Red Velvet Pancakes

Third installment in the buttermilk project: red velvet pancakes.

If you're looking for an easy, uncomplicated recipe for homemade pancakes, you've come to the right place.  These are the pancakes to try.  I always reach for Bisquick when making pancakes, but having buttermilk in the house inspired me to make these for the kids this morning.  Buttermilk has changed my life!  Well, maybe just a little bit.  I'm definitely proud of myself for getting out of the baking mix rut this once but what I still need to work on is my flipping ability.  Maybe that will be my New Year's resolution...

Red Velvet Pancakes/Waffles

Source: Pinterest

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp baking cocoa
4 tsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking power
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1-1/4 cups buttermilk
1 tbsp red food coloring (optional, I skipped it since I didn't have natural coloring on hand)
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup melted butter
*Optional*  maple syrup, butter, whipped cream cheese, sprinkles

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, buttermilk, food coloring and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in melted butter. Using an ice cream scoop, drop batter onto a lightly greased, hot griddle and cook until edges darken, about 5 minutes. Add sprinkles if desired.  Flip and cook until done. Serve topped with syrup and butter or whipped cream cheese. Makes one dozen pancakes.

Surefire way to make uniform pancakes

Sizzling on the griddle

I made plain and sprinkle pancakes

Oatmeal Mondays

Cinnamon Swirl Oatmeal...need I say more?

What I will say is two things:
1. It's a fun, creative way to jazz up a boring bowl of oatmeal and
2. It's a huge hit with adults and children alike :)

Source: My Little Celebration

Ingredients

• ½ cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup water
• pinch of salt
• ¼ cup milk (optional)
• 1-2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• FILLING
• 1 Tablespoon nut butter (I used almond)
• healthy pinch of cinnamon
• sweetener to taste (I used a drizzle of honey)
• splash of milk for thinning out (optional)

Instructions

1. Bring water, oats and salt to a boil and reduce to medium heat, stirring frequently for 3-5 minutes or until creamy.
2. Add a splash of milk if desired, stir and set aside. Add brown sugar or sweetener when slightly cooled.
3. For cinnamon filling, mix all ingredients, sample and adjust flavors accordingly.
4. Spoon into a plastic bag, cut off the corner, and swirl on top of oatmeal in a curly-q motion.
5. Serve immediately.

Ginger Studded Molasses Bread

Second installment in the buttermilk project: ginger studded molasses bread.  Tastes like a ginger snap but in bread form.  Not only do I love the flavor this bread has, but I also love the batter.  It's so dark from the brown sugar and molasses and rich from the oil, eggs and buttermilk.  Stirring in those little ginger chips adds a surprising chew and a little punch to the taste buds, not to mention the spicy cinnamon, ginger and cloves.  You've got to make this bread.  Your home will be transformed to a gingerbread palace :)  I'm planning on having 2 slices for lunch with Greek yogurt (of course) and either a sliced banana or pineapple chunks.  Yum!  Is it lunchtime yet?!

Ginger-studded molasses bread

Source: Everybody likes sandwiches

1 c whole wheat flour
1 c all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1 t ground ginger
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
2 eggs
1/3 c packed brown sugar
1 c buttermilk
1/2 c blackstrap molasses
1/4 c canola oil
1/4 c candied ginger, diced
1/4 c raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. In a mixing bowl, combine the flours, spices, salt, baking powder and baking soda together. Set aside.  In another large bowl, mix the brown sugar, eggs, buttermilk, molasses and oil together. Beat in the flour mixture and then fold in the ginger and raisins.  Pour batter into a greased and floured bread tin and bake for 50 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.

  

Buttermilk Chocolate Bread

I finally bought buttermilk at the food store.  I always wait until it goes on sale because I never use it up before it expires.  So I am going to make a conscious effort to bake multiple desserts with buttermilk in them.  It's a hard job but somebody's got to do it :)

Here is the first installment in the buttermilk project: buttermilk chocolate bread.  It's sweet, buttery flavor is offset perfectly by the tangy buttermilk and bitter baking cocoa.  With or without nuts, you can't go wrong with this loaf at your next holiday buffet.     


Buttermilk Chocolate Bread
Source: Taste of Home

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk just until moistened. Fold in pecans.
• Pour into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

  

Cake Fridays

I am a sucker for real, homemade whipped cream.  I never make it (we're a Cool Whip family) so when my Mom whips it up, we eat it by the bucketful.  Paired with this rich, dense, fudgey cake, it's easily one of my favorite Christmas desserts.

Chocolately-Chocolate Cake
Source: My Mom

1 box dark chocolate cake mix
1-4 oz package instant chocolate pudding
1/2 C oil
1/2 C warm water
4 eggs
1 C sour cream
1 1/2 C mini chocolate chips (plus more for the top)

Combine all ingredients.  Fold in mini chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes in a greased and floured bundt pan.

Whipped cream: Whip heavy cream and powdered sugar (to your liking) until stiff peaks in stand mixer.  Slice cooled cake in half and frost between layers and on top.  Sprinkle top with extra mini chocolate chips.       

Wheat Germ Zucchini Bread

Resting spatulas

Interlocking mixing bowls and measuring cups

Magnetic measuring spoons

I hope everyone had a joyous Christmas!  I've been busily washing new clothes and finding space in cabinets for my new mixing bowls and glass storage containers.  My husband and I try to get each other new kitchen items every Christmas since we spend, what feels like, 90% of our time cooking and baking for our family.

Nothing reminds me more of cozy mornings spent with family than this bread.  It is prefect to make the day after Christmas since it is such a leisurely day.  All of the chaos and stress of the holidays is over.  You can just sit and enjoy a slice of wheat germ zucchini bread with your tea or coffee while the kids play with their new toys from Santa.          

Wheat Germ Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

1 C canola oil or applesauce

1 C granulated sugar

1 C brown sugar

3 t maple extract

2 C shredded zucchini

2 t each-baking soda and salt

½ t baking powder

1 C chopped walnuts

2 ½ C flour

½ C wheat germ

1/3 C sesame seeds

1.Beat eggs, add oil/applesauce, sugars, and maple extract.  Beat until think and foamy.

2.Gently stir in zucchini.
  3.Combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, wheat germ, and walnuts.

4.Stir #3 gently into zucchini mixture until just blended.

5.Divide equally between 2 greased and floured 9x5 pans.

6.Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pans 10 minutes.  Turn out to racks to cool completely.

 

Bears in a Bubble Bath

For Christmas this year, we are bringing a dessert.


Instead of chocolate cake mix, I bought yellow and we're using honey Teddy Grahams.  I thought that would be a yummy combination.  It's a treat I've been wanting to try so I was delighted when my son and daughter said they would help construct the teddy bear baths.   I think everyone is really going to enjoy these creative, clever cake cups :)  

See link here. 

Ingredients

• 1 (18 1/4 ounce) box chocolate cake mix
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 24 Rolo chocolates, unwrapped (optional)
• 2 cups miniature marshmallows
• 48 Teddy Graham bear cookies (any flavor)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cake mix, melted butter and egg together. This should be like a soft dough. Take a spoonful of batter and roll into a small ball. Push dough ball into a mini-muffin tin. Take a Rolo and push into the center of the batter. Fill up the muffin tin and bake for 10 minutes. Take the muffin tin out and add 3-4 mini-marshmallows on top of each treat. Push in 2 Teddy Graham bear cookies into each treat. Bake for 2 more minutes to melt the marshmallows a bit. Cool and enjoy!
2. NOTE: Please use muffin tin liners and spray with cooking spray -- these treats get sticky!

Oatmeal Mondays

Skillet Update:
My husband makes the oatmeal skillet breakfast every Saturday (see Wednesday, September 4, 2013 post).  Recently, he made a gingerbread inspired one in lieu of the holidays.  He mixed together a spice blend consisting of 1/4 t ginger, 1/4 t nutmeg, 1/4 t allspice, 1/4 t cloves, and 1/2 t cinnamon.  He stirred in a few tablespoons of molasses and decorated the top with fresh cranberries.  As you can see from the pictures, we then slathered each piece with butter and bathed it in maple syrup.  Spicy, tart, warm, and bold, it's what I'm asking Santa for this Christmas morning :)

If you like healthy donuts, you'll love...

butterscotch muffins.  I just got a flashback to the spray perfumes sold in the 90s.  If you like Lauren, you'll love Lindsay.  That's the one I got for Christmas one year!  I thought it was so cool to have my name on a perfume bottle but I don't remember it smelling very good. It's all in the marketing I guess :)

Back to baking...

The healthy loaf is a delightful recipe but I took the liberty of adding butterscotch chips to half the batter.  A quarter cup measure will do and you've got a completely different product.  Butterscotch chips and apple chunks are a delightful pairing, but it's the banana flavor that really sends these over the top.  Spoon the batter into a greased muffin tin and bake for 15-17 minutes.  Cool on wire racks but I'm warning you, the smell is so enticing that you may need to eat one piping hot.  I did and burned my finger.  Who knew butterscotch chips got so darn hot?!

Muffin tree for Christmas :)

  

Healthy Donuts

Here is the original recipe for these tasty treats:

Healthy Loaf
Slightly adapted from this link. 

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 apple, peeled and diced

2/3 C sugar

1 ¾ C flour

½ C applesauce

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease loaf pan.  Bake 45-60 minutes.  Cool 15 minutes in pan then invert onto cooling rack to cool completely.

~ My son requested donuts for the weekend so I dropped the batter into my greased donut pan and baked them for 11 minutes.  These are a cross between banana bread and apple cake.  They are moist with a slight crunch.  Super healthy and easy to make, these will surely become a weekend staple in our house.  Enjoy with butter and a tall glass of milk :)