Birthday Brunch Bake! - Part Two (the food)...

Well it was a great weekend here...... all of the kids were together to celebrate Rob's birthday (my youngest)

Rather than do our usual birthday dinners, we had a special brunch that was actually really fun and a much easier way to entertain!  Why did it take me so many years to figure that out??  Good grief....

In the midst of getting breakfast/brunch on the table, I totally missed the photo of this awesome breakfast treat.  It's one of those that you have to take the photo quickly because it deflates pretty quickly. By the time we sat down to eat it looked more like topography map of a valley surrounded by mountains! (that is the extent of my geographic terms!)  But........ once we all overcame the visual, the actual taste was FABULOUS!  Oh my gosh........ it was like eating dessert for breakfast - but the eggs and bread made it "legal"  - right??  The best description I can come up with is..... it tasted like a cremé brulee topped bread pudding.  Is that decadent enough?  If not...... well, will have to work on that one!  Just trust me - it was delicious!

Bacon and a fresh fruit salad rounded out the meal and it was just fun to have the three kids and two and 1/3 grandkids with everyone laughing and talking at the same time.  I don't know what is more fun than an animated family gathering! :)  I loved every minute as the times we are all together are few and far between and I cherish every one of them!

French Toast Bake

adapted from Butter with a Side of Bread

Base:
1 loaf of Hawaiian bread, cut in 3/4" strips
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla bean crush (KAF)*
1 tsp. butter vanilla bakery emulsion (LorAnn)*
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
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Topping:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 1/3 c. brown sugar
1 c. flour

Place the strips of bread in the bottom of a buttered 13x9" baking dish.  In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.Pour over bread slices.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 350.  Then combine the butter, brown sugar and flour in a medium sized microwave safe bowl.and heat in the microwave for intervals of  30-45 seconds  for several minutes, or until the mixture is completely melted.  Pour over (it can be thick so you may need to spread it quickly) the bread and place it in the oven for 45-60 minutes.  It will come out beautifully tall and deflate as it cools.

The directions say to cool for 5 minutes...... I would say at least 15 or warn your guests as the brown sugar mixture is HOT!!!  But........it is oh.....so.......good!!

* Or use 2 tsp. vanilla extract in place of the extract and emulsion

Early prep....

Hot buttery brown sugar mixture as it goes into the oven...

Fresh out of the oven...one hour later....

The sunken wonder!! LOL  You can't tell, but the candle was sitting in a glass star holder and it sunk into the middle of the bread!! Rob had to blow that flame out FAST!!

So..... just to be sure you are paying attention - did you catch my reference to the "odd number" used in reference to my grandchildren??  Yes there is news.........

Scott and Megan are expecting their first child the middle of February. 

We are all quite excited - thrilled - elated - and more!! Pin It Now!

Low Sugar Blueberry Muffin Coffee Cake

This post was supposed to go up early last week, but I got distracted with cards!  So the timeline is a little off, but the end result still works!
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I was going to bake all week, but my air conditioning died and I didn't want to add any additional heat to the house.  It started malfunctioning a week ago, Memorial Day of course, with water all over the garage floor. My first thought was the water heater, but I had just replaced it less than a year ago.  So it must be a broken pipe somewhere, right?  So the next morning a plumber was here after at least four phone calls to make it happen, only to find out that there was no broken pipe, and I was $90 poorer!!  It was the furnace! Never would I have thought that the furnace would leak water, but it was from the condensation that builds up from the air conditioner . (I know - TMI!) The pan had mysteriously broken and so was not catching the water, hence the mess on the floor!  Ugh.  So it took a couple of days to see if it was still under warranty,find the part, order it , etc etc. The part is supposed to arrive tomorrow and then they will get the air back up and running again, just in time for the weather to cool off for a few days.Just my luck!

So......I decided that I was going to bake anyway, but start really early in the morning.  I had three baskets of blueberries waiting for me, so that narrowed down my options.  I had just run across this recipe a few days ago, so the decision was easy!

It IS as good as it looks!

Low Sugar Blueberry Muffin Coffee Cake
adapted from The Baker Chick


Cake Ingredients:
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda*
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 cup Truvia Baking Blend (if using regular sugar,increase to 1 cup)
2 eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla Bean Crush (King Arthur Flour)
1/2 c. lemon Greek yogurt (plain or vanilla is also fine)
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
*Omit the baking soda if using regular sugar.The soda helps increase the volume if using the Truvia Baking Blend.

Topping Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. muscovado (molasses) sugar
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. rolled oats
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Mix the topping ingredients together until crumbly and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease or spray an 8x8 square pan.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Whisk lightly.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and Truvia Baking Blend until light. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then add the vanilla extract and yogurt and mix until smooth. Add the flour and stir by hand, just until combined. Fold in the blueberries gently.

Spread the batter evenly in the pan - it will be thick.

This is ready to go in the oven with the topping scattered over.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the topping.
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.

This really is a muffin in a pan - 

the taste is wonderful with all of those plump blueberries!

Cool and enjoy!

UPDATE ON THE A/C:  The part DID arrive and it was up and running last Monday...... but now, six days later and there is water all over the garage floor again this afternoon, and a new leak up above.  I am feeling pretty jinxed right now.  Luckily the company is so wonderful that the guy who helped me is leaving a job TWO HOURS AWAY and driving back tonight to help me.  Talk about restoring my faith in humanity and the kindness of others.  So am hopeful it won't be another week of problems, but they just have to figure out why this keeps happening!

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Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been craving cookies for a while now.  I try not to bake them too often because they are clearly my weakness. They are just too easy to grab.  I have been known to have coffee and a cookie for breakfast

I wasn't sure these would be good because I overdid some of the ingredients - imagine that?

Not the most professional photo , but you get the idea -lots of flavorful ingredients

Here they all are just waiting to be mixed in the dough...YUM!!

The recipe called for light brown sugar and I used my new favorite muscovado sugar. I love the richness it adds to quick breads and muffins, but was worried when the cookie dough had a very strong molasses smell and taste  (yes, I do sample my cookie dough!)

But all of that seemed to mellow out when they baked in the oven. And I ended up with one of the best cookies I have made in quite some time.  Everyone who tried them loved them!

Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookies                                                            

 adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

3 cups flour
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. muscovado (molasses) sugar*
2 large eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla Bean Crush extract (King Arthur)
1/2 c. milk chocolate chips
1/2 c. bittersweet chips (King Arthur Flour - or any dark chips)
3/4 c. butterscotch chips
3/4 c. Heath Toffee Gits and Heath Bits o'Brickle
Extra sea salt for sprinkling on top of baked cookies

*You can certainly substitute light or dark brown sugar, depending on your taste.

Preheat oven to 350.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sea salt, baking soda and baking powder; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars together until light and creamy, about 5 minutes.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes.  Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.  Add a little at a time and mix just until blended.  Stir in all of the chips and toffee pieces.

Drop about 1-2 tablespoons of dough (depending on how many cookies you want to make) onto the prepared cookie sheet, placing the dough balls about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden brown.  Remove from oven, sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt,  and allow the cookies to cool for 2-3 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cookie dough perfection!

Just the right amount of sea salt on top (with another dusting after baking.

Fresh out of the oven...

Rich, delicious, and I dare you to eat just one!!

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Low Sugar Banana Zucchini Decadent Bread!

So when  I decided to bake last night, I was going to make some variation of banana bread and then zucchini bread as both of those main ingredients were in the refrigerator literally SCREAMING to be used.  In a few more days they would have been permanent residents in the trash can!!!

I know - you read the title and thought - how can low sugar and decadent be on the same line.  Have I lost it?  Well that is a different blog post!  LOL   But seriously - it makes perfect sense to me because the decadent and unexpected ingredient is dark chocolate.  If you have been reading my blog recipes, you know I am in love with the King Arthur burgundy chunk chocolate pieces. They are sooooo good - the flavor is the best; they melt better than any chocolate chip or chunk I have ever used, and they add just enough richness without overwhelming the recipe.

I would never have thought to combine bananas and zucchini, but I will definitely be using this combination in other creations. The inspiration was not mine.  I found the basic recipe at Brown Eyed Baker. And the dark chocolate chunks just put it over the top.  I have made chocolate zucchini cake and banana muffins with chocolate chips - so it was natural to add in the chocolate.  It's always better with chocolate, right?  Well in this case, it definitely is!

LOW SUGAR BANANA-ZUCCHINI SURPRISE BREAD!!

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Penzey's baking spice (mixture of bread friendly spices)
1 tsp. King Arthur vanilla bean crush
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup Truvia Baking Blend
1 cup vegetable oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
2 cups shredded zucchini (used the large grate)
1 cup chopped dark chocolate (I used King Arthur Burgundy Chunks......SO GOOD!!)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.   Grease two 9x5-inch loaf pans and set aside.

In a medium bowl, measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and whisk together and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the Truvia Baking Blend and oil and whisk until smooth and combined. Add the bananas and whisk until well blended.  Add the flour mixture and stir gently with a rubber spatula until blended. Gently fold in the zucchini and dark chocolate pieces.

Just had to capture the marriage of the zucchini and the chopped dark chocolate.

The flavors blended perfectly and fragrance was intoxicating!!

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared loaf pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. (mine were done in 40-45 minutes, but there is less volume with the Truvia Baking Blend).  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the bread from the pans and place on wire rack to cool completely before serving. Wrap in plastic wrap and enjoy every savory morsel.
Will keep about 5 days during cool weather.  Refrigerate if necessary.

This is truly as good as it looks!!  Another MUST TRY!!

Hope to be sharing some cards soon - working on a few in my head!!  Trying to get those creative juices flowing....... again!

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Raspberry Yogurt Muffins

As much as I have enjoyed making a large variety of muffins the past few months, I am eager for the cooler weather so I can make more yummy soups, stews, and crock pot meals.  I love the way the house fills up with tantalizing scents while those wonderful meals are simmering.....

Can you tell I am ready for fall?  We have finally experiences a bit of chill in the air and I am NOT complaining.  I love an excuse to pull out my sweaters and jeans and boots and get comfy!

But in the meantime, we still get an occasional great buy on a variety of berries, and lately raspberries have been in abundance.  And they have been deliciously HUGE!  I really did take a picture of them for this post, but my camera malfunctioned (translate to mean user error)  so I cannot prove how large and beautiful they were, but hopefully you can still tell in the photos of the end result!

This recipe was easy, and the muffins were light and OH SO MOIST.

Raspberry Yogurt Muffins

adapted from Raspberry Sour Cream Muffins / Weave a Thousand Flavors

1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 containers Dannon Oikos vanilla yogurt (equals about 1 cup)
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla (I love the Vanilla Bean Crush from King Arthur Flour)
3 eggs
zest of 1 lemon
12 oz. fresh raspberries
Powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350.  Spray the muffin pan with non stick cooking spray or place a liner in each cup.

In a large mixing bowl, blend the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix eggs, Greek yogurt, and vanilla.  With a mixer, beat for a minute or until well blended.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and blend with a mixer for another minute or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the melted butter and lemon zest and stir with a rubber spatula until well blended.

Spoon a tablespoonful of batter into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup.

Place a raspberry in the center of the batter and then fill the muffin cups with the remaining batter.  They should be about 3/4 full.

Place three raspberries on the top of each and push slightly into the batter.
Bake for about 22 minutes or until  the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.

Let the muffin tin cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then remove the muffins and let them finish cooling.

Dust with powdered sugar as desired.

These were scrumptious!

The finished product - and see those raspberries ARE big!

Brimming with berry goodness!

That bite is headed for my mouth!

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Creme Brulee Muffins

I have really been enjoying experimenting with the many muffin flavors out there.  With my lemon tree on hiatus temporarily (the buds are bursting and little green citrus are emerging so it won't be long...), I have been forced to show my taste buds that there are flavors other than lemon -  not that I will ever give that up as one of my favorites!!

So..... this recipe for Creme Brulee muffins has been calling to me ever since I initially saw it.   I have made it one two three four  and yes...  five times in the past month or so . Yes, I was THAT determined to get it right. The first time I made the jumbo muffin size but only layered the crumb topping in the middle once.  I am glad I did it that way as it was just enough. Because I made some substitutions, the dough was REALLY thick (it is supposed to be thick but not like it was).  The second time I  made the regular muffin size so I wouldn't feel quite as guilty when I hate a WHOLE muffin.  I really try not to overindulge when sampling, but sometimes...... I just don't want to care!  I made progress, but it was still missing something.

Attempt number three was still a bit dry and I was trying SO hard to get it right.  It's not that there was anything really wrong with it, but I was looking for it to be a little lighter.  The original recipe was great, but of course I had to fool around with perfection!!  LOL  Well, the third time was not the charm!!  Nor was the fourth... it was close but just a bit too heavy.

FINALLY, the fifth time nailed it.  Phew!!!  I have been substituting Greek yogurt for the sour cream.  This time I used the Fage lowfat plain to see if that made a difference - and it did!  Up until now I had been using a variety of Greek yogurt flavors - vanilla, honey vanilla, plain  - but they were all non fat.  My neighbor who is my taste tester/critic (in the most helpful way) had suggested that maybe I needed that fat component several batches ago - but it took me a while to give it a try - and that was clearly the difference.  Thank goodness for an honest critic!!

This last time I made the jumbo variety and just layered the crumb mixture once in the middle and then on top. Here is the recipe I used:

Creme Brulee Muffins

inspired and adapted from Chef In Training

BATTER INGREDIENTS:

5 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup Fage (2%) plain lowfat yogurt
1/3 cup Creme Brulee creamer (CoffeeMate)
1  egg
1 Tbsp. King Arthur vanilla bean crush
 1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

SUGAR CRUMB FILLING/TOPPING:

1/4 cup COLD butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 Tbsp. mini cinnamon chips (King Arthur)

First make the sugar crumb filling.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour and sugars.  Cut in the COLD butter until the mixture is crumbly. Then toss in the mini cinnamon chips and  mix well.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425.

In a large bowl cream the softened butter and sugar.  Add the egg and beat well.  Next add the Greek yogurt, creme brulee creamer and vanilla bean crush and blend well.

In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

Pour half of the flour mixture into the batter and stir with a wooden spoon just until combined.
Then add the rest of the flour and stir until just combined. The batter will be very thick - don't worry!

Grease a large muffin tin with cooking spray (I love the Everbake spray from King Arthur flour - it last a long time and does a great job).  Drop just enough batter into the bottom of each cup just to cover.

First layer of batter and crumb mixture

Sprinkle some crumb mixture (about a heaping tablespoonful) over the batter and then cover with the remaining batter. (you can make an additional  layer if you are feeling ambitious!).  Take the remaining crumb mixture and divide over the tops of the six muffins.  Press the crumb mixture into the batter a bit so it will cook into the batter and not all fall off when they are done baking!

Bake at 425 for five minutes.  Lower the temperature to 375 and bake another 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let the pan cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan and finish cooling.

The kitchen smelled soooooo good!

The first bite - tender and flavorful!

This was moist and delicious, with flavor layers of cream, vanilla and cinnamon.

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