a treat. After one bite of his muffin he closed his eyes, slowly shook his head, and said "Nog-Tastic, Kylie." This is one of the 5,349 reasons I married him.).

So drink up, dear friends! And if you're so daring, dunk a bite of this holiday muffin in a tall glass of eggnog. This nog-tastic opportunity only presents itself one month of the year. Don't let it slip away.

Eggnog Muffins
(recipe from Monet at Anecdotes and Apple Cores)

I actually used Silk's soy "Nog," which is dairy-free and worked completely fine! But feel free to use the "real deal" in your recipe. Do yourself a favor and bake these muffins for Christmas morning breakfast. And remember: Eggnog for breakfast is perfectly acceptable on Christmas.

Muffin Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
  
• 2 - 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 - 1/4 cups eggnog

Crumb Topping Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Fill a muffin tin with paper liners (My batch made 12 muffins, plus one gigantic muffin--I poured all of the extra batter in a large ramekin.).

2) Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In a small separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Alternately add the dry ingredients with the eggnog, stirring gently with a spoon. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups.

3) To make the crumb topping: Mix the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Cut butter in, and crumble with a fork. Sprinkle topping over each muffin (you will have some extra leftover topping). Bake muffins for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Breakfast Intervention

Breakfast is a daily requirement for me.

I simply cannot start my day without it. After an early-AM workout, I desperately need some protein-packed, stick-to-your-bones goodness to hold me over until lunch.

However, breakfast isn't easy for everyone. My buddy Katie--a high school teacher--starts work in the 7 o' clock hour, faced with chaotic hallways, last-minute paper-grading, and groggy-eyed teens. Breakfast, she admits, is the last thing on her mind at that hour.

She needs a Breakfast Intervention.

And who better to solve a breakfast conundrum than Miss Ina Garten herself? I got the idea to make homemade granola bars from Ina's cookbook, Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics. I added some tweaks and touches to make it my own (and to avoid an extra trip to the grocery store), and the result was a sweet, slightly soft breakfast bar.

My only disappointment was that these bars weren't crunchy, which I'll admit I was hoping for. Any suggestions in the crispy granola bar department?

This recipe would make a great holiday gift for the person-on-the-go in your life--a busy mom, a constant traveler, a work-out nut, or an over-stressed college student. Individually package each bar and create your own personalized labels. Place the wrapped bars in a basket or clear canister jar (or ship them off in a shoebox like I did!).

And although these guys do contain some sugar n' butter, I'm still a firm believer that food made fresh in your kitchen has a leg up on the pre-packaged stuff at the store. Move over Quaker Granola Bars, the homemade granola bar train just pulled up. And she's not leaving anytime soon.

Homemade Granola Bars

(recipe adapted from this one by Ina Garten)

The wonderful thing about granola is that you can add and omit ingredients to suit your fancy. Experiment with your own favorite nuts, dried fruits, sweeteners, etc. There is no wrong answer on this test! As noted above, these granola bars turned out soft and slightly crumbly for me. If you have suggestions for making a firmer, crispier bar, please let me know!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• 3 TBSP butter
• 1/3 cup real maple syrup
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 cup chopped dried blueberries or cranberries

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place oats, nuts, and coconut on a baking sheet and toast for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

2) In a small saucepan, heat the butter, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Bring to a boil for about one minute and remove from heat. Pour butter mixture over the oat mixture and stir to coat. Add in apricots and dried blueberries.

3) Coat a 7 x 11 (or 8 x 12) inch pan with baking spray. Moisten hands slightly and press granola mixture into the pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Allow to cool for about 3 hours before cutting into bars.

Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes

I love election days.

I'm allowed this one day, each year, to wear my awesome feminist voting T-shirt. I've rocked this shirt for my first 8 years as a voting citizen, and I certainly hope I'm still donning it on election day when I'm 55 years old.

I know: I'm a total nerd. But I'm okay with that.

As an adult, I now have one more reason to love election days: a day off work! Election day is a University holiday here, so Adam and I have the day off to galavant around town and have some work-free fun.

To celebrate our mid-week holiday, Pumpkin-Pecan Pancakes were in order. Holy Moly these puppies were good. I enjoyed mine with a little maple syrup, but I imagine a dollop of pumpkin butter would be equally as tasty if you have some on hand.

Similar to the other P-cakes we make, these guys are dense, filling, and virtually fat free (well, they're completely fat free if you omit the pecans). We don't mess around with the "light n' fluffy" pancake business around here. It's a fiber-licious breakfast world at our kitchen table.

Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes

(adapted from Nava Atlas' recipe in The Vegetarian Family Cookbook)

Good morning, Autumn sunshine! Nothing beats spiced pumpkin-pecan pancakes on a cool November morning. With flax seed, pecans, and pumpkin puree, these hot-cakes are a nutritional powerhouse in the breakfast world.

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (you can sub in part whole wheat flour )desired)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2/3 tsp. baking soda
• 2 TBSP ground flaxseed
• 1 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• about 1 TBSP cinnamon (yep, it's a lot! you can add your cinnamon to taste)
• a sprinkling of nutmeg
• 1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans

Directions:

1) Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Gently fold in wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in chopped pecans

2) Heat griddle to 350 degrees and coat well with cooking spray. Pour pancake batter on griddle (each pancake was about 1/3 cup of batter). Cook for approximately 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.