Tag Archives: brunch

Apple Cinnamon Bites.

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Jey| 20 Comments

One of my favorite things about September is the abundance of apples everywhere.  Each year, we pack up the car and drive about an hour and a half to our favorite little orchard and farmstand where we pick apples straight from the trees, take a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch, drink cider and eat cinnamon sugar covered donuts to our hearts’ delight.  To me, it is the absolute signification that Fall is truly here.

This year, however, September seems to have gotten away from us and we have yet to make the trip out to the orchard.  I know we’ll get there eventually, but I’d hate to have a repeat of last year where we waited too long and the trees were picked bare.  It’s just not as much fun to dig for apples in a giant bin.

So in order to get my apple fix before we head to the orchard, I found a great recipe for Apple Cinnamon Bites from Everyday Insanity, another blog that participates in the Secret Recipe Club.  Unfortunately, the blogger who was assigned Cindy’s blog didn’t follow through, and when our fearless leader Amanda emailed me looking for a volunteer, I jumped at the chance to make sure that Cindy wasn’t abandoned during today’s group’s reveal.   She’s been making these for over 32 years, and that’s a sure sign that they would be nothing but delicious.

And they were!  I had just happened to pick up a couple of Honeycrisp apples at the market and was super excited to try to replicate just a bit of the goodness we are so used to while tiding us over until we get to the orchard.  I was really intrigued by her method of making the dough in the food processor instead of the stand mixer and found it was another great way to create tasty treats.  The Husby walked into the kitchen just as I had finished topping the bites with the cinnamon sugar and when I turned back around, 3 of them had disappeared.  And I may have have a few of them myself before I could snap a picture.  I’m pretty sure they’ll be gone before tomorrow morning.

Apple Cinnamon Bites – slightly adapted from Everyday Insanity

  • 1 1/2 Cups Flour
  • 1 3/4 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • 1/3 Cup Butter, cold
  • 1 Egg
  • 1/3 Cup Milk
  • 1/4 Cup Apple Cider
  • 2 Small Honeycrisp Apples, shredded
  • Melted Butter
  • 1/3 Cup Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sugar in a food processor.  Process for 30 seconds, then add butter and process again another 10 seconds.

Mix together the egg, milk, apple cider and shredded apple then add to the processor and process for 10 seconds.

Scoop a small spoonful of batter into each muffin tin and bake for 12-14 minutes.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl then dip each muffin top into melted butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.



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Recipe Swap: Strawberry Pancakes.

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Jey| 1 Comment

This week’s recipe swap theme was Breakfast… My favorite meal of the day!

I usually lean towards savory breakfast dishes, but every once in a while so it was nice to be able to add a sweet meal to my repertoire.  I made just a couple of substitutions from the recipe.  I picked up some fresh strawberries (first of the season!) from the farmer’s market and made a puree instead of slicing them so that there would be bits of strawberry in every bite.  I also substituted lime zest for the orange zest because a) I didn’t have an orange and b) strawberries and limes are a delicious flavor combination.

Thanks to Cathy for a great recipe!

Strawberry Pancakes – adapted from Cathy’s Kitchen Journey

  • 2 Cups Strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
  • 3 Tbsp. Sugar
  • Juice of 1 Lime
  • 1 1/2 Cups Flour
  • 1 Tbsp. Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1 Tbsp. Lime Zest
  • 1 1/2 Cup Buttermilk
  • 2 Eggs
  • 3 Tbsp. Butter
  • 1/2 tsp. Vanilla

In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries, sugar and lime juice.  Allow to macerate for 15 minutes, then place the mixture into a blender and puree.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lime zest.  Stir to combine.

In a medium bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs, butter, vanilla and 1 cup of the strawberry puree and whisk together.  Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Spray a skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium.  When hot, spoon batter into rounds (1/4 cup will give you about a 6 inch round).  Once the batter puffs up and begins to bubble, flip over and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes on the first side and 1 minute on the other.  Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.  Repeat until you run out of batter.

Top with the remaining puree.

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Baked Eggs in Puff Pastry.

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Jey| 9 Comments

We take Sunday Brunch quite seriously in this house.  Most weeks, we go out to one of the many delightful breakfast places in our neighborhood but some of the time, I really enjoy spending a lazy Sunday in my jammies and taking my time to make an excellent morning/early afternoon meal.

This one certainly didn’t disappoint.  It was great served with a side of potatoes and bottomless mimosas :)   See, it really is just like going out… and I didn’t even have to get dressed!

Baked Eggs in Puff Pastry – slightly adapted from I Will Not Eat Oysters

  • 2 Sheets Frozen Puff Pastry, thawed
  • 1 1/2 Cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded
  • 3 Slices Center Cut Bacon
  • 4 Eggs
  • 2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese, grated
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste
  • Parsley, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp.  Remove from pan and place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.  Once cooled, crumble and set aside.

Unroll the puff pastry and cut out 2 circles on each sheet that are about 5 inches in diameter (I used a wide mouthed plastic cup to do this).  Transfer to the parchment lined baking sheet and, without cutting all the way through, make a 1/2 inch border around each circle.  Prick the inner circle with a fork a few times and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Remove from refrigerator and add bacon and cheese to the inner circles of each puff pastry disc.  Bake for 8 minutes, until the border has risen.  Remove from oven and ,using the back of a spoon, press the centers back down gently if necessary.

Break one egg into a small bowl, then pour into the center of the puff pastry plate.  Repeat with each egg/plate.  Season with salt, pepper and parmesan cheese.

Bake for an addition 6-7 minutes until the eggs are set and the puff pastry is golden brown.  Garnish with parsley.

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Lemon-Basil Blueberry Muffin Top Cookies.

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Jey| Leave a comment

Hi, my name is Jey and I am addicted to these cookies.  Holy deliciousness.  There are no other words to describe these muffin top cookies.  Seriously, stop whatever it is you are doing right now and go make them!  I promise you won’t regret it.

I made these cookies for playgroup, and the three other mamas and I finished off the entire batch (oops!).  They went so quickly, I had to take my picture right then so that I could put the rest of the cookies out, hence the tiny fingers.  I managed to save one for the Husby and he moaned and asked why I didn’t make more.

They’re light and fluffy and reminded me more of a muffin top than an actual cookie.  The lemony-basily glaze was a perfect topping.  I think I held back a bit too much on the basil as it was not as prominent of a flavor as I was expecting it to be, so on the second batch I’m already planning on making this weekend, I’ll definitely be adding a bit more.

Wait, why are you still reading this?  Invite some friends over (trust me, you’ll want to do this in order to have some sort of portion control) and get to baking!

Lemon-Basil Blueberry Muffin Top Cookies – adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

  • 1 1/2 Cups Flour
  • Zest of 2 Lemons, 1 1/2 Tbsp. reserved
  • 3 Large Leaves of Fresh Basil, finely chopped, 1 Tbsp. reserved
  • 1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1/4 tsp. Salt
  • 6 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 Cup Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
  • 1/3 Cup Buttermilk
  • 1 Cup Blueberries (I used frozen, but by all means use fresh if available)
  • Confectioner’s Sugar (Powdered Sugar)
  • Juice from about 1/2 Lemon

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.  In a small bowl, add sugar, lemon zest and basil and rub together with your fingers until well combined in order to bring out the flavor of the lemon and basil.

Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until creamy.  Add the sugar mixture and beat again until fluffy.  Add the eff and vanilla, then turn the mixer down to low.  Slowly add in the flour mixture and buttermilk, alternating in batches beginning with 1/3 of the flour, then 1/2 of the buttermilk, 1/3 of the flour, the other half of the buttermilk, then the rest of the flour.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Fold in blueberries.

Using a cookie scoop or a leveled tablespoon, drop dough onto the baking sheet, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between cookies.

Bake each sheet for 12 minutes.  Cool for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cookie rack.

Whisk together confectioner’s sugar, lemon juice and reserved lemon zest and basil until you reach your desired consistency and flavor.  Drizzle on top of the cookies.

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