Back in the Day Biscones

I recently came across this cookbook on instagram and couldn't be more tickled that I did.

It's a gem.

Great recipes, great tips and they've all been delicious!

Last week I started at the beginning of the book and went through all the recipes I wanted to try. I ended up with quite a few but first on my list (well, after already having made the chocolate chip cookies and blueberry muffins) were Biscones.

What, pray tell is a biscone? A cross between a biscuit and a scone, of course! 

Loaded with lots of delicious butter and buttermilk.

These were light, tender and oh so very good!

Buttermilk Biscones

from The Back In the Day Bakery Cookbook

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbs baking powder, preferably aluminum free

3/4 tsp fine sea salt

1/4 tsp ground cardamom (sadly I was out of this)

1/2 lb cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes (2 sticks)

1 cup dried fruit (such as sour cherries or currants), optional

1 1/2 c buttermilk, or as needed

1 egg, beaten with a pinch of fine sea salt- for egg wash

1/4 cup cardamom sugar or turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat liner.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and cardamom- whisk until incorporated.  Add the butter and working quickly, cut it in with a pastry blender.  You should have various sized pieces of butter from sandy patches to pea-sized chunks and some larger bits as well. Add the dried fruit, if using, and toss to distribute.

Gradually pour in the buttermilk and gently fold the ingredients until you have a soft dough and there are no bits of flour in the bottom of the bowl.  You should still see lumps of butter in the dough; these will give you light and flaky biscuits! The dough should be moist and slightly sticky.

Dust the top of the batter with a little flour and with a large ice cream scoop, scoop mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Arranging them about 1 inch apart so that the biscones have room to rise and puff up in the oven. Lightly tap down the tops and brush with the egg wash. Sprinkle with the sugar.

Bake 20-25 minutes, until the biscones are lightly golden and fully baked. Serve warm or room temp with your favorite jam. These are best eaten the day they are baked.

Pumpkin Spice Granola ~ 10.13.11

It always amuses me how I end up some places on the web. Just the other day I landed here and found a lovely recipe for Pumpkin Spice Granola. I was intrigued by it because it called for adding sweet potato puree and I just roasted some sweets the other day and had not eaten them yet. Coupled with the fact that I love making granola and haven't for some time- this recipe was sure to hit my oven in less than a day!

And it did! I love a quick recipe turnaround. Print one day and make it the next (or that night!). I did one better by reviewing it for you, on the blog. She has a lot of great recipes, so be sure to visit and try one of the many granola recipes she featured recently.

I was hoping that while it was cooking it would taste as amazing as my house smelled. The aroma was delightful and so comforting. And the taste- delicious. Not too sweet at all, in my opinion-- just right!

I appreciated the idea of letting your granola cool in the oven to let it crisp--- that didn't always happen in the past with other recipes I've tried. So, from now on... cooling in the oven after it bakes!

Pumpkin Spice Granola

adapted from Finding Joy in My Kitchen

4 1/2 cups oats (I used a combo of Steel Cut and Old Fashioned)
2 1/2 cups Rice Crispy type cereal
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice **(I made my own and recipe is at bottom)
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/4 cup applesauce (just happened to have homemade!)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Mix the oats, cereal and wheat germ in a large bowl. Add in the spices and the salt.

In another bowl, mix the sugar, sweet potato, applesauce, syrup and vanilla.

Add the puree to the oat mixture and stir to coat.

Spread onto a large cookie sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper (you could spray with cooking spray) or baking pan. Bake for 30 min at 325 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes.

Let cool in the oven and store in an airtight container or large ziplock bag. Granola will keep for several weeks -- if it lasts that long!

**Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice mixture
(found somewhere on the internet)

To a small glass jar add:
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom*

print out a little label with the date and contents and you have your own Pumpkin Pie Spice!
*I searched high and low in my pantry and somehow was out of cardamom, so, know that it will taste just fine without it in your spice mixture, too. ;)

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes ~ 6.3.11

Not too long ago, I posted a recipe for Blueberry syrup. This little beaut would go perfectly dressed with that syrup. So fresh. So summer. So delish.

Enjoy. These are a perfect reason to use up that last little bit of ricotta in the container. Keep this in mind.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

(adapted from Everyday Food- originally Orange Ricotta...)

ingredients:

1 3/4 cup park skim ricotta cheese (15 oz)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp grated lemon zest

2/3 cup all purpose flour

canola oil

confectioner's sugar and/or Blueberry Syrup

directions:

-In a med bowl, whisk the ricotta, sugar, eggs and lemon zest together. Whisk in the flour until just combined.

--Heat oil in a nonstick skillet or spray a griddle pan over med-low heat.

--Working in batches, add batter, use about a 1/4 cup (or little less) for each pancake.

--Cook until browned, 4-5 min per side.

Transfer to plate lined with paper towels (esp if you used canola oil). Serve hot with confectioner's sugar or blueberry syrup

Blueberry Sauce ~ 5.18.11

My family {loves} blueberries and this is a great sauce to make for pancakes, ice cream, coffee cake... whatever! You can use frozen or fresh and I think it would be a tremendous addition to the lemon ricotta pancakes I have lined up for this week!

Blueberry Syrup
from: The Way the Cookie Crumbles

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water + 2 Tbs
pinch of salt
1 Tbs cornstarch
1 cup blueberries
1/2 tsp lemon juice
butter

Bring the sugar, 1/2 cup of water and salt to a boil. Mix until dissolved. Add the Tbs of cornstarch and 2 Tbs of water. Blend.
Add the blueberries and stir. Boil until they POP and syrup turns purple (about 5-6 minutes)

Turn off the heat and add 1/2 tsp lemon juice and a pat of butter.

Serve warm over hot pancakes!

Caramel Pull Apart Bread ~ 5.1.11

How have I let this blog go this long without adding this easy and favorite recipe of ours? I even made it Easter morning after Mass!

If you could only smell how good this was...

Nothing beats waking up to a house full of some sort of delicousness in the oven, am I right? Well, maybe having all those necessary ingredients in your fridge is a close second. 'Cause without them, this wouldn't be sitting on the platter in all its glory.

And this little beauty couldn't be easier. 4 ingredients. four. that's all!

Pull-Apart Caramel Coffee Cake

2 tubes refrigerated flaky biscuits
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream (aka heavy cream)
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Open the biscuits, get out your kitchen shears (it's the easiest way to do this) and cut those biscuits into fourths. (first in half, then in half again)
Arrange in a 10in fluted tube pan coated with cooking spray.
Combine the brown sugar, cream and cinnamon; pour over the biscuits.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for minutes, unless you want to burn the top layer of skin off of your fingers or tongue (uh, trust me on this one). If the middle still looks undercooked, then pop it back in until they're puffed. I've had this take longer than 30 minutes before...
Eat and enjoy!

This little beaut' won $500 in a recipe contest. Found it in Taste of Home's Simple and Delicious magazine, Mar/April 2008.

first posted to She's A Crafty Pumpkin in May 2008

Homemade Granola ~ 9.30.10

Auntie Leila's Granola

Don’t be afraid to regard these amounts as approximate.

8 cups oats (fill extra large bowl 2/3 full of oats)
1 small package of sweetened flaked coconut, about 2 cups
2-4 cups chopped nuts – I like the larger amount
Mix together in bowl.

Mix together in saucepan, bring to boil, simmer for 5 minutes:
1 ½ cups brown sugar (this does seem like a lot, but this recipe makes many servings. You can start with a smaller amount at first if you like. You can also substitute honey, molasses, or maple syrup)
1 cup water
¾ cup oil
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp. salt – don’t omit! Salt is important to wake up the taste buds.
1 tsp. almond extract if using almonds

The object is to dissolve the sugar and slightly thicken the syrup.
Pour sugar mixture over ingredients in bowl, mixing well until all oats are coated.

Pour into shallow pan (a lasagna pan works well) and bake at 325* stirring every 10 minutes, until the mixture is evenly browned, about 30-35 minutes.

Remove from the oven.


Add in any combination to total 2 cups:
dried cranberries
chopped dates
raisins
Chopped apricots

Stir, cool completely, store in airtight containers (can be frozen).

Check out more of Leila's wonderful recipes for breakfast here
And yes, I've mentioned them before here.

Multi-grain Waffles ~ 5.11.10

I'm so glad I discovered this recipe. It is in regular rotation here at our house and not just at breakfast-time. In fact, this often makes a BRINNER appearance. Waffles for dinner- who wouldn't love that? Round the meal out with some turkey bacon and yogurt parfaits or smoothies, you've got yourself a WINNER for DINNER! I gave this mix to the teachers last year for Christmas and one of them used the mix to make pancakes since she didn't have a waffle maker. If you decide to go the pancake route, just thin the batter out a bit.

One last tip, I measure out two batches at a time. One to make today and one to make later and I store it in the fridge for another day.

Multi Grain Waffles from eating well magazine


2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ or cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Mix buttermilk and oats in a medium bowl; let stand for 15 minutes.

2. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, wheat germ (or cornmeal), baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

3. Stir eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla into the oat mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients; mix with a rubber spatula just until moistened.

4. Coat a waffle iron with cooking spray and preheat. Spoon in enough batter to cover three-fourths of the surface (about 2/3 cup for an 8-by-8-inch waffle iron). Cook until waffles are crisp and golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.


NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 188 calories; 4 g fat (1 g sat, 2 g mono); 55 mg cholesterol; 30 g carbohydrate; 8 g protein; 3 g fiber; 328 mg sodium. Nutrition bonus: 144 mg calcium (14% dv).
2 Carbohydrate Servings

MAKE AHEAD TIP: Wrap any leftovers individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month. Reheat in a toaster or toaster oven.

originally posted August, 2007

Good Morning Sunshine coffee cake ~ 3.2.10

This is a simple little recipe that is great to have in your "back pocket" for those times when you need to whip something up quick. It will fill the house with the warm, comforting scents of citrus and cinnamon - waking up your senses so that you exclaim, "It is a GOOD MORNING!"

I believe I saw Paula make this recipe this past summer and have been meaning to post it here for awhile. Today's fellowship day at our Scripture study afforded me the chance to bake it and take photos!

I've adapted it a bit, but the recipe credit still goes out to Ms. Paula Deen.

Good Morning Sunshine Coffee Cake

Ingredients:
2 Tbs butter, melted, plus more for pan
1 (16.3 oz) can refrigerated biscuits (she recs Pillsury Grands flaky layers)
1/4 cup minced walnuts
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsps orange zest (I'd guess I used about half an orange's zest)

Glaze: 2 options:

1/2 cup powdered sugar + 2 oz cream cheese + 2 Tbs orange juice - whisk it up until thin enough to drizzle. Add more juice to thin, if necessary.

OR

1/2 cup powdered sugar + 2 Tbs orange juice- whisk and add more OJ, as needed, to thin. then drizzle over warm cake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter ( I sprayed with non-stick spray) a 9-in round cake pan.

Separate the biscuit dough and place one whole biscuit in the center of your pan. Cut the remaining biscuits in half, forming 14 half circles around the center biscuit. Brush with melted butter over the tops. It should look like this:

In a small bowl, combine the walnuts, granulated sugar, cinnamon and orange zest. Mix well and sprinkle liberally over the biscuits. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, mix up your glaze (whichever you prefer- I've made both like the simpler glaze better) and drizzle it over the warm coffee cake. Serve with fresh fruit and a cup of Joe!

Auntie Leila's Better Buttermilk Baking Mix ~ 1.7.10

For a Christmas gift for Max's Godparents, we presented them with a big Breakfast basket- because who doesn't love breakfast?!? It was filled with 3 homemade goodies, a bottle of real maple syrup, a pancake pen and a cookbook.

Too bad I didn't take a photo of it, b/c it was lovely all wrapped up with a big bow! I love making baskets- it's something I certainly have a knack for and it may very well be genetic- my mother is an amazing basket builder and my Godmother had an incredible gift for filling a basket with all sorts of fun and useful trinkets.

The homemade gifts were easy and fun to whip up. I gave a jar of our favorite Best Ever Hot Cocoa Mix, a batch of Auntie Leila's Granola- which I've named Toasted Almond Granola (since that is how I flavored it), and a bag of Auntie Leila's Better Buttermilk Baking Mix (which I have printed out and the ingredients to make for way too long).

(by the way, Auntie Leila is not my aunt, but I wish she were- she has a lovely blog called Like Mother, Like Daughter. You'll glean so much from reading it)

The best part of making the better baking mix was that it makes a TON of MIX! Some to keep and some to give! Those are the best kind of recipes, you know.

Once you've mixed up your batch of Better Buttermilk Baking mix, you can make a whole host of delicious things to eat: Waffles, Scones, Biscuits, Pancakes... just to name the ones on the list!

I think to really appreciate this recipe, you should first go hear and read for yourself why making this will change your life. Okay, maybe that is a bit too dramatic, but it will help you save a step at breakfast time which in turn, will make you happier and less stressful and therefore, would change your life, right?

After you've read that post and you're convinced, gather your ingredients and maybe some friends and mix this up and have a pancake party! But don't forget the real maple syrup- you'll thank me for that. Yes, it's pricier but it's better, it's natural and it's oh so good. You can even buy it at Target! See how easy they make it for you?

Here are the ingredients you'll need:

 

10 cups unbleached flour (may use up to 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour)

1 cup white whole wheat flour (or just add another cup of white flour, making 11 cups)
1 cup oat flour (whiz regular oatmeal in food processor) or ½ cup oat bran
½ cup bran
¼ cup wheat germ (I've found this cheapest at Walmart or Target- it's almost $1.50 more at my grocery store!)
½ cup flax meal
1 1/2 tablespoons salt (that is not a TYPO)
1 tablespoon sugar (this helps with browning, but you can leave it out)
2 tablespoons baking soda
6 tablespoons baking powder
3 sticks (12 oz) butter - I recommend unsalted

(my notes are italicized)
but you'll need to go to the link for the Better Buttermilk Baking Mix to see what to do with it all and for the whole sheet of goodies that you can make with it, PLUS the granola recipe... PLUS so much more! You will not be disappointed. Leila does NOT disappoint! And don't be sad that I'm not posting it all here, Auntie Leila has done all the hard work already, so you should visit her google doc to get it for yourself.

You'll never buy that Bisquick again. I haven't for years...

Bananas Foster French Toast Bake

oh dear.

oh dear, dear, dear.

I was afraid something like this might happen. I neglected blog #2.

Well, that's okay. I have been busy on my little menu planning project. Don't think I forgot about it. I am tweaking and it will take me a bit to do so. Just thought you might like to know.

BUT it is STILL monday and I always have these HIGH hopes that I have these thematic little posts revolving around the days of the week. Who knows if I'll ever stick to that, but in case I do, I'm calling this MAKE THIS MONDAY. As in, you seriously need to make this recipe soon. It's so yummy.

I was inspired by the chica over at Whatever to make her Baked French Toast recipe. I was so inspired that I made it way back on May 1st and have been waiting for another opportunity to make it again.

BUT this time, I put my own little spin on it. I'm getting brave like that lately. Taking a recipe and craftitizing it. ooo. that sounded fancy.

So, I was inspired by the original and came up with my Bananas Foster Baked French Toast.

Smell = heavenly and honestly, it's all you need to smell to get you in the right mind frame for the day...

Taste = sugary and french toasty

Sight = when you see the caramelized sugar glistening in the morning light when you bring this hot breakfast treat over to the table, you'll thank me.

I'm so humble.

Here's how I made this...forgive the non-recipe looking format, I'm typing this from memory...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take a 9x13 pan and put a stick of butter in it and pop it in the oven to melt. I prefer unsalted. You can use whatever you have in the fridge.

Measure out a cup of brown sugar and 2 tsp. of ground cinnamon.

Slice up 3-4 bananas- depending on the size of the banana and your need to get rid of some over-ripe nanas (but never toss them! throw them in the freezer till you have some time to make banana bread or mexican monkey cake).

Okay, now that the butter is melted, throw in the brown sugar and the cinnamon. Shmush it all around and mix it all up and then even it out on the bottom of the dish. Now scatter your bananas on top of the sugar mixture. Here's where you can take this to the bananas foster level and add a few dashes (like 1 tsp) of rum extract or dark rum! I went without this option as I thought of it after this concoction came out of the oven. I couldn't wait till I tweaked all the ingredients before I shared it with you... so maybe I'll revise at a later date!

Take one loaf of bread- I used

a cinnamon loaf and it was great! I sliced mine thinly as you'll want to shoot for 3 layers of the bread. Lay the bread slices on top of the banana/sugar mixture- turning the bread to get a good even layering without too many holes. You can tear up a few slices to fill in the holes, too.

Now for the custard:

6 eggs
2 cups of milk
1-2 tsp vanilla
dash of salt

whisk that all together and slowly pour it over your bread. You want it to soak in and get into all the nooks and crannies.

Pop it all in the oven at 350 for 30-35 minutes. You want to make sure the custard is cooked and not goopy.

As an optional step (and this was part of the original recipe, but you can take it or leave it)- drizzle maple syrup (the real stuff) over the top of the french toast after it's baked and broil it for a few minutes. Until bubbly. Watch out though it happens FAST!

I got about 12 servings out of this-or 6 BIG servings. Perfect with fresh fruit over the top!

Take the plunge & have a slice of breakfast pizza ~ 4.27.09

I've been inspired.

I've been thinking about taking the plunge lately and well, I'm just going to dive in.

I'm sick of it being 4:30 and me wondering, what exactly can I throw together for these 4 kids and myself? (I usually know what's for dinner on the nights when Mr. Crafty is going to be home) I'm tired of running to the grocery store with 2-4 kids (depending on the day and time) b/c I don't have cilantro or milk or food.


Leila is inspiring me to get those meals thought out, planned and money will be saved!

Let's here it for knowing what's for dinner before dinner! WOO HOO!

Let's here it for saving money! WOO HOO!!!

Let's here it for taking the time to finally plan it all out! WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!

If there's anything that having a blog (or two) has taught me, it is this- if I put it "out there" in the world that I'm going to do something, I will do it. I have accountability. I have friends and Mr. Crafty P asking me, "have you done _____ yet?" It's a remarkable system and it's working. And I'm trusting in this practice that it will work with this as well.

So, it began when I found Leila's posts on her sidebar. You can start HERE and then check out her sidebar for worksheets and more posts to inspire YOU!

Who wants to join me? I love a party and this seems like a good party to get into on a weekly basis, no?

Wondering what the picture up above is? Those are the infamous Bananaroni Pizzas. I saw a picture of them in a parenting magazine, I believe it was a freezer waffle ad and thought - awesome idea!

Make your frozen waffles. Spread with butter, then your favorite jam/jelly. Top with sliced bananas, maybe sprinkle on some wheat germ (ooo! good idea! just thought of that!) and cut with a pizza slicer.

A fun way to mix up eating waffles the same way all the time!

p.s. I've begun this process in varying stages for awhile now, but I'm ready to embrace it fully! Let's GO!