In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves.
In another bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk and oil until blended. Add wet mixture to dry mixture, just until combined. Fold in apples.
Lightly grease a griddle and heat over medium-low heat. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto griddle. Cook until bubbles on top begin to pop and bottoms are golden brown. Turn over and cook until second side is also golden brown.
Serve warm with butter, fresh raspberries and maple syrup.
Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Grease two standard muffin tins or line with paper cups.
In a medium bowl, pour boiling water over oatmeal. Stir to moisten and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk and oil. Stir wet mixture into the flour mixture, just until combined.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin pans. Fill each about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in centers come out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack for five minutes, then remove from pans.
Whisk together confectioners’ sugar and milk to form a glaze. Drizzle over muffins and serve.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add milk, apple cider and egg, whisking until well combined. Fold in diced apple.
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Spoon 1/4 cup-sized batter mounds onto pan, spreading with spatula. Cook for 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over and cook one minute more, or until bottoms are browned. Repeat procedure with remaining batter.
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
Whisk together, in a large bowl, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, oil, sugar and vanilla. Stir wet ingredients into dry mixture, just until blended. Fold in the chocolate chunks.
Pour batter evenly into prepared muffin pan, filling each paper liner no more than 2/3 full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving. Makes 1 dozen.
1 tablespoon chilled butter, cut into small pieces
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spread oats in single layer on baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes or until lightly brown. Coat 9-inch spring-form baking pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
Reserve 1/4 cup oats and set aside. Place remaining oats in food processor. Process until finely ground. Combine processed oats, flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir with whisk.
Place granulated sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/3 cup butter in large bowl. Beat with mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternatively with cream cheese. Begin and end with flour mixture. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Spread evenly.
Combine remaining 1/4 cup oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter with pastry blender until well blended. Sprinkle evenly on top of batter.
Bake for 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Top should be golden and cake should start to pull away from sides of pan. Cool in pan for 10 minute before removing. Yields 10 servings.
Who doesn’t like the idea of cookies for breakfast? This oatmeal breakfast cookies recipe [with peanut butter, banana & black cherry] is very hearty and rich in fiber, while low in simple carbohydrates (e.g. white sugar). You could call these oatmeal breakfast bars, but that sounds too plain. And these cookies are anything but plain.
The protein from the peanut butter and the magnesium from the banana – not to mention the calcium and good bacteria from the yogurt – all come together to make this a nutritious breakfast option that’s also highly portable.
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the mashed banana, peanut butter, honey, yogurt and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine the oats, flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture until combined.
Using a 1/4-cup measuring cup or large ice cream scoop, drop mounds of dough about 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. That's about six cookies per baking sheet. Using a spatula dipped in water, flatten each mound of dough to about 1/2-inch thickness.
Bake one sheet at a time for about 24 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer the oatmeal breakfast cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
Store in an airtight container (up to 3 days) or freeze (up to 3 months).
This recipe for banana butterscotch muffins comes from Nigella Lawson’s Quick Collection for iPad (Random House 2012), with one minor modification (I added ground cinnamon, one of my favorite spices). I like to eat the muffins while they are still warm with a dollop of room temperature butter for good measure.
Most cooks and bakers have someone who inspires them. In the realm of celebrity chefs and cooks, there are a few that I admire, like Ina Garten, Tyler Florence, and Giada De Laurentiis. But at the top of my list of celebrity food icons is Alton Brown and Nigella Lawson. I like Alton’s balanced approach to understanding recipes and ingredients (he delves in to the science as much as the art of cooking). And I just adore Nigella Lawson, who (like myself) is not a professionally trained chef. Her passion for food, her wit and common sense approach to cooking makes her a friend to every home cook who aspires to create simply good food.
If you’re a Nigella superfan like me, you’ve got to watch her on ABC’s The Taste. I can’t wait to dig into her latest cookbook, Nigellissima, and the accompanying free iPad app.
Preheat your oven to 400° F. Line a standard 12-muffin tin with cupcake papers.
In a medium bowl, mash the bananas. Set aside for a moment.
In a small bowl (I use a Pyrex 2-cup measuring container), pour in the vegetable oil. Add the eggs and beat lightly.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Mix in the oil-egg mixture, followed by the mashed bananas. Do not overmix the batter.
Fold in the butterscotch morsels. Place an equal amount of batter in each of the muffin tins. I used a large ice cream scoop to ensure consistency. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and cool in the muffin tin for 20 minutes. Remove the banana butterscotch muffins and cool completely on a wire rack.
After a month of television reruns and holiday not-so-special programs, I’m excited that tonight season 3 of “Downton Abbey” premiers on PBS in America. I’m a bit of an Anglophile, so I find this series very interesting, well-written and well-acted. Anything with Dame Maggie Smith is worth watching in my book. In honor of tonight’s season premier, I decided to make British scones, which is often considered the quintessential British snack. Most Brits will enjoy a scone paired with afternoon tea.
British scones can be sweet or savory, and – as you’ll see in this recipe – are easily made. The secret for making great British scones is to use very cold butter and to work quickly with the dough. Keeping all the ingredients and utensils (including your hands if you rub in the butter by hand) as cool as possible will ensure for a lighter, fluffier scone that rises well.
I decided to make two kinds of scones: one with blackberries and a second batch with raspberries. You could just as easily prepare cheese scones by substituting the same amount of shredded cheese for the fruit. Don’t be afraid to be creative – or to use what’s leftover in the refrigerator.
Preheat your oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Use a pastry blender to quickly cut the butter into the flour mixture, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and milk. Fold in the chopped fruit. I prefer blackberries or raspberries, but any fruit will work (e.g. cranberries, apples, cherries). The higher the water content of the fruit, the less milk you should use in the dough. When all ingredients are combined, it should be a soft dough.
Turn the dough onto a floured work surface. Knead the dough lightly and roll it out to about 3/4-inch thickness. Cut the dough into 2-inch rounds or squares. Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with the remaining 2 tablespoons of milk to glaze.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for a few minutes, then serve warm with butter or jam.
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup butter, very cold but not frozen
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk, divided
1/4 cup blackberries or raspberries, roughly chopped
Start off making the peanut butter syrup by melting 3 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in peanut butter until thoroughly combined. In small bowl, stir together syrup and water. Then stir syrup mixture into the peanut butter mixture. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Serve the syrup warm on top of the waffles.
While the syrup is simmering, you can combine 1/2 cup butter and chocolate in another medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat and stir constantly until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Then stir in eggs and vanilla, just until combined. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk until batter is smooth.
Add batter to a preheated, lightly greased waffle maker. Bake per manufacturer’s instructions. When done, use a fork to lift waffle off the griddle. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve topped with warm peanut butter syrup.
Cover and refrigerate any remaining syrup for up to 3 days.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons butter, divided
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup milk
1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup water
1 3/4 sticks butter, divided, at room temperature plus more for pan
3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for pan
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups chunky apple sauce
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Butter and flour standard 12-muffin cup baking pan. Make batter in medium bowl. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and allspice.
In small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and apple sauce. In large bowl, using mixer, beat 1 1/4 sticks butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of the apple sauce mixture. Beat to combine.
Spoon 1/3 cup batter into each muffin cup and bake until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean, approximately 30 minutes. Meanwhile in medium bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Let muffins cool for 10 minutes in pan on wire rack. Working with one muffin at a time, remove muffins from pan, brush all over with melted butter (1/2 stick remaining) and then toss to coat in sugar mixture. Let muffins cool completely on wire rack.
Preheat waffle iron. In small bowl, mix flours, wheat germ, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. Set aside.
In medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin puree, butter, eggs, vanilla, and 1/2 cup buttermilk until well combined. Stir in dry ingredients and mix to form a smooth batter. Slowly add remaining buttermilk until batter is thin enough to pour into waffle iron.
Spoon 1/2 cup batter into iron and cook according to directions.
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Brush 9x4 load pan with oil and line with parchment paper. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup oil, honey, banana puree, and poppy seeds. Add to dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in grated apples.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until bread is golden brown, slightly cracked on the surface, and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (about 75 minutes). Remove from oven and let cool completely before serving.
