Pancakes

When I was a teenager, I would occasionally have to watch my baby sisters. My mom would tell me that I would have to cook them supper. I knew how to cook but I didn't. I have three younger sisters. (I still tell my Mom that I am an only child.) My sister who is over a year younger than me would cook all the time. So, I didn't. When I would ask my baby sisters what they wanted for supper, they would tell me cereal. Why argue with them? Cereal is great! My kitchen always has a minimum of five different boxes of cereal at a time. 

Growing up, there was one food I really liked to cook and it was pancakes. My youngest daughter has inherited my love for pancakes. I normally do not order pancakes for breakfast if we eat out. I like my pancakes better. 

Silver Dollar Pancakes

 Pancakes

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 egg
2 Tbsp butter, melted
vegetable oil or butter to coat the skillet

Directions:

1. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients.
3. Add the buttermilk and mix just to combine.
4. Add the egg and still a few times just to combine.
5. Add the melted butter and mix just to combine. Don't over mix.
6. Set the batter aside.
7. Heat a skillet on medium to medium low heat.
8. Add oil or butter to the skillet.
9. Scope about 1/3 cup of batter into the pan for regular size pancakes. Scope about 1/8 cup of batter into the pan to make silver dollar pancakes.
10. Once the batter starts to form bubbles, flip the pancake. Cook about one minute and serve.

Recipe adapted from Katy's Kitchen originally from Pastry Queen.

 Did you already know............................
-In the past, buttermilk was the liquid left over after milk was made into butter.
-Today, dairies usually adds lactic acid to low fat milk to produce buttermilk.
-Buttermilk is low in fat and calories.
-To help with digestive problems, buttermilk is said to be a better choice than milk because of the lactic acid and it is quicker to digest.

Cranberry Scones

What is your favorite juice? Is it the popular orange juice? My son will pick cranberry juice over orange juice. To tell the truth I would too. Since it is so close to Thanksgiving, it is so easy to find fresh cranberries.

Tea anyone?

Talking about Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my family. After I had my oldest daughter, it was almost ten years before my youngest daughter arrived. I recently asked her why she made me wait ten years before entering my life. She looked at me and smiled. She told me that she was up there (as she glanced upwards) and she was really busy helping people out (in heaven) but once she was done she rushed right to me. Is that not the cutest answer? I can see her helping people out since she is very thoughtful.

If you are having guest arrive for the holidays, this is a great recipe to prepare for breakfast one cold morning. They can be made prior to your guest arriving and be frozen until needed. 

Cranberry Scones 2 Tbsp grated lemon zest
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp sugar for the cranberries and additional for the top
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1¼ cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a small bowl, toss the chopped cranberries and the 3 Tbsp of sugar.
4. In a food processor, combine lemon zest, flour, ½ cup of sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pulse about 5 times.
5. Add the butter and pulse about 8-10 times until it looks like course crumbs. 
6. Add the egg, egg yolk, and heavy cream to the flour mixture.
7. Pulse about 10 times.
8. Generously flour working surface.
9. Add the dough to the flour working surface and form a ball.
10. Using a 2½ inch round biscuit cutter, scoop some dough into the cutter to form a 1 inch scone.
11. Repeat with the remaining dough about 3 inches apart. ***
12. Sprinkle the top of the scones with sugar.
13. Bake the scones for about 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown.

***Place the baking sheet in freezer about 30 minutes or until frozen. Transfer the frozen scones to a freezer storage bag until ready to use. When ready to use, continue with direction 12 but bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats and originally from Gourmet.

Did you already know.............
-Scones can be found in the 1513 Oxford English Dictionary.
-Scones are usually associated with Scotland, Ireland and England.
-English plain scones are often eaten with jam, preserves, lemon curd or honey, or clotted cream.
-Dried fruit scones and other flavored scones are usually enjoyed without butter or jam.

I enjoy my scones plain or with a little butter and of course tea!

Ultimate Streusel Cake with Streusel Filling

By making breakfast on Sunday night, it makes Monday (maybe Tuesday) mornings a little easier. I am ashamed to say I am popping a frozen mini waffles into the toaster on Fridays. My neighbors have witnessed my children eating them on the way to the bus stop. What shame! 

Do you have any tips to make Monday mornings a little less hectic?

Ultimate Streusel Cake with Streusel Filling
(Makes 1 ten inch cake)

Streusel Filling:
 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups of chopped almonds
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

Cake:
2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
10 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream

Icing:
2 1/2 cups of powder sugar
1/4 cup milk

Additional powder sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease the Bundt pan. (I used the wrappers from the two sticks of butter.)
3. Combine all the ingredients of the streusel filling together. (Note: the original recipe called for pecans but I wasn't going to make a special trip to the store since I had almonds. You could omit all nuts, if preferred.)
4. Store streusel filling in refrigerator until needed.
5. In another bowl to make the cake, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
6. In a third bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (Since I was complaining about all the bowls, I mixed the butter-sugar by hand but you can use a mixer.)
7. Once the butter-sugar is well combined, add the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. Mix until just combined.
8. Add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix until just combine.
9. Spoon half of the batter into the Bundt pan. Top with two thirds of the streusel filling.
10. Spoon the rest of the batter into the Bundt pan covering the streusel filling.
11. Top with the remaining streusel filling.
12. Bake until golden brown and cake tester comes out clean, about an hour. (My streusel filling was looking dark around 45 minutes so I covered with foil.
13. Transfer cake to wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes (or overnight).
14. When the cake is cooled enough, remove cake from pan.
15. In a medium bowl, prepare the icing by mixing the powder sugar and milk until well combined. Drizzle over cake.
16. Dust with powder sugar.

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living 2002 Annual Recipes.

I recommend serve with coffee or tea for the adults. One time, we were visiting my father-in-law and the children wanted ice cream. Well, the only ice cream happen to be espresso ice cream. As you can imagine, our children were crazy. They could not stop bouncing. I kept saying the children never act like this then it dawned on us our mistake. Please learn from my lesson I recommend milk for the children or you may get a call from the teacher.