Category: Breakfast

New baking technique delivers ‘dome sweet dome’ for muffins

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date October 27, 2022

Sour cream double chocolate muffins are moist with the perfect amount of chocolate flavor to pair with a cup of coffee for breakfast.

I learned something new this week that totally blew my mind: how to create muffins with perfectly domed tops.

It’s been a mystery for me for a long time how bakeries and other super bakers manage to get their muffins to rise so tall, puffing perfectly over the edges of their cupcake liners.

This week’s recipe finally gave me the secret. I was reading the post on the recipe for sour cream double chocolate muffins I wanted to try this week, and the author started talking about how the secret is starting your muffins at a higher temperature and then lowering it during the baking process.

I decided to trust her wisdom and give it a try, and it was awesome. I managed to create huge, beautiful muffins. Oh, and they tasted really good, too. If you’re like me and want to finally conquer domed muffins, this is the recipe for you.

This recipe comes from the blog “JaJa Bakes.” You can find the original post at https://jajabakes.com/sour-cream-double-chocolate-muffins/. I doubled the vanilla in my version below.

Sour Cream Double Chocolate Muffins

Sour cream double chocolate muffins are moist with the perfect amount of chocolate flavor to pair with a cup of coffee for breakfast.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword chocolate chips, cocoa powder, muffins, sour cream, vanilla

Ingredients

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2/3 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips divided (I used semi-sweet)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a 12-well muffin tin by placing cupcake liners in it.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the oil, sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla and sour cream until well combined.
Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt and beat until the mixture is smooth.
Fold in about two-thirds of the chocolate chips and spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake liners, filling each all the way to the top of the well.
Sprinkle the leftover chocolate chips on the tops of the muffins, and bake for five minutes. Then, without opening the oven door, lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake about 15 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centers of the muffins comes out clean.
Let the muffins sit in the tin on the counter for about five minutes before removing them and placing them on a baking rack. Once the muffins are cool, serve them or store in an airtight container.

These were moist and chocolatey and perfect with a hot cup of coffee for breakfast. These would be a showstopper for a bake sale, too, and they were super easy to make.

We ended up sharing them with friends for dessert during Sunday afternoon football, and they went over really well.

Nobody else commented on how beautiful my muffins were, but I was still really excited to finally cross making gorgeous little cakes off my baking bucket list.

Hopefully I can use that same technique the next time I pull out my muffin tins, but in the meantime, I’ll just revel in my own awesomeness.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 27, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Tags bake sale, breakfast buffet, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, muffins, sour cream, vanilla

Breakfast Dessert

Lots of leftovers results in some recipe (sour) scheming

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date October 13, 2022

Sour cream donuts are cake-y, sweet and simple, with a light sugar glaze to really make them something special. Enjoy these for breakfast or as a dessert.

So much sour cream.

Seriously, you should see the nearly literal vat of sour cream in my refrigerator right now.

We hosted a catered meal about a week ago, and I ended up with the leftovers in my fridge. I’m not complaining, mind you, because the meal was absolutely delicious, and I’m never going to complain about somebody else cooking something amazing for me.

But now, even after the rest of the goodies are gone, there’s the sour cream.

Not being one to let things go to waste if I can help it, I’m starting a sour cream series this week. I’m not sure quite how many weeks of recipes it will take for me to clean out the bowl, but I’m no quitter.

To kick it off, I decided to try out a recipe for some baked donuts that looked fantastic, and they turned out great.

The recipe comes from the blog “Semisweet Sisters.” You can find the original post at https://www.thesemisweetsisters.com/2014/09/03/baked-sour-cream-donuts-recipe/. I added extra nutmeg and vanilla in my version.

Sour Cream Donuts

Sour cream donuts are cake-y, sweet and simple, with a light sugar glaze to really make them something special. Enjoy these for breakfast or as a dessert.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword baked donuts, donuts, glaze, nutmeg, powdered sugar, sour cream, vanilla

Ingredients

Donut Ingredients

1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 heaping teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Glaze Ingredients

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a donut pan by spraying the wells with cooking spray (I got seven large donuts out of my batch, for reference).
In a mixing bowl, whisk the sour cream, egg, vanilla, oil and sugar until well combined.
Whisk in the remaining donut ingredients until the mixture is smooth.
Spoon the batter into the prepared donut tin.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the donuts comes out clean.
Once the pan is cool enough to handle, remove the donuts and let them cool completely. Bake the rest of the batter if you still have some left.
Once the donuts are cooled, prepare to glaze the donuts by lining your countertop with a large piece of waxed paper and setting a cooling rack on top. In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla for the glaze and mix well. You’ll want it thick enough to coat your spoon and thin enough that you can easily dunk the donuts into it.
Dunk each donut fully to coat it in the glaze, and place them on the cooling rack so the glaze can set up.
Once the glaze is dry, enjoy the donuts immediately or store them in an airtight container for later.

These were cake-y and not overly sweet. Even Joey, who tends to shy away from anything that’s overly sugary, really liked these. They are a fantastic pairing for a cup of tea or coffee for breakfast.

I must admit, I was a little disappointed that scooping a mere half cup of sour cream out of my bowl didn’t seem to make much of a dent, but I still have quite a few new recipes to try before I’m all done.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 13, 2022.

Tags baked donuts, cake donuts, donut pan, donuts, doughnuts, nutmeg, powdered sugar, sour cream, vanilla

Breakfast Snack

Proudly blow your own ‘crumpet’ for British cakes well made

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date September 22, 2022

Crumpets are really easy to make, with a short rise time and only a few ingredients. They are a bit like pancakes and should be enjoyed slathered in butter and honey.

In the lead up to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Sept. 19, Newsweek reported that projections for people watching around the world was clocking in at over four billion.

I have to admit that despite my general lack of interest in the Royal Family, I did tune in for just a bit, wanting to see a smidgeon of the display.

That passing interest most definitely came into play as I decided what new recipe to try this week and landed on what I consider a quintessential British dish: crumpets.

I’ve never had a crumpet before, so I figured it was high time to give them a shot, and they were absolutely delicious. Really, they’re the Brits’ answer to the pancake, and I can totally see why they would be great with a cup of tea.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “RecipeTin Eats.” I recommend giving the site a visit, since the author’s videos always feature her adorable golden retriever, Dozer. You can find the original post for this recipe at https://www.recipetineats.com/crumpet-recipe/. I didn’t change anything in the ingredients outside of increasing the amount of yeast, and I decided to use a little bit of a different cooking method.

Crumpets

Crumpets are really easy to make, with a short rise time and only a few ingredients. They are a bit like pancakes and should be enjoyed slathered in butter and honey.

Course Breakfast, Snacks

Cuisine British

Keyword crumpets, high tea, tea time

Ingredients

1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) yeast instant or active dry
1 1/2 tablespoons warm water
1 cup flour
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 to 3 tablespoons butter for cooking

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine the yeast with one and one-half tablespoons warm water and stir to combine.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, water and salt for two minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the yeast, sugar and baking powder and whisk for another minute. It will be a loose batter.
Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and set it in a warm spot for 30 minutes or until the top of the batter is super bubbly.
To cook the crumpets, either use a small non-stick skillet (I have one that is about four inches in diameter that I used), three- to four-inch metal rings or three- to four-inch sturdy rings made of aluminum foil. If using rings or foil, grease the inside of them with butter. For the skillet, brush it with butter when it’s preheated. (If you have a larger skillet, you can always cut your crumpets into halves or quarters, too. Don’t let equipment keep you from trying these.)
To use the rings, brush a large skillet with butter and place the rings inside. Heat the skillet to medium heat. Once it’s hot, pour about 1/4 cup of batter into each ring.
For a small skillet, heat it over medium heat and just pour the batter right in. You’ll want it about one centimeter deep.
Let the crumpets cook for about one to one and one-half minutes. You’ll notice bubbles starting to form on the surface. You’ll know it’s time to flip the crumpet with the top looks mostly dry.
Flip the crumpet over to brown it lightly, and then remove the crumpet from the heat and transfer to a plate or cooling rack.
Continue until all the batter is used.
When the crumpets are cooled, serve them by popping them in the toaster, and then slather the bubbly side with plenty of butter and serve with honey or your favorite jam. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Like I said, these were very much pancake-like, although they puffed up quite a bit more. The recipe only made about one-half dozen of these, so if you’re looking for a week’s worth of crumpets for breakfast or for your next fancy tea party, you’ll want to double or triple the recipe.

I ate mine in the traditional way, with honey squeezed over top, and they were really good. I’m certain my tiny nod to the monarchy wasn’t much of a fitting tribute, but it sure was a delicious one.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 22, 2022.

Tags crumpets, high tea, tea time

Breakfast Dessert

Fresh peaches are ‘muffin’ short of delicious for breakfast

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date September 8, 2022

These peach muffins feature fresh peaches (although frozen would work, too), along with a brown sugar crumble on top, making them perfect for breakfast or dessert.

I caught Joey eyeballing the bowl of peaches sitting in our fridge this week.

“I’m going to use them this time,” I promised him. “They won’t end up in the freezer until next summer.”

His facial expression betrayed a lack of confidence in my promises, so of course, I had to do some baking this weekend to prove him wrong.

I jumped into my list of recipes to try and landed on some fresh peach muffins that looked delicious, quick and easy to make, and they did not disappoint.

The recipe I used comes from the blog “Serena Bakes Simply from Scratch.” I used brown sugar for granulated in the crumb topping and doubled the vanilla and almond extracts, as well as increased the amount of peach in my version below.

Fresh Peach Muffins

These peach muffins feature fresh peaches (although frozen would work, too), along with a brown sugar crumble on top, making them perfect for breakfast or dessert.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword almond extract, brown sugar, fresh peaches, muffin, peaches, vanilla

Ingredients

Topping Ingredients

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter cubed

Muffins Ingredients

1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sour cream
2 cups fresh or frozen and thawed peaches diced

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin or tins with paper liners. (I ended up having enough batter for about 18 muffins.)
For the topping, add all the dry ingredients together in a small mixing bowl and stir until they’re well combined. Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry cutter until it’s completely incorporated and the mixture is all crumbly. Set it aside.
For the muffins, beat the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl for a few minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, vanilla and almond extract, and then beat in the baking soda, baking powder, salt, flour and sour cream until everything is well combined.
Fold in the peaches, and then scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Fill the liners to about one-fourth- to one-half-inch below the tops.
Press the topping into large crumbs and evenly distribute it over top of the filled liners.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffins comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool for at least 10 minutes before removing them from the muffin tin. Store cooled muffins in an airtight container.

These were lightly sweet and perfect for breakfast, although I actually ended up taking them as a dessert for a get-together we had over the weekend, and they were great for that, too.

Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get rid of all of my leftover peaches, so Joey is still winning the argument I made up in my head. Never to be beaten, though, I have already been making sure to use peaches as my favorite snack, side dish and condiment this week.

The good news is I still love fresh peaches. The bad news is I still have about half a dozen to go.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 8, 2022.

Tags almond extract, brown sugar, crumble topping, fresh peaches, muffins, peaches, vanilla

Appetizer Breakfast Main Dish

You have ‘Scotch’ to try these tasty smoked eggs

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date September 1, 2022

This twist on Scotch eggs is made on a smoker, using barbecue seasonings and sauce and wrapped in bacon. They can also be baked in an oven.

Just as French fries are from Belgium and Hawaiian pizza was invented in Canada, Scotch eggs are actually a British creation.

Traditionally, a Scotch egg is “a shelled hard-boiled egg that is wrapped in sausage, covered in breadcrumbs, and then deep-fried or baked until crispy,” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

They’re often served cold in pubs, but in the U.S., people most often serve them hot instead.

Joey has been hinting—strongly—for a few weeks that he would really like to try making Scotch eggs on his smoker, so on a recent day when the heat lifted for a bit, we finally decided to give them a try.

I will tell you that these are not traditional—they lack the breadcrumbs, have barbecue flavors, and we added bacon to ours, too. But they were very, very good.

This comes from Susie Bulloch at the blog “Hey Grill Hey.” You can find the original post at https://heygrillhey.com/smoked-scotch-eggs/. I added bacon to my version.

Smoked Scotch Eggs

This twist on Scotch eggs is made on a smoker, using barbecue seasonings and sauce and wrapped in bacon.They can also be baked in an oven.

Course Main Course

Cuisine British

Keyword bacon, barbecue rub, barbecue sauce, barrel smoker, Big Green Egg, breakfast sausage, ceramic grill, hard-boiled egg, Kamado Joe, Scotch egg, smoker

Ingredients

6 eggs
1 pound ground breakfast sausage
1-2 tablespoons sweet barbecue rub
12 slices bacon
1/4 to 1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Instructions

Preheat your smoker or oven to 225 degrees. (Use a lighter flavored wood; we used pecan in ours.)
Place the eggs in a saucepan large enough for them all to fit in a single layer and fill with cold water until they are all just covered.
Place the saucepan on the stove over high heat. Once the water boils, turn off the heat (leave the pan on the burner), cover with a lid, and let the eggs sit for five minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a large bowl by filling it with ice and cold water. Carefully remove the eggs from the pan with a slotted spoon and submerge them in the cold water for another five minutes before peeling them. Set them aside.
Divide the pound of sausage into six even balls.
To assemble, flatten one of the balls of sausage into a disc in your palm. Carefully place the egg in the center and then wrap the sausage evenly around the egg, making sure it is completely covered. Sprinkle a healthy amount of barbecue rub onto the sausage-wrapped egg, and then finish off by wrapping two slices of bacon around it. Set the finished Scotch egg aside and repeat to complete all six eggs.
Place the eggs in the refrigerator until the smoker/oven is ready. When ready, place the eggs onto the grates of your smoker or on a aluminum-foil-lined baking sheet in your oven. Let the eggs cook for about one hour, turning them at least once during the cook time to let them evenly crisp. (They’re done when the sausage reaches 160 degrees.)
During the last 10 minutes, glaze the eggs with the barbecue sauce.
Serve with additional barbecue sauce or along with breakfast fixin’s.

These turned out great. They’re extremely filling, because they’re packed with a ton of protein between the eggs, sausage and bacon. We did try them both with and without the barbecue sauce, and I recommend using it. The glaze was really nice and added a great flavor to the eggs.

Also, these did reheat OK from the fridge later in the week, but they were much better fresh off the smoker. You could also accomplish these in your oven, although you’ll really be missing out if they don’t have that smoked flavor.

I’m not sure the Brits would approve of this Americanized version of Scotch eggs, but I’m not going to lose sleep over it. I figure we stopped paying attention to British judgement a long time ago.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 1, 2022.

Tags bacon, barbecue rub, barbecue sauce, barrel smoker, Big Green Egg, breakfast sausage, ceramic grill, hard-foiled egg, Kamado Joe, outdoor breakfast, Scotch egg, smoker

Breakfast Dessert

With new recipes, you ‘cinna’ some, you lose some

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date March 31, 2022

Cinnamon roll cake is made very simply, with refrigerated cinnamon rolls and a few extra ingredients.

I’d like to think I’m not easily swayed by pretty pictures, but I was totally taken in last week by a photo of these amazing-looking molten cinnamon rolls.

They promised a warm, inviting cinnamon roll with oozing, melty cream cheese in the center.

Of course, I immediately bought a couple tubes of cinnamon rolls to give it a try.

I followed the recipe very closely (which everyone who knows me realizes was a struggle for me), and after wrapping little scoops of a frozen cream cheese mixture with the pre-made dough, I couldn’t wait to see my delicious molten cinnamon rolls come out of the oven.

The timer dinged, and I couldn’t wait to let them cool even a few minutes before I scooped one out and cut it in half.

And…nothing.

The cream cheese mixture had simply melted into the dough. All I accomplished was making some cream-cheesier-tasting cinnamon rolls, and nothing else.

So then I had the problem of another tube of cinnamon rolls in my fridge to solve. I was so sure that my molten rolls were going to be a hit, I already bought a second tube in anticipation. Well, as always, the Internet provided, which is where this week’s very simple recipe comes into play.

This comes from the blog “Love Bakes Good Cakes.” You can find the original post at https://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/cinnamon-roll-crumb-cake/. I added extra cinnamon in my version.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Cinnamon roll cake is made very simply, with refrigerated cinnamon rolls and a few extra ingredients.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword brown sugar, canned cinnamon rolls, cinnamon, cinnamon roll, easy breakfast, easy dessert

Ingredients

17.5- ounce tube refrigerated cinnamon rolls
3 tablespoons butter melted
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 rounded teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an eight-inch cake or pie pan by spraying it with cooking spray.
Pop open the tube of cinnamon rolls. Set aside the frosting, and start by placing one cinnamon roll in the center of your prepared pan. Unroll the next cinnamon roll and create one, giant cinnamon roll shape by wrapping it around the roll in the middle. Continue until all of the rolls are used.
In a bowl, mix the butter, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon until the mixture is well-combined and crumbly.
Sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the top of the cinnamon rolls, and bake for 25 minutes or until the topping is lightly browned.
Drizzle or pour the frosting over the top of the cake, and serve immediately. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

This was very simple, but it had a wow factor, since it cuts into nice slices for serving. It looks a lot more complicated and impressive than it really is to make.

The addition of the extra crumble on top was really yummy, too, and this was great with a cup of coffee.

And I was glad I was able to find a use for my tube of cinnamon rolls after all. I always hate it when a recipe doesn’t work out, but in this case, at least it wasn’t terrible to have to eat my mistakes.

This piece first appeared in print on March 31, 2022.

Tags brown sugar, canned cinnamon rolls, cinnamon, cinnamon rolls, easy breakfast, easy dessert

Breakfast

You don’t have to work hard for ‘egg’cellent pizza

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date February 10, 2022

Breakfast pizza is easy to make and gives you all the flavors of sausage gravy, eggs and fried potatoes in one, handheld meal.

In January, Joey happened upon a post for a local restaurant that was going to serve breakfast pizzas for their New Year’s Day brunch.

We weren’t able to make it, but he kept mentioning it over the next few weeks—noting that we could surely figure out how to make a fantastic breakfast pizza ourselves.

After all, we are pretty good at breakfast at our house. Of course, we mostly just eat it for dinner, opting for boring items like granola bars and cereal in the morning, but I think it still counts.

One of our favorites is making biscuits with sausage gravy, and that became the base for our breakfast pizza idea. After some brainstorming, we came to a consensus and created this week’s recipe.

As you will see, it’s simple to customize. You can easily make it spicy or substitute some frozen hashbrown potatoes in place of a fresh spud. You can even use a gravy mix, if you like. I won’t tell anyone.

Breakfast Pizza

Breakfast pizza is easy to make and gives you all the flavors of sausage gravy, eggs and fried potatoes in one, handheld meal.

Course Breakfast

Keyword cheese, eggs, pizza, potatoes, premade crust, sausage gravy

Ingredients

2 packages pre-made pizza dough I used 7.8-ounce crusts
1 pound sausage I used sage
flour amount will vary, see directions
milk I used skim (amount will vary, see directions)
1 medium potato thinly sliced
an egg for each person
salt and pepper to taste
about 2 cups shredded cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to whatever temperature is listed on your pre-made crusts. Roll them out onto pizza or sheet pans (place them on parchment paper for easier cleanup).
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, saute the sausage, crumbling it as it browns.
Once the sausage is cooked through, do not drain the fat from the pan. Sprinkle flour into the pan, a little at a time, while stirring. Add just enough flour to soak up all of the fat in the pan. You’ll know you have enough when the sausage is no longer shiny.
Cook for a couple minutes, and then add about one cup of milk. Stir, scraping the bottom of the skillet as you do to get any cooked on bits.
Add more milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly, until you reach your desired gravy consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. (I also normally add some more sage and some cayenne pepper to mine.) Remove it from heat.
Spread the gravy out on the crusts to within about an inch of the edge. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the gravy, and then top with potato slices.
Carefully crack one egg for each person you’re feeding toward the center of the pizzas and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Bake the pizzas for the amount of time on the crust packaging.
Cut into slices and serve.

We really enjoyed this for supper. It kind of combines all the great flavors of breakfast into one easy-to-eat meal. Plus, it reheated really well, too.

Variations we thought about were you could wait until halfway through the pizzas baking to crack the eggs on top to get a runny yolk, and we’re going to go out of our way to use spicy sausage next time, too.

It’s always nicer when somebody else cooks for you, and if we get a chance at some restaurant-made breakfast pizza sometime, I’m sure we’ll take it. But now that we know how to make this ourselves, staying home for dinner is pretty great option, too.

This piece first appeared in print on Feb. 10, 2022.

Tags easy breakfast, eggs, pizza, potatoes, sausage gravy, shredded cheese

Breakfast Dessert

Pumpkin spice donuts make for a ‘gourd’ fall recipe

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date October 28, 2021

Pumpkin spice donuts are extremely easy to make, only using two ingredients: a cake mix and a can of pumpkin puree.

One of the pieces of advice you get if you ever put your house on the market is to bake cookies before a showing so that your home feels more inviting.

When we had a house on the market several years ago, our real estate agent also banned us from cooking anything too pungent—like curry or fish—lest we end up with the opposite problem.

I was on board with the fish rule, but if it were up to me, I think the curry smell would attract me more than repel me from a house. To each his own, I guess.

I thought about that advice this week after making this week’s recipe for pumpkin spice donuts. Our whole house immediately just smelled like fall—comforting and inviting.

If you don’t tend to be a baker, this is the recipe for you. All you need is a donut pan and two ingredients, and you can have some amazing donuts in no time.

I found this recipe on the blog “The Suburban Soapbox.” You can find the original post at https://thesuburbansoapbox.com/two-ingredient-baked-pumpkin-spice-donuts/. I didn’t make any changes to the recipe, since it’s only two ingredients, but I did leave off the powdered sugar glaze the original post suggested. These were moist, flavorful and plenty sweet without it.

Pumpkin Spice Cake Donuts

Pumpkin spice donuts are extremely easy to make, only using two ingredients: a cake mix and a can of pumpkin puree.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword cake mix, donuts, pumpkin, spice cake

Ingredients

15.25- ounce spice cake mix
15 ounces pumpkin puree

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and prepare a donut pan by lightly spraying the wells with cooking spray.
In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix and pumpkin puree until the mixture is smooth (it will be thick).
Spoon your filling into the wells (or use a piping bag, as the original recipe author suggests, if you want your donuts to look more uniform and not have rough edges). I filled my wells to the tops.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the donuts comes out clean.
Let the donuts cool and then remove them from the pan, running a knife around the edges of each, if necessary, to loosen them. Store the finished donuts in an airtight container.

These were so, so easy and made a moist, delicious donut, too. The only “hard” part was that since I only have a six-well donut pan, I had to go in batches to get my donuts done. I managed to get a dozen out of this recipe.

That same day, I decided to make some chili in my crockpot, and I ate a donut along with my bowl that evening. It wasn’t quite the same as a cinnamon roll, but it was a great companion. They were also phenomenal along with a cup of coffee for breakfast.

I hope I don’t have to move from our current house any time soon (like never, ever, ever), but if I do have to put a house on the market again, I’m going to remember this recipe as a great air freshener. It’s quick, easy and smells and tastes fantastic.

Plus, if you don’t end up with any offers on your house, at least you have donuts to drown your sorrows.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 28, 2021.

Tags cake mix recipe, donuts, pumpkin, pumpkin spice

Breakfast

Muffin pancakes make sure breakfast won’t fall flat

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date May 27, 2021

Pancakes are easy to create in multiple flavors with just three ingredients: a muffin mix, an egg and milk.

When our family recently got together for Mother’s Day, my three-year-old niece and I got plenty of quality time, looking for bugs, hunting for seashells next to a creek and getting more than just a little muddy.

It was a great day. Once we were cleaned up and inside again, my sister mentioned that my niece was looking forward to a summer sleepover at each set of grandparents’ houses. Apparently, a three-year-old’s interpretation of a sleepover includes kicking Grandpa out of the big bed to have a slumber party with Grandma and something special for breakfast.

I offered up that I wouldn’t mind being on the sleepover schedule, too, and she was immediately interested in what I’d have for breakfast at my house.

I asked her what she thought we should have, and she settled on donuts. Oh, and pancakes. Oh, and bacon. Oh, and cookies. You know, all the normal breakfast stuff.

I figured I better get my pancake skills up to snuff, since I’m notoriously bad at making them, and mine normally turn out thick and dense instead of light and fluffy.

That’s why I decided to try this week’s recipe, which I found posted on social media with no attribution as to who first discovered this technique. It’s a way to turn a simple muffin mix into great, delicious pancakes. It’s insanely easy, as you’ll see, and I didn’t change a thing, although you could add anything you wanted to these—from chocolate chips to fresh fruit to sprinkles.

Muffin Mix Pancakes

Pancakes are easy to create in multiple flavors with just three ingredients: a muffin mix, an egg and milk.

Course Breakfast

Keyword easy, muffin mix, pancakes

Ingredients

7 ounce muffin mix any flavor
2/3 cup milk
1 egg
cooking spray

Instructions

Heat a six-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Spray it with cooking spray.
Once the skillet is hot, pour enough batter into the pan to cover the bottom.
Let the batter cook for several minutes. Once the edges are slightly brown and bubbles are rising in the middle of the pancake, carefully flip it over.
Cook for another minute or so, and remove to a plate. Cover to keep warm while you finish the rest of the pancakes. For best results, spray the pan with cooking spray in between each pancake.
Serve with your favorite toppings.

I got four six-inch pancakes out of this batter. If I would have gone a little thinner with them or made silver dollar pancakes, as I probably will when my niece stays over, I could have gotten more.

I opted for using a blueberry pancake mix, which was pretty darn good. There were several other options at my local grocery store for mixes—from banana to cinnamon sugar to chocolate chip.

You could quickly and easily make several flavors for everyone in the family.

I’m guessing my niece will have a whole new menu planned for us by the time she and I get to have our sleepover. Of course, after her first slumber party at Grandma and Grandpa’s, I’m going to have to up my game. Those people take spoiling to a whole new level, and pancakes and cookies for breakfast probably ain’t gonna cut it.

This piece first appeared in print on May 27, 2021.

Tags easy breakfast, muffin mix, pancakes

Breakfast Dessert

Pastries are dish worth ‘scone’ing on about

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date October 29, 2020

With walnuts and chocolate chips mixed in, banana bread scones are a great choice for breakfast or dessert.

I don’t get a chance to listen to the radio much on the weekends, but when I do, I try to catch the public radio show “The Splendid Table.”

It’s a fun listen, if you’ve never heard it. The show isn’t just about sharing recipes. They tend to jump into all aspects of food—the culture, the techniques, the cooks. Strangely enough through, despite listening to quite a few episodes over the years, I haven’t tried very many of the featured recipes.

That changed this week when I was once again looking for some way to keep using up the rapidly browning bananas on my countertop, and I realized I should have tried more of their dishes a lot sooner, because this one was delicious.

This recipe is on “The Splendid Table” website and was written by Samantha Seneviratne for her cookbook “The Joys of Baking.” You can find the original post at https://www.splendidtable.org/story/2020/01/17/banana-bread-scones. I doubled the vanilla and changed the directions just a tad in my version. I also used walnuts instead of toasted hazelnuts.

Banana Bread Scones

With walnuts and chocolate chips mixed in, banana bread scones are a great choice for breakfast or dessert.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword banana, chocolate chips, scone, walnuts

Ingredients

1 large over-ripe banana, mashed
1/3 cup heavy cream plus some for brushing tops
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter cold and cubed
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup walnuts finely chopped
Sugar for tops of scones

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
Beat the banana, cream, egg and vanilla together in a small bowl.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt and then cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter or a fork. Once the mixture looks crumbly, add in the banana mixture and stir until just combined.
Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.
Using a large cookie scoop, place scoops of the batter about two inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Brush the tops of the dough with cream and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

We had to make sure to give several of these away, because Joey and I were going to quickly eat all of them by ourselves. If you like banana bread, you’ll definitely like these, too.

The only problem is this recipe only helped me get rid of a single banana. I may have to make a second batch this weekend. I already know what I can listen to while I do.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 29, 2020.

Tags banana, chocolate chips, scone, walnuts