Glazed Doughnut Muffins

A few weeks ago a Dunkin Donuts opened up not too far from where the hubs and I live.  Every time I pass it I have to muster up every bit of self control I have not to pull through the drive-thru and order up a mixed dozen.  Red velvet?  Yes please.  Chocolate Frosted?  Yes again.  Plain glazed?  You bet.  I'm pretty sure I've never met a doughnut I didn't immediately make friends with.

But what about doughnut muffins?  I came across the recipe for these on one of my favorite blogs, Sweet Pea's Kitchen.  I've tried several other recipes from Christina and have always been blown away, so I figured I'd give this one a go.  I wasn't exactly sure how it would be possible for a muffin to taste like a doughnut, but I took a leap of faith based on all the rave reviews I read.

I was making these muffins for my Sunday School class, so I made them the night before to be on the safe side.  That way if they were a flop I would still have a few hours to throw something else together the next morning.  What can I say, I'm a bit of a worry wart and would always rather be safe than sorry!

These muffins turned out tasking much more like doughnuts than I had anticipated.  I loved the subtle brown sugar and cinnamon flavor they had and was pleasantly surprised that the glaze that topped them didn't make them so sickeningly sweet that they seemed like a rich dessert.

I was a little perplexed as to why my glaze never set up like the one's in Christina's photos (mine was more clear and never took on that hard/white appearance even after it had dried), but it was delicious nevertheless.

These muffins would be a great unexpected addition to any breakfast or brunch, and they are especially a new favorite of mine since they can be prepared beforehand.   Dare I say these muffins might be able to give Dunkin Donuts a run for their money?  I'll let you be the judge :)

Coconut Oil Biscuits

I have a slight problem when it comes to biscuits.  More of an addiction I guess you could say.  There isn't really anything I love more than to start my morning off with a big, fluffy biscuit.  And it doesn't hurt if that biscuit is hugging an egg and a few slices of bacon.

I've tried several biscuit recipes over the years and have featured several of them here on the blog.  You've got sweet potato biscuits, buttermilk cat head biscuits and then the mile high biscuits.  I love each of those recipes, but when I opened up my pantry doors this past weekend another idea popped into my head.  I recently purchased my first jar of coconut oil (in love) and I got to thinking that surely to goodness you could replace the butter or shortening in a batch of biscuits with this stuff.  Fat is fat after all, right?  Sure butter gives biscuits a slightly different flavor than does shortening, but I didn't think coconut oil would make that big of a difference.  Surely the biscuits wouldn't come out rivaling the coconut flavor of Captain Morgan Parrot Bay would they?

Thick and fluffy.  Just the way I like them.

Nope.  They certainly did not.  What resulted was the softest, most tender biscuit ever.  Ever.

Just make sure that your coconut oil doesn't get too warm and go all liquid on you.  When I pulled mine out of a room temperature jar it had the texture of soft shortening.  It just barely held its shape.  I'm guessing if your oil was in a pure liquid state that you would have a very hard time cutting it into the flour mixture.  If your oil is too soft just stick it in the fridge for a bit to firm up.

Eggs and Toast with a Twist

I'm sure you've seen eggs of all kind....scrambled, over easy, sunny side up.....but have you ever seen them cuddled up all inside their own piece of toast?

Eggs and toast have long been considered breakfast staples, but sometimes they can get a bit routine.  In an effort to switch things up a bit I decided to try nesting my egg into the toast as I cooked it.  Not only does this make for an easier prep process, but it cuts down on the time you spend standing over the stove since you cook your breakfast all at one time.   And the sooner I can get food in my belly each morning the better :)

And if you have little ones this is a breakfast you can get get them in on as well.  I used a glass to cut out the little hole in the toast, but you could certainly use different shaped cookie cutters to do so.  Stars or hearts, anyone?

It's already set up perfectly for you to dip that 

toast into the egg.

PS PLEASE for the love of Pete use butter!!  I normally use olive oil to cook my eggs, but butter just makes everything better with this dish.  It not only keeps your egg from sticking to the pan, but it flavors your toast to perfection.  If you use Pam or something similar you will be left wondering why I thought this dish was worth blogging.  Yes, butter is definitely better.

Gluten Free Breakfast Cookies

You're thinking one of two things:  No way do I want to start my day off with a sugary sweet! ....or..... Cookies for breakfast?  Heck yes!


The good news is that these gluten free breakfast cookies will please you no matter your viewpoint.  These cookies have barely enough sweetness to put them into the "cookie" category, but the sweetness comes from wholesome sources such as bananas, shredded coconut, honey and cranberries that will keep your tummy happy until lunch rolls around.

I, myself am not one to crave loads of sugar in the morning (don't worry, that definitely comes a few hours later right after lunch and lasts until, oh I don't know...bedtime?).  If I eat something sugary first thing in the morning that's all I'll crave the rest of the day.  Not sure why, but it happens every time like clockwork.....I eat a cinnamon roll for breakfast and by 10:30AM I'm dreaming of chocolate.

But these cookies fit the bill when it comes to my idea of a perfect breakfast.  Good quality natural ingredients that are both tasty and filling (due to the protein and fiber content) are what separates these cookies from those that you are likely to find at the grocery store: cookies with 20+ ingredients, many of which you have no hope of being able to recognize much less pronounce.

Do you want one or all four in

that stack?

The version below is gluten free, but if you wanted to add whole wheat flour in place of flaxmeal you certainly could.  Just know that it negates the gluten free factor.

Along those same lines, you could also switch up a lot of the ingredients below......olive oil for coconut oil, raisins or dried blueberries for cranberries, pecans for almonds.....you name it, it could probably be done and turn out just as tasty.

Mile High Biscuits

Every Friday growing up my dad would take me by Stoney's, home of the best biscuit in our tiny little town, for a bit fluffy one all wrapped up in tin foil to keep it warm until I got to school.  I would always get mine plain with just a bit of butter.  Not too much though. (For what it's worth, my taste has definitely changed and I now get one packed with bacon and egg.)

Is it crazy that the most distinct thing I remember about ordering those biscuits at the end of each week was that "desserts" was misspelled on Stoney's menu posted at the drive thru?  It was spelled with only one "s".  [Face-palm] Ugh.

I found these biscuits on (you guessed it) Pinterest.  These are apparently the very famous biscuits from Ruth's Diner in Salt Lake City, Utah.  According to Pinterest these are "the best biscuits EVER".  Well if Pinterest says it then it must be true.

Look at those butter, flaky layers.

I can't put my finger on what exactly about the texture is different, but it is distinctly different from the buttermilk cathead biscuits I posted a while back.  These are a bit sweeter because of the sugar and tey are definitely chewier.  But maybe that's because I rolled the dough to 1 1/2 inches thick versus 1 inch as was suggested.  Hey, I like my biscuits big.

One thing to note is that my biscuits never turned golden when I baked them.  They stayed a very light cream color  Yours may, but just make sure you keep an eye of them in the oven and use another gauge of doneness other than just color.

Sweet Potato Scones

I hope everyone had a great 4th!  I sure did.  Lots of good food.  LOTS of it.

The hubby's 27th birthday was Tuesday and we have celebrated with 3 birthday dinners and no less than 3 birthday cakes.  Yes, you read that right.  Three.  Two ice cream cakes and one caramel cake.  Sugar detox anyone??

These babies might help do the trick.  Well, minus the brown sugar glaze.  Okay, so maybe they won't do the trick.  But they are yummy.  And I guess you could reason that the sweet potato in them makes it a healthy option.  Maybe.

These scones were incredibly tasty, but I will admit they were incredibly frustrating to make.  My dough wasn't anywhere near firm enough so I had to keep adding more flour.  I almost didn't post these because of this, but everyone else who rated the recipe raved about it, so maybe it was something I did wrong.  I'm going to try them again sometime soon and see if they turn out better.  The taste was phenomenal, but I just had a hard time shaping the dough because of the texture.  The measurements for the original recipe were first given in grams, so maybe when they converted everything something got messed up.  I'll investigate and will be sure to post a follow up.

So if you make these know that you may need to add more flour.

Can we take a moment and talk about how I'd love to 

scoop up that little pool of glaze right there??

If you're looking for a healthier option you could always opt out of the brown sugar glaze.  But it's so yummy I wouldn't recommend it :)  Delish!!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins with Oat Streusel Crumb Topping

My husband's family has several blueberry bushes in their backyard and while we were over there this past weekend I was able to pick some of the ripe ones that had finally turned a deep blueish purple.  Most blueberries don't come in until July so I was thrilled to be able to get my hands on these little guys.

I had already made blueberry banana waffles earlier in the week, so I was a bit hesitant to do yet another breakfast dish with these same berries.  But then I came across a recipe for blueberry muffins from my favorite cookbook from Foster's Market.  I didn't eat a blueberry muffin when Trey and I stopped by Foster's during our trip to Durham back in March, but I absolutely loved everything we tried, so I knew this recipe had to be good!

And good it was.  This recipe calls for the blueberries to be chopped instead of added whole.  I LOVED this because it made the blueberry flavor so much more prevalent and kept the muffins decidedly more moist.  The streusel crumb topping wasn't originally called for by Foster's though....are you surprised it was my idea to add even more butter and sugar??? :)

Whole Wheat Blueberry Banana Waffles

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day, but so often there simply isn't time in our schedule to spend 20+ minutes over a pan putting something together before the hubby and I are dashing out the door.  I'd rather take an extra bit of shut eye and grab something that is still yummy, but easy to throw together.

But most Saturday mornings this changes.  I sleep in a bit (hopefully) and then roll out of bed around 9:00 or 10:00 to make a brunch of sorts.  We had some blueberries and bananas on hand this weekend so I decided on waffles.  Waffles are just a no brainer and there's something so nostalgic about whipping that wonderful waffle maker out, don't you think?

And while it's pretty darn hard to mess up a waffle, I do think these turned out just fabulous.  Most banana waffle recipes have you mash up the banana, but I chopped mine so that the end result was thick chunks of them all throughout the waffle.

Top these babies with more fresh blueberries and banana (and walnuts in my case) and you're good to go!  I used whole wheat flour for a healthier option, but really any all purpose flour will do.

Enjoy!

Thick and Chewy Cherry Almond Granola Bars

Granola is one of those foods that seems like a no-fail healthy option for breakfast or for a snack.  You've got plenty of fiber courtesy of wholesome oats, lots of good-for-you fruit, and heart healthy nuts like almonds.  It's a no brainer, right?

Wrong.  Oh my dear is it *usually* wrong.   A lot of processed granola that you'll find in the grocery store is swimming in sugar and yucky ingredients like high fructose corn syrup.  So much for a healthy  breakfast to get your day off to a great start.

While these bars do have some sugar in them (2/3 C for the whole pan), they have substantially less sugar than your average brand at Kroger and also use honey to add sweetness instead of just relying on granulated sugar.  And lord knows there isn't any high fructose corn syrup in these little guys.

Another favorite thing about this recipe is how infinitely adaptable it is.  You can use any fruit or nuts you like and can play around with using either almond or vanilla extract.  I used dried cherries, sliced almonds and then almond extract for my bars and have to admit that I thought they were a-mazing....even if I do say so myself :)  Put it this way...I took the pan of them up to my family's lake house one weekend not too long ago, and between just four of us we had polished off the whole pan in a day and a half.  Yikes!

My one gripe is that these were a bit crumbly and getting the sliced bars out of the pan was a bit of a cumbersome process.  Placing the pan in the fridge for a bit helped, but I still had to be very gentle with them.  Maybe next time I'll add a bit more peanut butter or honey to moisten them up even more and cut down on the crumbly texture.

The good news though...even if they crumbled to bits they still taste exactly the same.  And of course you could always completely forgo the bar route and just crumble these up into a bowl or sprinkle it on top of your favorite yogurt.

Dig in!  You won't regret making these.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins

Happy Monday!  Have you missed me??  So sorry for the serious sketchiness around here lately.  My evenings are getting busier and busier, and I'm still working on hammering out some type of schedule that will allow me to still blog every day.  Thank you for your patience :)

Today's posts features peanut butter oatmeal muffins.  I recently created a recipe for some other oatmeal muffins that used honey, but peanut butter is one of my all time favorite guilty pleasures and I love adding it to just about anything I can get my hands on.  Including muffins.

This recipe is from the ever so lovely Paula Deen, yall.  While these muffins aren't super sweet, they are definitely filling and I found that they made a perfect breakfast option I could grab on the way out the door on busy mornings.  And because peanut butter is packed with protein I tell myself that they're healthy and filling too.  No harm in that, right?

Herbed-Baked Eggs

I guess the first thing I need to do is apologize for being so sketchy last week.  I normally do a post every week day, but I last week I only did three.  I was sick on Monday, and then had a gala on Thursday and neglected my Friday post.  Forgive me!!  It usually takes me over an hour to put together these posts, and some days it's just too much to juggle.  But today marks a new day and a new week....so back on track I go!

Today's post features Ina Garten's baked egg cups.  I love eggs and don't really discriminate against any variety of them (scrambled, over easy, in an omelette, etc).   My only gripe is that they can be a bit hard to do if you are whipping up any other part of the meal.  You've got your pancakes going, bacon in the frying pan, and then you've got your eggs you're trying to watch too.  It's just too much sometimes, which can result in me shying away from them.

But these based egg cups give you a chance to put your focus on something else.  I will say that it's tricky to get them cooked just right.  The first time I took them out of the oven I realized that maybe using the broiler wasn't the best idea and decided to go with a straight baking method next time.  For me, the broiler cooked the eggs too much on top and left the bottom of them completely raw.  No good.

The herbs below are just what Ina had listed, but use whatever you have on hand that you're fond of.  I would also suggest making toast on the side for dipping.  These eggs have cooked whites, but running yolks and the toast is a nice vehicle for getting them scooped up :)

Honey Pecan Waffles

Sunday is probably my favorite day of the week.  This is for several reasons.....I get to sleep in a bit before waking up to make a nice breakfast for the hubby before we go to church....sometimes I come home and take a quick cat-nap and read a book in the afternoon....and Trey and I usually go take a long walk at some point in the afternoon.  I just love the ease of the day and all of the leisurely activities it brings.

So back to the breakfast part I mentioned.  I would love to be able to say that I fix a nice hearty breakfast during the week, but the reality is that just doesn't happen.  I already get up at 6:30 and I really don't ever feel like setting the clock thirty minutes earlier just so I can make a nice omelette.   I know that sounds awful, but I'd rather have the extra sleep.

But Sunday is a different story.  Trey used to go to the 8:30 service at our church before we got married, but I've talked him into attending the 11:00 one :)  One big plus is that I have plenty of time to get up and fix a decent meal before we go to church.  And this past Sunday that turned out to be waffles.

One of my favorite things about waffles is how easy to it to mix things up.  You can throw in some fruit, honey, oats, nuts, etc without fear of really messing anything up.

This version is made with whole wheat flour, honey and pecans.  The flavors meld together perfectly (in my humble opinion) and the waffles have the perfect amount of crunch.

Enjoy!

PS I apologize for the lack of pictures.  I took a lot more, but a lot of them turned out fuzzy :(

Banana and Honey Oat Muffins

I have been hunting for a recipe for that perfect breakfast muffin, which in my humble opinion means that it's not too sweet but still has good flavor.  Often something sweet first thing in the morning can leave me craving nothing but loads of sugar for the rest of the day.

Unfortunately (or fortunately...whichever way you look at it) most of the muffins you buy at the grocery store or at a bakery are loaded with sugar.  You're basically eating cake without icing.  Not that that would be a bad thing, but not when the goal is the get a nice healthy kick start to your day.

The recipe below is a (somewhat) healthier option I came up with.  This recipe swaps wheat flour in for white flour, uses honey instead of processed granulated sugar, and adds bananas and oats.

The hubby and I can never eat a full batch (12) of these before they go bad, so I always stick a bunch in the freezer and then pull one out at night for the next morning's breakfast.

My favorite way to eat these it to top them with a little dab (okay a nice dab) of peanut butter and stick them in the toaster for a minute or two....heaven!

Baked Oatmeal for One

I had seen the idea of baking oatmeal floating around Pinterest and wondered just how different (if at all) oatmeal would taste when it was prepared in an oven versus in a microwave.  Anything cooked the old fashioned way as opposed to being zapped tastes better, so I figured oatmeal would follow along with this same theory.

I also wanted to test this out so that I would know if preparing a big pan of oatmeal for a crowd in the oven might work.  Oatmeal is so delicious, but the thought of microwaving a bowl of it for 6 guests is not quite as appealing.

And good Lord was I right about baking this stuff.  This stuff was incredibly creamy and full of flavor.  When you microwave oatmeal it can sometimes cook unevenly.  I'm sure the added peanut butter didn't hurt either :)

The recipe below is just what I used, but you could definitely use plain oatmeal or another flavor.  You could completely omit the oatmeal or stir in some raisins.  You choose!

I realize it's a SUPER simple recipe (if you would even call it a recipe), but I still wanted to share.

Love this photo...it kind of makes me want to lick the screen.

Now that I know this works I'm going to try making a bigger batch to serve a small crowd next time.

Strawberry Scones

My husband and I went to Durham, NC this past weekend to attend the UNC/Duke game (it was my wedding gift to him), and while we were up there I wanted to find some great local restaurants to enjoy.  It's not that I dislike chain restaurants, but rather I like to try out places that can't be accessed anywhere else.

This desire led us to Foster's Market.  Sara Foster is the woman behind 2 stores by the name, with one store being in Durham and the other a short drive away in Chapel Hill.  I was checking out restaurants on Yelp and read that Sara Foster used to be the head of Martha Stewart's catering company.  Yep, count me in.

Foster's is a quaint little store with a slightly rustic feel.  It's one of those places where you immediately know the second you walk in that every single thing on their menu must be superb.  Only local, fresh produce is used and the menu adapts based on what's in season.

After Trey and I enjoyed our sandwich and chicken wrap for lunch (they were both divine, by the way) I asked if he would like something for dessert.  That's basically my way of saying "Okay, I'm getting something for dessert and I'd like for you to order something too so that I don't feel bad for indulging on my own".  He obliged and asked for me to pick him something out.

I settled on their German chocolate cake and a chocolate chip cookie (these were divine as well).  But while I was at the counter I noticed their array of homemade scones.  Believe it or not I've never eaten a scone.  I've admired them from the Starbucks display from time to time when I go for a coffee, but have never ventured out enough to actually eat one.  When I mentioned this to Trey he commented that he didn't even know what a scone was.  Oh dear.  As a food blogger, this means I must be failing as a wife.

I decided to change this and whipped up a batch of scones from my Foster's Market cookbook I purchased on the same trip.  We had a rather large batch of strawberries in the fridge so I decided to add these to the pastries as well.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with the way they turned out.  The recipe was easy and quick, the flavor and texture was fantastic, but the only thing slightly disappointing was that they didn't hold their shape as well as I would have liked.

I'm not sure if this was because of something I did (maybe the butter wasn't cold enough), but I'm going to experiment and see if I can come up with a solution...that just means I'll have to make them again :)

Below is just a basic scone recipe, so feel free to dress this up to suit your taste.  Make them with cinnamon and sugar, blueberries, lemon.....the options are endless!

Foster's Scones adapted from The Foster's Market Cookbook
4 1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 lb (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 1/4 C plus 2 Tbsp buttermilk
Egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 2 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare two baking sheets by lightly greasing.  Set aside.

In large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Using a pastry cutter, cut in pieces of butter.  Work butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
*Make sure not to overwork the dough....doing so will make it tough versus light and fluffy.

The flour mixture was a bit messy

Perfectly fresh and ripe...loved their vibrant color

If you want to add anything into the scones do so at this point (before adding the milk).  I hulled and diced enough strawberries to make two cups.  Toss ingredients to coat in flour mixture.

Add almost all of the buttermilk (you may not need it all).  The dough should begin to get sticky and should stay together.  Add the remainder of the buttermilk if the dough seems dry.

Turn dough out onto floured surface.  Shape into two 6-inch rounds.  Each round should be approximately 1 1/2 inches in thickness.  Cut each round in half, and then cut each half into 3 triangles.

Place triangles on baking sheets and brush with egg wash.  Bake 30-35 minutes.  Scones should be golden brown and firm to touch.

Brush gently with egg wash

Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Southern Buttermilk Cat Head Biscuits

Wait, WHAT?!  Cat head biscuits?  Yep, you read that right.  Cat head biscuits.  If you're from the south you've probably heard of these.  If you're not, then I'll bring you up to speed.

Cat head biscuits are named as such because the biscuits are as big as a cat's head.  Why a cat head as the size comparison?  Well that I'm not sure of.  But the point is that these biscuits are BIG.  Big and fluffy.  They don't taste any different, per se, but rather it's simply the size of them that warrants the name.

My grandmother has always made wonderful biscuits, but it was always a bit hard for me to learn how to replicate them because she never measured anything.  "Just add milk until it looks right", she would always say.  Sigh.  You know someone is a good cook when they never whip out a measuring spoon or cup.

But luckily for me (and you), I found a trusty recipe which I have shared below.  The only thing I would do different next time is that I would use lard in place of the shortening.  You can buy lard in the same section as Crisco and it makes the biscuits much fluffier and provides a better taste in my opinion.

Oh, and I would also have made 5 biscuits instead of 6.  These were large and fluffy, but I would do them even bigger.  And maybe add some bacon, an egg and a slice of cheese :)  I'll remake them with these edits sometime soon and post a comparison.

Buttermilk Cat Head Biscuits
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1 1/2 C cake flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 Tbsp shortening, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/4 C buttermilk

Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and preheat to 425 degrees.  Grease 9 inch cake pan.

Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in bowl.  Cut butter and shortening into mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal.  Stir in buttermilk until combined.

Carefully form biscuits.  You should end up with six.  Make sure not to pat them too flat either so that they will fluff up.

Arrange 5 biscuits around perimeter of pan and place one in the middle.  The biscuits will be touching, but you want them this way so that they will cook up rather than out.

Look!  They love each other.

Bake until puffed and golden brown, approximately 20-25 minutes.  *I also brushed some melted butter on mine when they had about 5 minutes to go.*  Allow to cool for 10 minutes in pan before removing.

Fluffy, buttery deliciousness

Biscuits will keep for 2 days in air tight container.

Valentine's Day Blueberry Pancakes

Pancakes are another one of those foods that conjure up so many memories.  You can absolutely get pancakes at Mikcy D's and other fast food restaurants, but there's something so wonderful about standing over a griddle checking to see if the batter has turned that perfect light brown color yet so that you can flip the flap jack.  

Another one of my favorite things about pancakes is how versatile they are.  You can basically stick with the same basic pancake recipe and add anything you want.  Craving something sweet?  Add some chocolate.  Wanting to take the healthy route?  Add blueberries.

That is precisely what I did with these.  Something about adding that fruit in makes me feel slightly better about wolfing down 4 nicely sized cakes doused in confectioners sugar and syrup.  Delish!  

And of course I had to make these a bit festive since I was making them as a Valentine's Day breakfast for the hubby (our first VDay as husband/wife might I add).  I wanted to make heart shaped pancakes, but unfortunately the only heart shaped cookie cutter I had was plastic.  Normally I would lay the metal cookie cutter directly on the griddle, pour the matter into the mold, and let the pancake cook there.  But as you can imagine that wouldn't exactly work with plastic.  So I used the cookie cutter on the pancake *after* it was finished.  Not ideal, but it worked...

Todd's Famous Blueberry Pancakes adapted from AllRecipes

1 1/4 C all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp white sugar

1 egg

1 C milk

1/2 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 C blueberries

In large bowl sift together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar.   In separate bowl beat together egg and milk.  

Stir milk and egg into flour mixture.  Stir in butter.

Heat lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium/medium-high heat.  Depending on desired size, use approximately 1/4 C batter per pancake.  Drop blueberries into pancake batter once poured.  

*You could certainly fold the blueberries directly into the batter, but I've found that this method works best for me.

Let pancake lightly brown on the bottom and then flip.  Serve immediately.

A light dusting of powdered sugar...

Dig in!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

One Saturday about a little over a year ago, my then-fiance and I stopped by the famed Highlands Bakery in Atlanta, GA for brunch.  I ordered their breakfast plate and opted for the sweet potato biscuit in place of their classic whole wheat one.  And my life was forever changed.

No, I'm only kidding.  Just a little.  Have you ever eaten one of those biscuits?  I absolutely love sweet potatoes and all things carbs (especially nice, fluffy biscuits), so it's not surprising to me that I took a quick liking to these.

I've been looking around the internet for some time trying to find a recipe that I thought might compare, and I settled on Martha Stewart's version.  This recipe is fairly straightforward, and the only time consuming aspect of it is the baking of a sweet potato.  I'm sure you could use canned sweet potato puree though if you were in a pinch.

Even though biscuits are typically a breakfast/brunch food, I made these the other night for dinner along with eggs (over easy for me, scrambled for the hubs) and turkey bacon.  I'm sure these would also go well as a dinner bread too.

*I whipped up some brown sugar cinnamon butter to go with these biscuits.  Just add some cinnamon and brown sugar to some softened butter and you're good to go.  If it gets too soft just stick it back in the fridge for a bit.

Sweet Potato Biscuits from Martha Stewart

• 1 3/4 C all purpose flour, plus more for kneading and shaping
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar (I substituted with sugar in the raw)
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 6 tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus 1/2 tsbp melted butter
• 3/4 C sweet potato puree, chilled
• 1/3 C buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place baking rack on lower shelf.

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. 

Dry ingredients mixture

With pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with some pea-sized lumps of butter remaining. 

*Make sure you don't forget the melted butter too.  I added this in AFTER I had cut in the chilled butter and it worked well for me.  If you forget it the dough will be incredibly dry and impossible to knead.

I had to call a time-out and give you an "above" view of my

amazing new apron.  Not only is it incredibly stylish, but it also has a button

there on my right side for you to attach the dish towel.  Perfect for keeping your hands 

free in the kitchen!  One of my fave shower gifts :)

Now back to the recipe at hand....In small bowl, whisk together sweet potato puree and buttermilk; stir quickly into flour mixture until combined (do not overmix).

For the puree, I simply baked a sweet potato, chilled it in the fridge,

and then mixed it with a hand mixer.

Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface.  Knead very gently until dough comes together but is still slightly lumpy, five or six times. (If dough is too sticky, work in up to 1/4 cup additional flour.) Shape into a disk, and pat to an even 1-inch thickness. 

With floured 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits as close together as possible. Gather together scraps, and repeat to cut out more biscuits (do not reuse scraps more than once).

Butter/Grease an 8-inch cake pan. Arrange biscuits snugly in pan (to help them stay upright). Brush with melted butter. Bake until golden, rotating once, 20 to 24 minutes.

I didn't have an 8-inch round cake pan, so I divided the biscuits up

among 2 pans.  In hindsight I would have gone

with the round cake pan because it would have allowed me to

place the biscuits closer together.  The closer together they are the softer

the edges of each biscuit will be.

Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Oatmeal Waffles

I was going over the blog this weekend and realized that I don't have a single breakfast/brunch food on here.  This surprised me because I absolutely love all of those foods.  In fact, sometimes I like them even better for dinner than I do first thing in the morning.

The timing could not have been more perfect because my fiance was giving me a hard time Saturday night about never getting up and cooking him a good breakfast.  "I guess I'll just subsist on cereal every morning.  Is this was married life is really going to be like?", he'd tease me.

It's not that I don't like to cook it, but rather that I don't like to get up early to cook it.  Some say the early bird gets the worm, but I in turn point out that it's the second mouse who gets the cheese :)  Plus, I'd also like to say that I'd be willing to bet that the late bird who hits the snooze button is in a much better mood and feels rested enough to tackle the day's events with a song in his step.  Just sayin'.

Anyhow, yesterday morning I set the alarm a bit early (I normally sleep in and go to the 11:00 Sunday service) and set out to make a nice wholesome breakfast.  We were gifted this fabulous waffle maker at a shower and I have been dying to try it out! So waffles it was.  I initially intended to make a "fancy" waffle.  You know, one with cranberries or walnuts or bananas.  But to my dismay none of these ingredients were in my fiance's pantry.  Sigh.  What now?

I then stumbled across this cinnamon and brown sugar oatmeal waffle recipe.  While oatmeal sounded like a rather different ingredient to include, I figured it couldn't be that bad.  And bad it certainly was not.  It was delicious!  The oatmeal gives it a nice difference in texture and, while not incredibly apparent or overpowering, the cinnamon and brown sugar give it a hint of depth to the flavor.  I'm sure you could add more of both if you wanted that flavor to pack a more powerful punch.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Oatmeal Waffles adapted from Allrecipes
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1 C quick cooking rolled oats
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 1/2 C milk
6 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
2 tbsp brown sugar

In large bowl stir together flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Set aside.

In separate small bowl stir together eggs, milk, butter and brown sugar.  Add to flour mixture and stir until blended.

*You have to make sure your butter isn't too hot, or it will cook the eggs when you add them to the mixture.

Cook waffle according to waffle iron instructions.

Yum!  Just a hint of that lovely brown toasted color.

Ellie wanted some too :)  Trey was nice enough to share a bite.