Pumpkin Pancakes and a Giveaway

It’s here! This week we celebrate my third blog anniversary and my birthday. January 7, 2006 was the day I found the first comment on my little online cooking database—it had been there for a couple weeks—and suddenly I realized I had a cooking blog. It’s also the day I found out I was pregnant with Monkey Boy, but that’s another story. Since we have two big things to celebrate I thought it would be fun to have some giveaways, so be on the lookout for at least one giveaway each week through the end of the month. This week’s giveaway is sponsored by Stonyfield Farm.

I’ll say this right up front: we are a family of yogurt eaters, and Stonyfield Farm is my favorite yogurt. I got hooked on the French Vanilla years ago and have been eating and cooking with their yogurts ever since. This pancake recipe from the Stonyfield website uses plain yogurt and pumpkin puree to make easy and fluffy pancakes. These are a family favorite and a great way to finish off any leftover pumpkin from holiday baking. Use fresh homemade puree or canned, whatever suits you.

This week’s prize package from Stonyfield Farm includes $50 worth of coupons for free delicious and healthy Stonyfield Farm yogurt, a reusable shopping bag, oven mitt, and spatula.

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Cranberry Apple French Toast

Inspired by cranberry orange upside down cake, I wanted a good easy hot breakfast for holidays mornings such as Christmas or Thanksgiving when I don’t have much time for a big breakfast. Baking French toast is an easy and delicious way to make it without having to stand over the stove while cooking each slice. The toppings go into the bottom of the pan with the bread and custard on top. To serve, simply scoop out spoonfuls and turn over onto plates. The fruit and juices run down and around the plate, soaking the bread in it’s goodness. It doesn’t look like much on the plate when everything dumps over, but the spices and the flavors of fresh cranberries, apples, and oranges will make up for its unassuming appearance.

Like many baked French toast recipes, this one requires an overnight resting time in the refrigerator so the bread can soak up some of the custard by morning. Pull the pan out of the frig while the oven preheats, then bake covered for about 40 min. You can remove the foil for the last few minutes to help brown and crisp the top layer of bread.

CRANBERRY APPLE FRENCH TOAST

Serves 6.

Equipment

2-1/2 to 3-quart oval casserole with tall sides (like a Pyrex French White casserole)

Ingredients

4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter
1 cup (110 g) packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup (28 g) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
zest and juice of 1 orange, divided
1 medium to large apple, chopped (or thinly sliced)
1 cup (100 g) fresh cranberries, rinsed
1 loaf challah or French bread, cut into 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) thick slices
6 eggs, beaten
2 cups (480 ml) half & half

Preparation

1. Melt the butter and pour into the casserole. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, nuts (optional), orange zest, and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Press along the bottom to form a kind of crust.

2. Arrange the apples and cranberries over the butter and sugar mixture.

3. Arrange the bread slices in a way that covers the fruit. Drizzle half the remaining orange juice over the bread.

4. Whisk together the beaten eggs and half & half, and pour half of it over the bread.

5. Make another layer of bread, drizzle remaining orange juice and then pour on the remaining egg mixture.

6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

7. Preheat oven to 375° F/190° C. Remove plastic wrap, cover with foil, and bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove the foil for the last few minutes of cooking to brown and crisp the top layer of bread. Scoop out large spoonfuls and turn over onto serving plates.

More Breakfast Recipes

More French Toast Recipes From Around the Blogs

Smitten Kitchen – Boozy Baked French Toast

Simply Recipes – Crunchy French Toast

Pinch My Salt – Spiked Egg Nog French Toast

The Leftover Queen – Mango Stuffed French Toast

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Pumpkin Scones

Thanksgiving day breakfast is made to be special, especially if you have family or friends visiting, but it doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming. In fact, we try to keep breakfast simple on big feast days just because we have so much other cooking business to attend to. Often I make breakfast the night before and warm it up in the morning. Scones and muffins are easy breakfasts that hold up well overnight and taste delicious in the morning with hot tea, coffee, or mulled cider.

I adapted these pumpkin scones from my cherry sour cream scones recipe. The pumpkin puree acts as a binder and keeps the scones just moist enough to hold together, while the milk and cinnamon sugar on top gives a satisfying crunch.

PUMPKIN SCONES

Makes 8 scones.

Equipment

food processor with blade attachment
small bowl
large mixing bowl
baking sheet, greased or lined with parchment paper

Ingredients

2 cups (240 g) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1/3 cup (58 g) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons/113 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup (50 g) raisins or golden raisins
1/2 cup (120 mil) pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
milk
cinnamon & sugar mix

Preparation

1. Move oven rack to the lower-middle part of the oven. Preheat oven to 400° F.

2. In food processor bowl, mix the flour, cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the pieces of butter and pulse about 10 to 12 times. The mixture should resemble coarse cornmeal.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth.

4. Pour the flour mixture into the large mixing bowl and add the raisins. Stir in the pumpkin mixture until large dough clumps form. Press it all together with a spatula, making sure you don’t have any loose bits of flour.

5. Flour your hands well. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and pat into an 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Brush milk on the top and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mix.

6. Cut into 8 triangles and place them on the prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

Make Ahead

For a quick breakfast, make them the night before and wrap in a tea towel when cool, then warm in the oven in the morning.

More Thanksgiving Day Breakfast Recipes

More Scones Recipes From Around the Blogs

Farmgirl Fare – Savory Cheese and Scallion Scones

Cooking with Amy – Scottish Oat Scones

Baking and Books – Coffee-Glazed Chocolate Chip Scones

Albion Cooks – Irish Buttermilk Scones

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Cranberry Orange Upside Down Cake

When I was a kid thought of upside down cakes as “dump cakes.” You know, you dump the cake out of the pan and stuff runs everywhere. It seemed reasonable at the time, even if it sounded less than palatable to the average ear. My boys think upside down cakes are magic, and I had an audience when I turned this one out onto the serving plate. Top Gun stood as patiently as he possibly could, his eyes big as saucers when I lifted off the pan, and he simply said, “Wow.” Then after tasting a few crumbs he wanted to know when we were having dessert.

I like upside down cakes because the fruit and glaze looks so pretty on the top, and for the most part they are easy to make. You can serve them as is or dress it up for guests with a little whipped cream or ice cream; either way, you have a simple cake that looks beautiful and works well for dessert or brunch.

With cranberries in season, this is an easy and tasty way to use them. The tartness of the berries and the orange juice balances the sweetness of the brown sugar, the orange zest carries on the theme in the cake, and the whipped cream has just a touch of orange flavor with Grand Marnier.

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Orange Blueberry Muffins

When I acquired a copy of Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours a couple months ago, my reasoning was I needed it for whatever challenges The Daring Bakers might throw out, but really it’s because I wanted to try every recipe in the book. I’d seen wonderful samples all over the cooking blogs for so long I couldn’t hold out any longer.

Even though The Daring Bakers made Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake in March, I felt I should start at the beginning and work my way through the book, so we started with her Orange Blueberry Muffins for breakfast one morning, and they were gone in a flash. As I studied the recipe the night before, I realized I had some homemade candied orange peel stored in a jar of sugar in the pantry, and I couldn’t resist adding it. I chopped about 1/4 cup of the peel (sorry, I forgot to weigh it) and then sprinkled some of the orange sugar on top of the muffins. As it turns out, it’s a good thing I added the chopped orange peel because Top Gun was stealing blueberries behind my back, so adding the orange peel helped make up for the loss of the blueberries.

We enjoyed the extra orange flavor, and now I have to make more candied orange peel so we can have these muffins again.  The orange and blueberry combination was delicious. And as for the color, they really were that orange!

ORANGE BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan.

Equipment

regular sized muffin pan, buttered or lightly coated with cooking spray
baking sheet
large glass measuring cup or bowl
large mixing bowl
#20 (large) cookie scoop (3 tablespoons)

Ingredients

grated zest and juice of 1 orange
about 3/4 cup (178 ml) buttermilk (I use 1 tablespoon lemon juice + enough skim milk to make 3/4 cup)
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons honey
1 stick (8 tablespoons/113 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup (58 g) granulated sugar
2 cups (240 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (141 g) blueberries, fresh preferred, frozen ok (not thawed)
1/4 cup chopped candied orange peel
orange sugar (from storing the orange peel)

Preparation

1. Place the baking rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400° F. Place the muffin pan on the baking sheet.

2. Pour the orange juice into the large glass measuring cup and add enough of the buttermilk to make 1 full cup (237 ml). Whisk in the eggs, honey, and melted butter.

3. In the large mixing bowl, rub the orange zest into the sugar until you can smell the orange. It should smell strong.

4. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to quickly and gently stir. The batter will look lumpy and bubbly, and that’s ok.

5. Gently stir in the blueberries and the chopped orange peel.

6. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups and sprinkle the orange sugar on top.

7. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. The tops should be golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to rest in the pan for 5 minutes. Carefully remove and allow to cool a few minutes before serving warm or at room temperature.

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The Sweet Melissa Baking Book

How often do you find a cookbook that is so chock full of good recipes that you want to make every single one of them? That day? That’s how I felt when The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy arrived in my mailbox. I grabbed the package and took it along in the car when I went to pick up the boys for school, knowing I would have a few minutes to browse while waiting for them. A few minutes was not enough because I found myself pouring over the pages. Many of my cookbooks have sticky flags on the pages with recipes that I like or want to try, but for Murphy’s book I didn’t even bother because I will eventually make everything in it, and the things that I have made so far have been fantastic.

Murphy is the chef and owner of Sweet Melissa Patisserie in New York City, a popular bakery considered one of the best in the city. I spent some time on the bakery’s website, wishing I had a spot in my neighborhood with food that good so I could take the laptop and hang out there on my mommy days. The menu is so tempting and her wedding and specialty cakes are breathtaking. I plan to take a trip to New York City sometime, and one of my first stops will be Sweet Melissa, especially if it has WiFi. Murphy also has a few baking podcasts available on PodCastGo.com, which are now on my iPod.

Because my favorite meal is breakfast, I started in the “Dessert for Breakfast” chapter with her Sweet Muffins recipe. For both her sweet and savory muffins, Murphy encourages variation by not specifying particular fruits or cheeses and vegetables within the text of the recipes, but saves the suggestions for tasty combinations for the end. I made the sweet muffins while Michael’s parents were visiting a few weekends ago, and added apples, cinnamon, and dried cranberries. The muffins were a hit, and it’s a good thing I made a double batch that morning, otherwise there would have been none left for me to photograph. They were perfect right out of the pan, no butter or jam required, with a slightly crispy crust and moist crumb, and the vanilla sugar on top added a sweet, aromatic crunch. Read more

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