Bagels

I adore bagels, they are one of the few breakfast foods that I actually enjoy. But I am very particular in how I like to enjoy my bagels. They have to be lightly toasted with just butter. No spreads, no schmears, no toppings. Plain toasted bagels with butter. Since I am so simple in my tastes, the bagels have to be quite spectacular. And this recipe, adapted from Sophisticated Gourmet, does not disappoint.  Miss F had so much fun trying to shape the bagels, she wasn't always successful, but she sure enjoyed trying to make the perfect circles.  Miss F is also a purist like I am, she has been enjoying a plain bagel with butter each morning for breakfast.  But she doesn't like them toasted...or even sliced!

Bagels

1 ¼ cups warm water
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 ½ cups bread flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons cornmeal

Add ½ cup of the water to the bowl of a stand mixer, stir in the sugar and then sprinkle the yeast over top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add the flour and salt, then the remaining ¾ cup of water. Mix until well combined. Using the dough hook, knead the dough for 10 minutes at medium-low speed. Shape the dough into a ball, cover with a towel, place in a warm spot and allow it to rise for 1 hour.

Punch down the dough and let rest for 10 minutes more. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, shape each into a round ball. Gently press your finger into the center of each dough ball and form a ring, stretching each one until there is about a ½ inch hole. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

While the dough is resting, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and lightly dust a baking sheet with the corn meal.

Reduce the boiling water heat to medium, using a slotted spoon, add the bagels to the water. Simmer for 2 minutes and flip over each bagel and simmer for 2 minutes more. Place the boiled bagels onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.

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Overnight Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls

I made crockpot creamy TexMex chicken and was left with four ounces of cream cheese. I am not a huge eater of plain cream cheese, so I knew it had to be baked into something. Miss F and I decided to make my favorite overnight cinnamon rolls, but instead of their usual icing, we topped them with massive dollops of cream cheese icing. Delicious. Our family ate nearly the whole pan on Sunday morning.  There were only two left, which Miss F claimed for herself for breakfast during the week.  The cream cheese frosting makes these decadent treats even richer and even more delicious. I don't know that I will ever make the plain icing ever again.

Overnight Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls

2/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 ½ teaspoons yeast
1/3 cup white sugar
3 cups flour
¾ teaspoon salt
2 eggs

½ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 ½ cup confectioners' sugar

Heat the milk in a small saucepan just until it begins to bubble, remove from the heat. Swirl in the butter until melted.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the milk mixture. Add the sugar, 2 cups of the flour, salt and eggs; stir well to combine. Add the remaining flour a ½ cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Knead for 5 minutes using the dough hook of the stand mixer.

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 10x10 inch square. Lightly brush the far edge with water. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and brown sugar, sprinkle over the prepared dough. Roll up the dough into a log and seal the seam. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and place into a greased 9 inch cake pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, while the oven is heating, let the prepared rolls rise on the countertop. Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. While the rolls are baking, cream together the cream cheese with the confectioners’ sugar, adding the sugar in ½ cup portions. Spoon the frosting over the baked rolls and serve warm.

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Pumpkin Pancakes

Miss F is now a pro at making her own breakfast, as long as there are leftover pancakes or waffles in the refrigerator, she is set to go.  It makes mornings really easy on me and she loves feeling a bit independent.  She has always loved anything with cinnamon.  I can make her plain oatmeal and as long as there is a sprinkle of cinnamon, she will gobble it all up.  These pancakes couldn't be any easier and they are great for using up leftover pumpkin from fall baking.  This recipe is from All Recipes.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 ¼ cups flour
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup milk
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin, egg and oil together. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture; stir until just combined. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium high heat, grease the skillet with shortening. Drop ¼ cup of batter onto the heated skillet and cook until bubbles form. Flip and cook 1 minute more. Repeat with the remaining batter and server warm.

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Baked Chocolate Frosted Doughnuts

I usually have a large container of plain Greek yogurt laying around. One of my most favorite things to have for lunch is Naan with a huge bowl to Tzatziki. I could live on that stuff.  Miss F loves making baked doughnuts in the summertime, when our mornings are a little more lazy than the madness going on during the school year.  I am not sure I will ever bake a doughnut without Greek yogurt again.  They were amazing.  Truly amazing.   The recipe is title "Best Baked Doughnuts" on Back for Seconds and that isn't a lie.  They are truly the best.  And healthy because protein...right?  HA!

Baked Chocolate Frosted Doughnuts

1 ½ cups flour
½ cup brown sugar (packed)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch salt
1 egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
¼ cup milk
2/3 cups plain greek yogurt
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips
¼ cup milk
sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a two cup measure, whisk together the egg, butter, milk, yogurt and vanilla. Gently stir the wet ingredients into bowl with the dry ingredients until combined. Fill a greased doughnut pan ¾ full with batter and bake for 9 to 12 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes.

Heat the milk in a shallow microwave safe bowl for 60 seconds. Add the chocolate chips and let sit for 1 minute, stir until smooth. Dip the cooled doughnuts into the chocolate and then top with sprinkles.

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Easy Belgian Waffles

Last week my phone rang at 6 am on a Monday.  Which is quite strange in itself, but even more so because it actually rang, I usually turn my ringer off at night.  It was a message from Miss F's school cancelling classes, Houston was under water.  C attempted to get to work, but didn't make it very far before having to turn around and head back home.  I decided to treat everyone to fresh waffles since we were going to have a long day stuck indoors.  This recipe is great because you don't have to separate the eggs, which makes it incredibly easy.  It is adapted from All Recipes.

Easy Belgian Waffles

2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 ¾ cups milk
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the Belgian waffle iron. Beat the eggs in the bowl of the stand mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour, milk, oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla extract just until smooth. Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray and fill each well with two ice cream dishers (about a half cup) worth of batter. Close the waffle iron and let cook for 5 minutes. Check to see if the waffles are golden brown, if not, cook for 1 minute more. Serve with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

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Lemon Sticky Buns with Cream Cheese Glaze

These sticky buns are absolutely heavenly. I usually always prefer a cinnamon roll, but these may just change my mind. I cannot wait to try the dough out with a cinnamon filling instead of the lemon, but I think I will be making these lemon sticky rolls quite often at our house. I adapted the recipe from Mel's Kitchen Café, mainly omitting the zest because I don't prefer it and changing to an overnight rise in the refrigerator so it wouldn't take hours in the morning to eat them.  These rolls were perfection.  Complete and total perfection.

Lemon Sticky Buns with Cream Cheese Glaze

½ cup buttermilk, warm
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons yeast
¾ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

Filling:
4 tablespoons butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Icing:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar

Whisk together the buttermilk and butter together in a liquid measuring cup. In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, stir together 2 cups of the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. With the mixer running at low speed, add the buttermilk and eggs; mix for 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium, add the remaining flour a little at a time until it is entirely incorporated. Knead the dough for 5 to 6 minutes at medium speed. Cover the bowl and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Grease a 9-inch cake pan and set aside. Roll the dough into a 12-inch square and spread the softened butter over the square of dough. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar, sprinkle over the softened butter. Roll up the dough and pinch at the seams to seal. Cut the roll into 8 equal pieces and place them in the greased cake pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is preheating, remove the rolls from the refrigerator. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly golden. While the rolls are baking, whisk together the cream cheese, lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Spread the icing on the warm lemon rolls, serve.

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Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

Now that Miss F is home for the summer, there is more time in the morning for making breakfast. One of her favorite breakfasts, besides the breakfast tacos her dad makes, is pancakes. She loves them, but refuses maple syrup. She prefers to dip them in chocolate syrup. She will also dip the bacon from her breakfast tacos in the chocolate syrup.  This is a great time of year for berries and we had a gorgeous pint of blueberries that were perfect for pancakes.  This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

1 ¼ cups flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon coarse salt
1 ½ cups buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 ½ cups blueberries

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. In a two cup measure, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and butter. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour until just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat, grease it with shortening. Scoop ¼ cup of batter for each pancake into the skillet. Cook until bubbles form in the batter, then flip over and cook the other side for 1 to 2 minutes more. Serve immediately.

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Meyer Lemon Sweet Rolls

This is a winter adaption for my most favorite easy overnight cinnamon rolls. My mom brought me a ton of meyer lemons, so meyer lemon sweet rolls were born. I am not usually a breakfast fan, unless I am eating dinner for breakfast, but I was happy to indulge in one of these sweet rolls in the morning.  Miss F loves lemons, she takes a lemon wedge in her school water bottle every day.  She wished that these were tarter, so I may make them again with regular lemons next time to appease her.  She said they were too sweet for her taste, what a fancy six year old!

Meyer Lemon Sweet Rolls

2/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 ½ teaspoons yeast
1/3 cup white sugar
3 cups flour
¾ teaspoon salt
2 eggs

½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons fresh meyer lemon juice

¾ cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon fresh meyer lemon juice

Heat the milk in a small saucepan just until it begins to bubble, remove from the heat. Swirl in the butter until melted.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the milk mixture. Add the sugar, 2 cups of the flour, salt and eggs; stir well to combine. Add the remaining flour a ½ cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Knead for 5 minutes using the dough hook of the stand mixer.

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 10x10 inch square. Lightly brush the far edge with water. In a small bowl combine the sugar, butter and lemon juice; sprinkle over the prepared dough. Roll up the dough into a log and seal the seam. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and place into a greased 9 inch cake pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, while the oven is heating, let the prepared rolls rise on the countertop. Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. While the rolls are baking, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle the glaze over the baked rolls and serve warm.

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Chocolate Ganache Doughnuts

My doughnut pan gets used a lot. I rationalize it because I am baking instead of frying doughnuts.  But that all goes out the window when you dipped the baked doughnuts in a rich chocolate ganache.  Miss F was in charge of the chocolate dipping and I think she did an amazing job.  She did lick the ganache coated spoon and declared that these doughnuts didn't even need sprinkles.  She loves to put sprinkles on everything, so that is saying a lot.  Feel free to add sprinkles or any other candy topper, but these doughnuts are standouts on their own.  Miss F had two.

Chocolate Ganache Doughnuts

1 cup flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg
½ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup chocolate chips
3 tablespoons cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the doughnut pan with cooking spray.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a two cup measure, whisk together the butter, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stir until just incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the prepared doughnut pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Let the doughnuts cool on a wire rack.

In a shallow bowl, add the chocolate chips and cream. Microwave for 45 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds. Stir until all the chips are melted and the ganache is smooth. Dip the doughnuts into the ganache and let set.

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Strawberry Sour Cream Pancakes

We once again headed to Froberg Farms this year and came home with three buckets of strawberries. I made a ton of strawberry jam, ate them sliced over ice cream and of course, served them up for breakfast. Strawberry pancakes are my favorite kind of pancakes, especially when they are overflowing with juicy, ripe strawberries.  Miss F dipped hers in chocolate syrup, but I enjoyed mine plain.  The strawberries were so sweet and delicious, there was no need for syrup.  I still have a lot of strawberries left, probably destined for strawberry cream cheese muffins.  I adapted this recipe from the Pioneer Woman.

Strawberry Sour Cream Pancakes

½ cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup chopped strawberries
shortening

Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium heat.

Stir the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl, then stir in the sour cream. Whisk together the eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl , stir into the flour-sour cream mixture. Gently fold in the strawberries.

Grease the pan lightly with shortening. Using a ice cream scoop, dish the batter onto the prepared pan. Cook until bubble form across the surface of the pancake, about 2 minutes. Flip them over and cook a minute or two more. Serve.

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Raspberry Lemon Scones

So I was lucky enough to spend five spectacular days in Aspen with some of my best girlfriends. C came home to watch Miss F for part of the trip, but for the rest of the time, Miss F stayed with my mom and dad. And I knew I wanted to bring a baked good of some sort as a thank you. My mom loves scones and she adores raspberries and lemon, so I adapted the blackberry lemon scone recipe from the amazing Confections of a Foodie Bride.  Miss F was a super helper with these and she was quite proud of her creation.  And my dad informed me that they enjoyed them for breakfast every day while I was gone.

Raspberry Lemon Scones

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Juice of 1 lemon
¾ to 1 ½ cups buttermilk
6 ounces fresh raspberries
1 egg
2 teaspoons water
2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt on low speed. With mixer running, gradually add cubes of butter until the mixture is crumbly and studded with flour-butter bits about the size of small peas. Add lemon juice and ¾ cup of the buttermilk. Mix by hand just until all ingredients are incorporated. If dough is too dry to hold together, use remaining buttermilk, adding a couple tablespoons at a time, until dough is pliable and can be formed into a ball. Stir as lightly and as little as possible to ensure a lighter-textured scone. Remove dough from bowl and place it on a lightly floured flat surface. Pat dough into a rectangle. Using a well-floured rolling pin, flatten dough into a rectangle about 12x8 inches. Spread half of the fresh raspberries over the long of the dough and fold the short half over onto the top of the raspberries. Press the remaining raspberries into the dough. Cut into 8 triangles. Whisk egg and water in a small mixing bowl to combine. Brush each wedge with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Place scones on a Silpat-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and no longer sticky in the middle.

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Easy Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

I got a bee in my bonnet to make cinnamon rolls, but most of the recipes would require me to wake up around 4 am in order to eat them for breakfast. And cinnamon rolls for dinner just doesn't work for me. Maybe as dessert, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to cut the richness.  I originally read Alton Brown's recipe for overnight cinnamon rolls, but they had a morning proof, which meant I would have to wake at 6 am, which is still unacceptable.  These rolls have the same silly shaped as the Pillsbury pop n serve rolls because they are baked in a round cake tin.  But they taste so much better.  And unlike the Pillsbury rolls, I can eat one and be completely satisfied.  I think C can eat the entire pan of the Pillsbury ones and I could probably eat half.  This recipe is adapted from AllRecipes.

Easy Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

2/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 ½ teaspoons yeast
1/3 cup white sugar
3 cups flour
¾ teaspoon salt
2 eggs

½ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Heat the milk in a small saucepan just until it begins to bubble, remove from the heat. Swirl in the butter until melted.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the milk mixture. Add the sugar, 2 cups of the flour, salt and eggs; stir well to combine. Add the remaining flour a ½ cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Knew for 5 minutes using the dough hook of the stand mixer.

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 10x10 inch square. Lightly brush the far edge with water. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and brown sugar, sprinkle over the prepared dough. Roll up the dough into a log and seal the seam. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and place into a greased 9 inch cake pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, while the oven is heating, let the prepared rolls rise on the countertop. Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. While the rolls are baking, combine the corn syrup with the vanilla in a small bowl. Whisk in the powdered sugar and enough milk to make a thick glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the baked rolls and serve warm.

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Lemon Yogurt Pancakes

Miss F loves pancakes and anything lemon flavored, so I knew these pancakes from Two Peas and Their Pod would be a big hit. Miss F doesn't like syrup on her pancakes, but she does like dipping them in yogurt. This recipe was perfect for that because there was just enough yogurt left in the cup for her to dip her pancakes into. She loved them, she ate three at one sitting. I have never understood the need to add poppy seed to anything with a lemon flavor. They just get stuck in your teeth and don't add anything flavor wise, so I omitted them. We made these pancakes with Meyer lemon juice from my mom's tree. I love citrus season!

Lemon Yogurt Pancakes

1 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
½ cup plain or lemon Greek yogurt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 eggs
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. In a two cup measure, whisk together the yogurt, milk, lemon juice, eggs, oil and vanilla. Pour the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir together until just combined.

Heat a large griddle over medium-high heat. Grease with shortening or cooking spray. Use a large ice cream scoop or ¼ cup measure to dish the pancakes onto the griddle. Cook the pancakes a couple minutes a side, until golden.

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Recipe Swap: Churro Pancakes

The theme of this month's recipe swap is blogger's choice, which is always one of my favorites. I was even happier to discover I got The Barbee Housewife for the swap, seeing as she is one of my favorite bloggers. I really enjoyed going through her blog and selecting a recipe, but I was drawn instantly to Churro Pancakes. We go to Disneyland/World often. By last calculation, Miss F and I have spent over 30 days in the parks over the last year. We had the Premier Passports and we really got our money's worth. One of Miss F's favorite shows is the Monsters Inc Laugh Factory. The audience is always included and at some point during the show they pick out a guy to buy Churros for everyone. These pancakes were quite a treat for Miss F. Because they use Bisquick, they come together quickly enough to be a before school breakfast. Miss F was probably telling Churro jokes all day long at school. Be sure to check out the links below for more great recipes.

Churro Pancakes

2 cups Bisquick
1 cup milk
2 eggs
shortening
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted

In a medium bowl, whisk together the Bisquick, milk and eggs.

Heat a shortening greased skillet over medium heat.

While the skillet is heating up, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.

Use a ¼ cup measure to pour the batter onto the heated skillet. Flip after a minute or two, until the pancake is golden brown. Remove to a plate after a minute more.

Brush the butter onto the warm pancakes, then dip in the cinnamon sugar. Serve.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Blueberry Yogurt Waffles

C requested waffles and bacon for Father's Day breakfast. I had blueberries on hand and a ton of yogurt. Since I was making bacon, I didn't want to fuss with my usual blueberry waffle recipe since it involves separating eggs and all that nonsense. I did some googling and decided to adapt a recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod. This was the easiest waffle recipe I have ever made. And the waffles turned out beautifully. Miss F dipped hers in chocolate syrup since she was distraught that I didn't have any cream to whip to top her waffles. Luckily, bacon made it all better. And she dipped the bacon in chocolate syrup as well.

Blueberry Yogurt Waffles

¼ cup sugar
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 ¾ cup flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup blueberries

Preheat the waffle iron. Whisk together the sugar, yogurt, milk and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the flour, baking powder and baking soda until combined. Fold in the melted butter and blueberries. Grease the waddle iron with cooking spray. Fill the waffle iron with the batter, cook until crisp. Serve.

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Recipe Swap: Gingerbread Pancakes

I knew instantly what recipe I wanted to make for this week's Blogger's Choice Swap. I had already bookmarked The Redhead Baker's Gingerbread Pancakes to make over the holidays. Miss F is semi-obsessed with gingerbread and she was so excited to eat these pancakes. They are perfectly spiced and completely delicious. I did double the milk from the original recipe, which is more on par with the ratios I usually use in pancake recipes. Be sure to check out all the recipes my fello bloggers chose to re-create for this week's swap.

Gingerbread Pancakes

1 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
⅛ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 large egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons molasses

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, all spice, cinnamon and cloves. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the egg, milk and molasses. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.

Preheat a griddle over medium heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Drop spoonfuls of the batter onto the griddle and cook until lightly browned. Flip with a spatula and cook until lightly browned. Serve warm with butter and maple syrup.

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Apple Cider Waffles

I always serve hot apple cider at Thanksgiving, but it always leaves me with a small amount leftover that I usually use in pancakes. This year C and Miss F requested waffles the morning after Thanksgiving, how they were hungry, I have no idea. I googled apple cider waffles and came upon this recipe from Stephanie Cooks, which had been adapted by my cider pancake recipe. Small world! These waffles are fantastic and I was thrilled not to have to use club soda or separate any eggs when I made them.

Apple Cider Waffles

1 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 cup apple cider

In a mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir well. Beat in the egg, oil, milk, and cider. Set aside and let stand 5 minutes while heating your waffle iron. Spray the waffle iron and cook according to waffle iron directions.

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Recipe Swap: Chocolate Doughnuts

The theme of this recipe swap was a secret recipe swap. Each blogger was given a fellow blogger to swap with and you were able to choose any recipe you wanted from their blog to make. I selected baked chocolate doughnuts from The Cookaholic Wife. It had been awhile since I had used my doughnut pan and Miss F was off school for spring break. So we had lots of mornings to make breakfast together. She is in charge of pouring, stirring and sprinkling while I handle the rest. These doughnuts are nearly guilt free, using whole wheat flour, applesauce and just one tablespoon of oil. I did need to adapt the chocolate glaze recipe because the chocolate seized up when I added corn syrup to it as called for in her recipe.

Chocolate Doughnuts

1 cup whole-wheat flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons applesauce (unsweetened)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup chocolate chips
2 teaspoons vegetable shortening
sprinkles, optional

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Grease a non-stick doughnut pan with cooking spray.

In a medium sized bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add the milk, egg, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Stir until combined well. Fill each doughnut a little over halfway with batter and bake for 7 minutes. Let doughnuts rest in the pan for 2-3 minutes and gently remove them from the pan to a cooling rack.

For the chocolate glaze, place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and melt at 30 second intervals, stirring after each until the chocolate has melted. Stir in the shortening until smooth. Swirl each doughnut into the chocolate glaze and then top with sprinkles if desired.

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Sour Cream Waffles

My most favorite pancakes involve a lot of sour cream. The thing is, I don't really enjoy sour cream. Not in dips, not on a baked potato, it just isn't my thing. But when you stir it into baked breakfast goods...it transforms them into something so fluffy and delicious. My usual waffle recipe involves separating eggs, beating the egg whites and folding them in. The kitchen looks like a disaster after I make them and I have dirtied upwards of seven bowls. This recipe is adapted from Alton Brown and it is SO much easier. And the waffles are SO much better. I cannot wait to try them with different additions.

Sour Cream Waffles

1 cup whole milk
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch kosher salt

Heat waffle iron. Combine wet ingredients and whisk well to combine. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl and form a well in the center. Add the wet mixture to the well and fold in with the dry. Don't worry if there are a few lumps. When iron is hot, spray lightly with non-stick spray. Spoon ½ to ¾ cup of batter onto the center of the iron and cook until a golden brown crust forms, about 3 to 5 minutes.

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Apple Cider Pancakes

Every Thanksgiving, I serve warm apple cider. I keep it in the crockpot, simmering all day long with cinnamon sticks and apple slices. Whether it is cold outside or not, I always have a cup or two. The morning after Thanksgiving I was faced with a lot of leftover cider and a hungry crew. I did some googling and came across this recipe for Apple Cider Pancakes. I changed it up a bit, omitting the apples and substituting applesauce for oil. The batter is runnier that what I am used to cooking with, so my first batch looked less than perfect. Once I got the hang of it, they turned out beautifully. The apple flavor is not overwhelming, but it adds a nice sweetness.

Apple Cider Pancakes

1 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup milk
1 cup apple cider
Shortening for greasing the pan

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, applesauce and milk. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and then add in cider. Stir until just incorporated and a few lumps remain. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brush with shortening. Pour batter onto skillet by 1/4 cupfuls into circles. Cook pancakes until large bubbles begin to appear on the surface, 2 to 3 minutes, then flip carefully and cook until bottom side is golden brown, about 2 minutes longer. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing pan with shortening as needed.

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