Category: Breakfast

Apple Pecan Scones

On By sarafillmerIn Bread, Breakfast, Dessert2 Comments

PANA9600.I think I might have a problem.  A scone problem. Currently there are 7 different types of scones in my freezer, and I have variety to satisfy any particular craving on any particular day. The thing I like about them is how well they reheat. It takes away all of the worry about trying to finish them before they go bad because you can just individually wrap them and store them in the freezer. This latest recipe filled a niche I didn’t have yet, and that is the pecans. It adds an earthiness that I enjoy and it pairs really nicely with the apple. I toasted my pecans before mixing them into the batch but that is an entirely optional step.

  • 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup butter, preferably frozen
  • 1/2 large apple, pealed and chopped into small pieces
  • 1/2 cup pecans, chopped, toasted
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425. In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together. Grate your frozen butter with a box cheese grater, then mix into the dry ingredients. Add the chopped apples and pecans, stir. Pour in the heavy cream, and stir until incorporated. Once the dough comes together, form into a circle, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, then cut into 8 pieces and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes or until browned. If you want,  you can mix together half a cup of powdered sugar with two tablespoons of milk to form a glaze and drizzle over the cooked scones.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Scones

On By sarafillmerIn Bread, Breakfast, Dessert1 Comment

IMG_20200812_095234_01With fall right around the corner I knew I would need to find a pumpkin scone recipe to indulge in. The first place I checked was my go-to site, cookiesandcups.com.  Of course she had a fabulous scone recipe, but I took mine down a slightly different path and added cinnamon chips to it; as well as left off the icing. I have explained on previous recipes that I like to store my scones in the freezer and that doesn’t lend itself to icing. I judge every recipe on here as if it didn’t have the frosting and it absolutely has to taste yummy without it. The cinnamon chips in this scone just reinforce the fall flavors and add that little bit of sweetness without being too much.

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup cold, salted butter, preferably frozen
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup cinnamon chips, (I found mine at Walmart)
  • 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (like Sugar in the Raw) for garnish

Preheat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Set aside. Grate the frozen butter on a box cheese grater, then mix into your dry ingredients. Add in the cinnamon chips. In a medium bowl whisk together 1/2 cup heavy cream, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Mix the dough together using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. It should have a slightly dry texture and hold together, but not be crumbly. Add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of cream if the dough seems too dry. Place the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and form it into a ball. Flatten the ball into a circle about 1 1/2- inches thick. Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 8 wedges. Place the wedges onto the prepared baking sheet and brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons heavy cream. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden.

Banana Toffee Chocolate Chip Scones

On By sarafillmerIn Bread, Breakfast, Dessert1 Comment

IMG_20200513_174044 (1)This scone recipe is another winner if you want a delicious scone that has lots of flavor, but isn’t dry. It comes from my favorite food blogger cookiesandcups.com and once again she doesn’t disappoint. The recipe recommends adding a drizzle to the scones, but because I freeze mine individually I leave it off. I will include it here in case you want to try it, but I personally don’t think they need it. Also, because I live at altitude I had about 2 more tablespoons than the recipe calls for in order to get everything to hold together.

Scone:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
  • 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup toffee bits
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream, divided
  • 1 medium banana, mashed (about 1/3 cup)
  • 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar for garnish

Drizzle:

  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut the butter into the mixture using a pastry cutter or a fork until the mixture resembles very coarse sand. Don’t worry if you have butter the size of peas throughout the mixture, this is fine. Mix in the chocolate chips. In a medium bowl mix together 1/2 cup of the heavy cream and banana. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour the cream mixture into the well. Mix the dough together using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. It will be slightly dry, but will hold together. Don’t over-mix. Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a disk about 1 1/2 – 2- inches thick. Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 6 wedges. Place the wedges onto the prepared baking sheet, and brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for 15- 20 minutes until the edges are golden brown.

For the icing drizzle, whisk together the butter, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and milk until smooth. Drizzle the icing onto the scones and allow it to set. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Kolaches!

On By sarafillmerIn Bread, Breakfast, DessertLeave a comment

00100lrPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200426113858822_COVERMy husband’s family is Czech and as such he has a huge love of kolaches. We’re talking the fruit-filled pastries, not the savory roll with sausage inside. Since I’ve been having success with my baking experiments this month I found a recipe and tried making them from scratch. They were delicious! I was so so pleased with how they turned out and start to finish they only took about two hours.

For the Dough:

  • 2/3 cup milk (2% or higher is best)
  • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast, or instant
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 large egg yolk
  • 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon fine salt

For the Filling:

  • 3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • thick fruit preserve of your choice, I had strawberry

For the Crumb Topping:

  • 1/8 cup flour
  • 1/8 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon butter, melted

Warm the milk in a microwave-safe bowl for about 30 seconds until lukewarm. The target temperature is 110°. Once it’s at precisely 110°, add the yeast, sugar and 2/3 cup of the flour. Mix together well and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. (Because I used instant yeast I mixed this together while I got the rest of the ingredients together, but didn’t wait for it to double.) In another bowl, add the melted butter. Let cool briefly before stirring in the egg yolk. Add this to the yeast mixture and mix well. Add the remaining flour, salt, and mix very well well. Next, knead the dough for 10 minutes, making sure to lightly flour the board and your hands as you go. At the end of 10 minutes, the dough will be soft, supple, and not sticky at all. Grease a bowl with cooking spray and add the dough. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size. (At the end of this rise, you could cover it and put it in the fridge to use the following day. It will deflate, but it’s okay).

Next, you want to evenly divide the dough into 12 equal portions. I do this by weighing the dough, and dividing it by 12. Roll each dough ball into a perfect circle (see photo). Line a 9″ pie plate with parchment paper, and arrange the dough balls in it. At this point, I press gently on the dough to make a slightly oblong shape instead of a perfect circle. Let the dough rise until doubled in a warm place. Preheat the oven to 375°. Once the dough balls have doubled in size, use your fingers to make deep indentations for the fillings. Divide the fillings between the kolaches, I did 4 cream cheese, 4 strawberry and 4 strawberry cream cheese, but do what makes you happy.

Bake the kolaches for 18-21 minutes, until nicely golden brown. Use a toothpick inserted into the center kolache to ensure the rolls are done. Let cool slightly, and then tear apart and serve.

Blueberry Bagels

On By sarafillmerIn Bread, BreakfastLeave a comment

00100lrPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200424091834663_COVERThe saying practice makes perfect has really been on my mind the past month of being stuck in the house. I was always very intimidated by working with yeast because I felt it was finicky and took too long and I was never prepared for how early I had to prep. That is something I’ve been trying to remedy now that I have quite a bit of time on my hands. A couple of things have really helped me get more comfortable, the first being instant yeast. The fact that I can just add the yeast to the dry ingredients takes away that extra bit of chance I feel like yeast baking comes inherent with. Also, you can keep the yeast in the freezer to ensure that it stays fresh for up to a year at least! The second is really reading the recipe and making sure I have plenty of time to complete all the steps. When you see the steps for this recipe it is going to look very intimidating but it’s really more a case of it taking a lot words to describe a very easy process. So, if you are feeling a little apprehensive about making this recipe, don’t. Just take your time and don’t over-think it.

For the Sponge:

  •  1 teaspoon instant yeast
  •  4 (18 oz) cups high-gluten or bread flour
  •  2 1/2 cups water, at room temperature

For the Dough:

  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 3 3/4 cups (17 oz) high-gluten or bread flour*
  • 2 3/4 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons malt powder (or brown sugar if you don’t have malt powder)
  • 1 1/2 cups dried blueberries*

To Finish:

  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • cornmeal for dusting

To make the sponge, stir the yeast into the flour in a 4-quart mixing bowl. Add the water, whisking or stirring only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter (like pancake batter). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly. It should swell to nearly double in size and collapse when the bowl is tapped on the countertop.

To make the dough, in the same mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir. Then add 3 cups of the flour and all of the salt and malt. Stir (or mix on low speed with the dough hook) until the ingredients form a ball, slowly working in the remaining ¾ cup flour to stiffen the dough. Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for at least 10 minutes (or for 6 minutes by machine). Add the dried blueberries during the final 2 minutes of kneading. The dough should be firm, but still pliable and smooth. There should be no raw flour – all the ingredients should be hydrated. If the dough seems too dry and rips, add a few drops of water and continue kneading. If the dough seems tacky or sticky, add more flour to achieve the stiffness required. The kneaded dough should feel satiny and pliable but not be tacky. Immediately divide the dough into 12 pieces. Form the pieces into rolls. Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for approximately 20 minutes. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper and mist lightly with spray oil. To shape the bagels, poke a hole in a ball of bagel dough and gently rotate your thumb around the inside of the hole to widen it to approximately 2½ inches in diameter. The dough should be as evenly stretched as possible (try to avoid thick and thin spots). Place each of the shaped pieces 2 inches apart on the pans. Mist the bagels very lightly with the spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Check to see if the bagels are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator by using the “float test”. Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water. The bagels are ready to be retarded when they float within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water. Take one bagel and test it. If it floats, immediately return the tester bagel to the pan, pat it dry, cover the pan, and place it in the refrigerator overnight (it can stay in the refrigerator for up to 2 days). If the bagel does not float, return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough at room temperature, checking back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats. The time needed to accomplish the float will vary, depending on the ambient temperature and the stiffness of the dough.

The following day (or when you are ready to bake the bagels), preheat the oven to 500°. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (the wider the pot the better), and add the baking soda. Have a slotted spoon or skimmer nearby. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as comfortably fit (they should float within 10 seconds). After 1 minute flip them over and boil for another minute. If you like very chewy bagels, you can extend the boiling to 2 minutes per side. While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the same parchment-lined sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you decide to replace the paper, be sure to spray the new paper lightly with spray oil to prevent the bagels from sticking to the surface.) When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pans on the 2 middle shelves in the oven. Bake for approximately 5 minutes, then rotate the pans, switching shelves and giving the pans a 180-degree rotation. (If you are baking only 1 pan, keep it on the center shelf but still rotate 180 degrees.) After the rotation, lower the oven setting to 450° and continue baking for about 5 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown (My bagels cooked for 8 minutes at 450°). You may bake them darker if you prefer. Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving.

*Your flour measurement could vary depending on many factors, I only used 3 cups to get my dough to the consistency I wanted. I also only used 1 cup of blueberries so really just use your judgement and personal taste to decide how much to add.

How To: Homemade Jiffy Cornbread Mix

On By sarafillmerIn Breakfast, How ToLeave a comment

download (1)I recently made a recipe that called for Jiffy cornbread mix but I didn’t have any on hand. Enter the Internet! This recipe is very easy to make and likely uses ingredients you already have in your pantry. Try it in Creamed Corn Spoonbread today!

  • 2/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine the first five ingredients until well incorporated. Whisk in the vegetable oil until no lumps remain. Add this into your recipe that is calling for the box mix.

If you want to just make the muffins themselves, combine the dry mixture with 1 egg and 1/3 cup of milk. Mix until just incorporated and fill well-greased muffin tins about 1/2 full. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

Glazed Donuts a la Krispy Kreme

On By sarafillmerIn Bread, BreakfastLeave a comment

BB11L2p1I feel myself to be somewhat of a donut snob. I’m not a fan of cake donuts and grocery store donuts are usually too dry and boring. My all-time favorite donut shop is in Estes Park, but since that it is a bit of a trek from my house, I finally bit the bullet and tried my hand at making them homemade. The recipe is a combination of Pioneer Woman’s and a glaze I found online. The key to success with these donuts is to dip them basically as soon as you have pulled them out of the fryer. This will give you the Krispy Kreme-esque glaze on the top and if you eat it warm it will just melt in your mouth.  I know since this is a yeasted dough it takes some pre-planning on your part, but the results were worth it.

For the Dough:

  • 1 1/8 cup whole milk, warm
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons (one package) Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/4 stick unsalted butter (10 tablespoons), melted
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Shortening/oil for frying

For the Glaze:

  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • Enough cream or milk to thin, about 3 tablespoons (you want a consistency of school glue)
  • Dash of salt

Warm the milk until it is getting nice and warm when you dip your finger in it, about 105 degrees. I did this by microwaving my milk in 30 sec increments, testing it after each time. It took about 1:15 sec. Add the milk to a mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the yeast and stir to combine. Let the yeast rest for 5 minutes. Add the beaten eggs and melted butter to the bowl and stir to combine. While the mixer is running slowly, add the flour and salt and mix until the dough comes together. Mix for a whole five minutes to work the dough well. Turn off the bowl and let the dough sit in the bowl of the mixer for 10 minutes. After the rest period turn the dough out into a lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 8 hours up to overnight.

To make the donuts, take the dough out of the fridge and roll out to 1/4″-1/3″ thickness on a lightly floured surface. Use a donut cutter or the largest round cutter you have, and use the smallest round cutter you can to cut the whole in the middle. I also just used a star shape because one of my sons really wanted to. Place them on baking sheets lined parchment or wax paper, cover with a clean tea towel and put in a warm spot to rise for about 1.5 hours.

When the donuts look like they have about doubled in size, heat up vegetable or canola oil in a sauce pan to 375 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer you can test the temperature with one of your donut holes. It should immediately rise to the surface when introduced to the oil. While the oil is heating up, combine your glaze ingredients in a medium size bowl so it’s ready for your donuts when they come out of the oil.

Fry the donuts in small batches, keeping a close eye on them. When you see they have browned on the bottom, flip them with a fork or spatula and cook on the other side. My donuts cooked extremely quickly here at altitude, so it can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 1.5 minutes, just watch them closely. After they are browned on both sides, take them out of the fryer and put them on paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Then, immediately dip them on both sides in the glaze. This will give them that nice shine. Let them drain on a rack so the excess glaze can drip down. Enjoy immediately and try not to eat them all at once.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Waffles

On By sarafillmerIn Breakfast, Cookies, DessertLeave a comment

delish-chocolate-chip-cookie-waffles-pinterest-still002-1581106468This recipe is so extra I won’t be making it very often, but with that said, it was such a fun and unique treat for my kids. It’s basically a chocolate chip cookie cooked in a waffle maker and topped with ice cream. They are extremely filling so don’t be upset if you have to split one.

  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until incorporated. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until just combined, then stir in milk. Stir in chocolate chips. Heat waffle iron according to manufacturer’s instructions on high and grease with cooking spray. Add about ½ cup of batter to center of waffle iron and cook until golden and cooked through, 2 minutes. Serve topped with ice cream and melted chocolate.

Blueberry Crumble

On By sarafillmerIn Breakfast, Dessert, Gluten-FreeLeave a comment

downloadI found this recipe on Pinterest when I was looking for recipes that would use up my almond meal. I really liked how simple it was and it came out very similarly to a baked oatmeal so it could be used for breakfast as well.

  • 1 cup oats
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/3 maple syrup or honey
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat your oven to 350. Put your blueberries in a greased 8×8 pan. In a medium size bowl combine the rest of the ingredients and stir until fully combined. Pour your topping over the blueberries and bake for 35 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping.

 

Blueberry Banana Bread

On By sarafillmerIn Bread, BreakfastLeave a comment

blueberry-bread-recipe-3I recently bought myself a just because present of one of my favorite food bloggers cookbook. Shelly Jaronsky, aka cookiesandcups.com, is one of my go-to bloggers for a recipe that is sure to be a hit. In her cookbook she has a recipe for toffee-speckled banana bread, but since I had fresh blueberries I needed to use up I subbed them in instead. I also added a crumb topping because it makes everything better.

Bread:

  • 1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas, about 3 large extra-ripe
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup blueberries, slightly tossed in flour

Crumb Topping:

  • 1/3 stick butter, melted
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray. If you want you can also the the pan with parchment paper to make it easier to take out, which might be a good idea because of the crumb topping. In your mixer, mix the butter and sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the milk, eggs, and vanilla and continue mixing until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Add the mashed banana, baking powder and salt and mix until well combined. Turn the speed to low and mix in the flour until just combined. Finally, stir in the blueberries.  Spread the batter in the pan and then mix together your topping ingredients and pour them on top. Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick comes out clean. For me it was a little closer to 70 minutes. Let it cool in the pan for about 30 minutes, then store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.