Brown Sugar and Spice Muffins

"There are two ways to live your life. One as though nothing is a miracle. The other as though everything is a miracle."

Albert Einstein




Wow, the holidays are here! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! The weather is chilly here. I don't seem to remember how cold it gets here in Western Washington. The Summer comes, and I blissfully forget of the winter before, leaving me cold and dumbstruck when it arrives again.



Mix wet ingredients with dry

We've lived here 5 years now. Maybe it takes longer than that to forget a lifetime of year round warm weather in Southern California.

Don't mix it too much, just until it's combined

This is the kind of food I like to eat when the weather is cold. Warm, simple food with yummy spices. This muffin recipe is super easy. Really. Add dry ingredients in a bowl, add wet in another bowl, and fold together gently. That's it! Which makes these muffins easy to whip up in a hurry.

Scoop batter into greased muffin tin

With the holidays upon us, and families visiting, having an easy muffin recipe with simple ingredients in your back pocket is a good thing.

  

Right out of the oven

These muffins will please even the most discerning guest. They are moist, and flavorful, with a sweet cinnamon sugar top. Heartwarming food that will comfort you on a cold day.

Vintage Paragon teacup (below) available in my Etsy shop, House of Lucien.

House of Lucien is having a big CYBER WEEK SALE! Take 20 % off anything and everything using coupon code, CYBERMONDAY2012. Coupon good till Friday, 11/30/2012.

House of Lucien is also on facebook!

Brown Sugar and Spice Muffins

These would also be tasty with some raisins, or other dried fruit, or nuts added


Ingredients

Dry:

2 cups (300 g.) all-purpose flour

1 cup (200 g.) brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Wet:

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups plain yogurt or sour cream

1/3 cup (78 ml.) vegetable oil

1/4 cup (59 ml) unsweetened applesauce

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For Topping

cinnamon sugar

ground nutmeg

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees Fahrenheit, 190 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 5. Spray or grease a 12 count muffin tin. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and gently fold the mixture into the dry mixture. Don't mix it too much, your muffins will be tough if you do. Just mix it enough to blend it, then stop.

Scoop the batter into the muffin tins using an ice cream scoop. Sprinkle tops of muffins with a little cinnamon sugar, then top them with a little freshly grated nutmeg.

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes, (check after 18 minutes.) Let the muffins cool on a wire rack in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the tins by running a knife along the edge to loosen, then remove and let cool on a rack, or remove them and serve them!

 

Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Cookies

 ”Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

- Will Rogers 

I need to have something already ready for me for breakfast every morning. I am hungry when I wake up. If I don't have something healthy to eat ready to go, I'll just eat whatever sounds delicious to me right then in the moment. For instance, if there is a cupcake laying around, I'll eat a cupcake. Not exactly a breakfast of champions, and not even filling, and not even what I'm really craving.

 

 

Make sure you buy Aluminum free baking powder next time you purchase it. Too much aluminum leads to Alzheimer's disease. I have this great natural vet, and she knows I bake treats for my dogs, she told me I better be using aluminum free baking powder since the aluminum isn't good for anyone including dogs. She told me, "I don't care if you use it for yourself, but I do care if you feed it to your dog." I love that she cares so much about my dogs.

That's why I like these breakfast cookies. Long ago, I made some banana breakfast cookies. They are healthy, filling, and ready for eating when you wake up.

The dry ingredients

This pumpkin spice version is just as delicious. Pumpkin is even a vegetable! I never thought I would be eating a vegetable for breakfast. These cookies are healthy and gluten free.

This is the dried milk I used. One pouch is one cup, the amount called for in this recipe. Make sure you check the expiration on you dried milk, if it smells bad, it probably is. Dried milk doesn't last forever.

 

Full of pumpkin, dried milk, oats, flax seeds, walnuts and raisins. It's like eating a healthy bowl of cereal in a cookie! But even better because you know exactly what's in it since you made it. Speaking of making them, it's easy. A one bowl, stir it up, pop in the oven kind of recipe.

 

 

I buy whole flax seeds and store them in the fridge. If I need ground flax seeds I grind them in the Vita Mix or a food processor. Whole flax seeds last longer than ground.

 

I like to use flax seeds because they are filled with Omega 3 fatty acids. But you don't have to use them if you don't keep them in the house. You can use oat flour or whole wheat flour instead. (If you use whole wheat flour they won't be gluten free, FYI.)

 

Scoop out the dough with a scoop

These are so great because you can freeze them individually and take one out when you need it. So bake once and eat a healthy breakfast everyday for days.

Flatten them out a bit, they don't spread much

 

 

With these in the house I won't have to eat a cupcake for breakfast unless I really want to.



I added raisins and nuts to the top of my cookies

 

 

 

English Ironstone Transferware Plates and Tablecloth available at my Etsy shop,
House of Lucien.

 

Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Cookies

 

an original recipe by me, Melissa aka The Alchemist

 

Makes 9 or 10 Cookies, recipe can easily be doubled and cookies can be frozen, wrapped individually then placed in a zip top bag, for at least 6 months.

 

 

Ingredients

 

1 1/2 cups (130 g.) oats - gluten free, (if you want to make these GF)- old fashioned or quick, but not instant

 

5 Tablespoons ground flax seeds or oat flour (oats ground in the blender or food processor till a powder) or whole wheat flour - if you use whole wheat flour they won't be gluten free

 

1 cup (3.2 oz.) (90.7 g.) powdered nonfat milk (make sure it's not expired, it does go bad)

 

1/4 cup (38 g.) brown sugar

 

1 tsp. baking powder

 

1 tsp. baking soda

 

1/4 tsp. salt

 

1 Tablespoon plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

 

3 heaping Tablespoons raisins, plus more for topping cookies (if desired)

 

3 heaping Tablespoons chopped walnuts plus more for topping cookies (if desired)

 

1 can (15 oz) (425 g.) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

 

1 egg

 

1/3 cup (79 ml) honey

 

 

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 Degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 4.

 

In a large bowl add all of the dry ingredients and whisk together. Then add the walnuts and raisins and whisk again. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix with a large spoon until well combined.

 

Scoop out dough with an ice cream scoop onto parchment paper lined (or silpat lined) cookie sheets. With the back of a spatula or the back of a wooden spoon pat the scoops down just a bit. They don't spread out much.

 

Add raisins and walnuts to each individual cookie if you wish.

 

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven.

 

Let cool on wire racks. Cookies can be stored in the fridge for 5 days covered in an airtight container. You can also freeze these. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap, then place them all in a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Take one out when you wake up and by the time you want to eat it it should be defrosted. (about an hour or less.) Or you can always take one or two out the night before.
 

Breakfast Baked Potatoes

 

"Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal."

 

- Pamela Vaull Starr

 

Eggs and potatoes, a match made in heaven! I eat them all the time, but never with one inside the other. A brilliant idea! When I saw this done by another blogger, Our Best Bites, I thought why isn't everyone everywhere doing this all the time!

 

 

Slice off the top of the potato

 

It's perfect. Protein, potatoes and eggs all in one easy to manage vessel. And a great use of leftover baked potatoes.

 

 

Scoop out the insides, not all of them, but most. Salt and pepper the insides and brush them with melted butter.

Fill your potatoes with everything you love to put in an omelet. Cheese, ham, bacon, spinach, tomatoes, chives, chili. I love me a chili omelet. So I made a ham and cheese potato, and a chili and cheese potato.

Fill them up with yummy stuff. I did a ham and cheese, and a chili and cheese. Anything you would put in an omelet or a quiche.

 

I think these would be great to serve at a brunch, with some muffins, and fruit.

 

Crack and egg on top and more salt and pepper

 

This is just an idea, not really a recipe, so go wild! Bake up some potatoes and fill them with all kinds of yummy stuff you like. Potatoes are cheap, and eggs are a good source of protein, so it's all good.

 

 

 

 

Vintage Minton Gold Teacup and Vintage Orange Pumpkin Cloth Napkins available at my Etsy Shop, House of Lucien.

 

 Breakfast Baked Potatoes

 

 

 

Adapted from Our Best Bites

 

Ingredients

baked potatoes, cooked and slightly cooled - if straight from the fridge, I'd warm them slightly to just warm, or room temperature

melted butter

salt and black pepper

Shredded cheese (cheddar, Gruyere, Fontina, pepper jack, or other of your choice)

eggs

additional fillings of your choice: sauteed vegetables, bacon or ham, chili, etc. or raw veggies like chives or chopped tomatoes

 

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 4.

Slice a layer off the top of each potato. Use a spoon to gently scoop out insides, leaving a thin layer of potato against the skin and avoiding puncturing the bottom. Reserve scooped potato for another use.

Brush inside of each potato with melted butter and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Sprinkle a layer of shredded cheese into each potato and add fillings as desired (vegetables, diced meat, etc.) Fill each potato about 1/2 full. Crack one egg into each potato. Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper. Top with additional cheese and toppings if desired.

Place potatoes on a in an oven safe dish and cook for about 20 minutes, it could be as little as 15 minutes, or as many as 25 minutes or more. (The amount of time depends on how large your potato is, if it's warm or cold, etc.)  Egg whites should be set and yolks soft.

Easy Cream Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy

"To be a champ, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will."

 

-Sugar Ray Robinson
1921-1989, Professional Boxer

So I love biscuits. I even made biscuits and gravy (and eggs) on vacation in Oregon recently in our room that had a small kitchen. That's sounds crazy to some people to cook on vacation, but our room was right on the river with a porch to sit outside. So who wants to leave and drive 15 minutes each way to a mediocre breakfast, (I did some research about restaurants in the area, and it was slim pickins) when I'm perfectly capable of making something yummy myself in the room?

Mix the flour and sugar

 

To make biscuits and gravy on vacation, you just need a few things: Bisquick, milk, sausage, butter for buttering them if you wish, (and to cook the eggs), and eggs on the side. If you grew up with your mom using Bisquick, then you know you can make drop biscuits by only adding milk to the mix. Mix together milk and Bisquick, and drop them on a baking sheet and voila! You have biscuits. To make sausage gravy, you cook up your sausage, add a few tablespoons of Bisquick, and add milk and you have sausage gravy. (By the way, both of those recipes are right on the back of the box.)

 

The biscuits, are decent, they are good, not bad. The gravy is fantastic.

 

Add the cream and mix (Seriously it's that easy)

 

But here's the point. (Finally.) Instead of buying Bisquick for vacation biscuits, you can buy self rising flour, and cream instead of milk, and have these Cream Biscuits!!! Which are fabulous!! They are light as a feather, and delicate, and really delicious. With the exact same amount of work.

 

Isn't that amazing?

 

Form a rectangle that is 1/2 inch thick, (I just wanted to get this done, so it's not perfect.)

There is also a tablespoon of sugar in these, but you should have packets of sugar in the room for your coffee.

You don't even need a biscuit cutter because you can just cut them into squares. And seriously, you can have biscuits in the oven in just a few minutes, I'm not kidding you.

Put them on a Silpat, or parchment, and bake (yeah, not really perfect squares, but who cares.)

When I made these, I was craving bread and sugar, it was that kind of day. But I didn't want to work for it. So I made these and I didn't, (well hardly any work.)

 I had seen over the years Southern people posting recipes about chocolate gravy and biscuits, and how their grandmother would make it for them. How it's something they grew up eating. Whenever I read these stories I wish I was from the South.



While they are cooking (10 minutes ish) make the chocolate gravy, it will be done by the time they come out of the oven.

If you've never eaten chocolate gravy, it's like a thinner version of chocolate pudding. I got my recipe from who else? The Southern queen herself, Paula Deen. I read in the comments, people so happy to have the recipe since they ate it as a child. They said, "You must put butter on the biscuit first before pouring on the gravy." Say no more. I not going to fight with tradition.

Right out of the oven

If you can't get your mind around chocolate gravy and biscuits, just think of it this way. Other cultures have eaten bread and chocolate for years. The French have chocolate croissants. I also read that a popular after school snack in France is slices of a baguette with some dark chocolate on top. A chocolate sandwich. The Southern and the French sure know how to eat.

 

Easy Cream Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy

Both recipes adapted by ones from Paula Deen. Paula's Cream Biscuits, Paula's Chocolate Gravy.

Ingredients for Cream Biscuits

 2 cups (200 g.) self-rising flour, plus more for dusting (or if you only have regular flour, mix in 2 tsp. baking powder and 3/4 tsp. salt into the same amount of all purpose flour)

 

1 tablespoon sugar

 

1 1/2 cups (355 ml.) heavy whipping cream - don't substitute. You need to fat from the cream since there is no other fat (butter or shortening) in this recipe

 

 

Directions for Biscuits

 

Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit, 240 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 9.

 

Mix together the flour and the sugar with a whisk. Add the cream and stir with a spoon until the dough comes together. Pat out the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle that is 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 12 squares and place on the Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet.

 

While they are baking make the Chocolate Gravy, below.

 

Bake for about 10 - 12 minutes. Until they are done inside, and are slightly browned.

 

Serve with chocolate gravy if you wish, recipe below.

 

 

Chocolate Gravy Ingredients

 

3 Tablespoons butter

 

2/3 cup (115 g.) sugar

 

2-3 Tablespoons flour ( Paula's recipe calls for 2, but next time I make this I will use 3 because I want mine a little thicker.)

 

1/3 cup (28 g.) cocoa powder

 

2 cups (473 ml) whole milk

 

 

Directions for making chocolate gravy

 

In a saucepan on medium high heat, place butter. When butter melts, add sugar, flour and cocoa and stir. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking to remove lumps. Stir constantly until it becomes thick. Be careful, (don't walk away) it can scorch easily. When it's thick remove it from the heat and serve by pouring it over buttered biscuits.

 

Berry Cream Cheese Crumb Cake

 

“All in all, it was a never-to-be-forgotten summer — one of those summers which come seldom into any life, but leave a rich heritage of beautiful memories in their going — one of those summers which, in a fortunate combination of delightful weather, delightful friends and delightful doing, come as near to perfection as anything can come in this world.”  

 

-  L.M. Montgomery, Anne's House of Dreams 

 

I've just returned from vacation to the Oregon coast, and Grants Pass, Oregon on the Rogue River. It was fabulous. We had such a great time, relaxing, sight seeing, frolicking in the water, exploring small towns, and eating well. At every stop the weather was perfect. The places we stayed, we were welcomed with exuberance. It was a magical trip.

 

Much of the Oregon Coast is undeveloped, and gorgeous

 

My favorite day of our trip,we kayaked all day on the Rogue River. Not just kayaked, we got out and swam in the river. At some points I got out of the boat and floated down the river, it was so fun. There were places where we would "pull over" to the shore. We were going up stream, then down stream, up and down a few times. So to go up stream, once we hit the rapids, (not really big rapids, but still rapids) of course it's impossible to paddle against that. So we would pull the kayak over, and walk it up stream, past the rapids.

 

The view from our room on the Rogue River

One of those times at the shore I looked over, and in front of me was a mass of wild blackberry bushes, full of ripe blackberries!  I couldn't believe my eyes, it was like a mirage. We had already been out for hours, so we could use a snack, what more could we ask for? We ate berry after berry, perfectly ripe and sweet, warm from the sun. There were so many of them, I was looking for a way to take some with me. The only vessel I had was my almost empty water bottle. We swiftly drank that water and filled my Sigg bottle with blackberries.

 

 

Some of the many geese that live on the Rogue River

 

I got back to the room and put some of those berries in a bowl, added a packet of sugar (meant for our morning coffee) and added 3 or 4 of those little half and half creamers that were in our fridge (also meant for coffee) to enjoy my second berry snack sweetened with cream.

 

 

 

Some of the wild blackberries I picked in Oregon mixed with some frozen blueberries to make the compote for this cake

 

I took the rest of the berries home, added some blueberries I had in the freezer, and made a compote that tops this cake.

 

 

 

Spreading the cream cheese layer on top of the cake layer

 

This cake has the flavors of a cream cheese danish, but in a cake. The cake itself is rich and buttery, topped with lemony cream cheese, then brown sugar crumb topping and finally topped with the slightly tart berry compote.

 

 

 

The crumb topping goes on top of the cream cheese layer

It's really delicious. Perfect for a weekend brunch.

The berry compote thickens to almost a jam

If you haven't picked some wild berries lately, you can use almost any type of berry, or even another type of fruit. Raspberries would be awesome, peaches or plums sound equally amazing.

Ready for the oven


 

 

 

 

 

I'm glad the berries I picked turned into something so scrumptious!

 

Forever I will look back at this recipe with a special fondness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Berry Cream Cheese Crumb Cake

 

 

Ingredients

 

For the Cake

 

2 1/4 cup (337g.) flour

 

1/2 cup (100 g.) sugar

 

2 tsp. baking powder

 

1/2 tsp. salt

 

1 egg

 

1/2 cup (118 ml) whole milk, soured by adding 1 tsp. lemon juice or vinegar and let sit on the counter for 5 minutes

 

4 Tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt

 

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) (113 g.) melted

 

2 tsp. vanilla extract

 

 

For the Berry Compote

 

about 3 cups (about a pint and a half) (18 oz) or (510 g.) berries (I used blackberries and blueberries)

 

1/4 cup (50 g.) sugar (more or less depending on the sweetness of the fruit)

 

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

 

 

Cream Cheese Layer

 

1 - 8 oz package (227 g.) of cream cheese at room temperature

 

1 egg yolk

 

1/4 cup (50 g.) sugar

The zest from one lemon - done on a microplane is best to get it very fine

 

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

 

 

For the Crumb Mixture

 

1 cup (150 g.) flour

 

1 cup (150 g.) packed brown sugar

 

1/2 tsp salt

 

1 tsp. cinnamon

 

1/2 cup butter, (1 stick) (113 g.) , melted

 

 

Directions

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, 180 degrees Celsius, Gas Mark 4.

 

Grease a 9x13 pan, set aside.

 

Start by making the berry compote. Add all of the ingredients of the compote, to a saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring frequently until it's thickened, about 20 minutes or so. You want it thick, but not quite as thick as jam, it shouldn't be as sweet as jam, so it serves as the slightly tart component with the sweet cake and crumb mixture. Taste it to see if it tastes good, if it's super tart add a little more sugar. While that's cooking, start making the cake.

 

To make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. The flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. The egg, melted butter, sour cream (or yogurt), soured milk, and vanilla extract.

 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir them together until incorporated. The batter will be thick. Spread the cake batter into the greased pan.

 

Make the cream cheese layer- Stir together all of the ingredients for the cream cheese layer, and spread it on top of the cake layer.

 

Make the Crumb Mixture - Add the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon to a large bowl and stir. Add the melted butter and stir until crumbs form. Crumble the mixture over the cream cheese layer.

 

Now add the berry compote to the top. Spoon the berry mixture over the crumbs in 4 wide strips down the cake, so that some of the crumbs still show.

 

Bake the cake for about 25-35 minutes in the preheated oven. You want the cake portion to be done, of course. The rest will set up while it's cooling. Use the tip of a knife or a toothpick inserted in the center. If you don't get any cake batter on it, then it's done.

 

Let it set up before you slice it, on the counter for a few hours or in the fridge for an hour or so, till it's room temperature.

 

I would store this cake in the fridge, covered, since it has the cream cheese. But I would serve it at room temperature.