Friday, April 11, 2014

April 11, 2014

We had success in the kitchen especially related the breakfast!  One keeper pancake recipe, and one keeper waffle recipe.  The kids love to eat a hot breakfast before heading off to school, and since I currently have the time in the morning to do that, I occasionally make them pancakes or waffles during the school week.  The pancake recipe is really versatile - you can add any flavor yogurt you want!  We love blueberries around here, so that is what we added, though I anticipate trying a variety of flavors in the future!  And the waffle recipe called for a mix of AP and whole wheat flour as well as a mashed banana.  We thought they were great - not overly banana-y flavored and super yummy!

I hadn't done a taste test in a while, and one night I had a little time on my hands (a rarity these days) so I whipped up three (yes, three) batches of blondies.  At my sister's birthday celebration a few weeks back I tried some that were outstanding!  I haven't yet gotten that recipe, but with bookclub this past week I knew it was the perfect opportunity to try a few different recipes.  All three had basically the same ingredients but in varying amounts. One had 1 tsp of vanilla while a second had 4!  That is a big difference!  My family took the taste test and voted, and the ladies in bookclub voted, and there was a clear winner.  Two of the three options each earned a single vote while all the rest of the votes went to a recipe from the Joy of Cooking.  I would still love to get a copy of the recipe that I had at the party as it was a thick and moist bar, but these thin blondies were fantastic!  And the bonus - we've got enough blondies in the freezer to get packed into school lunches to last us quite a while!

Happy Cooking!

New Recipes
Blondies
Yogurt Pancakes
Banana Waffles

Blondies


Ingredients
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 tsp vanilla
* 1/2 cup AP flour
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 2/3 - 3/4 cup choc chips, finely chopped nuts or grated coconut

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the brown sugar.  Stir the brown sugar into the butter until fully incorporated and stir on the heat for about 2 minutes.  Transfer this to a bowl and let it cool for about 5 minutes.
3. Add in one egg and beat well for 3 minutes.  Add the vanilla and beat until that is combined.
4. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Mix this into the butter mixture.  Add in the chocolate chips, nuts or coconut.
5. Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 9 pan.  Bake 20-25 minutes.  Let it cool, and cut this into bars when cool.

Notes
Of all three blondie versions this was the run away winner.  All three were delicious, but there was something about these that the taste testers (my family and my friends in bookclub) loved.  You can cut the pan into 16 thin squares, and they will probably be gone in no time!  For the cook time, 22 minutes was perfect in my oven.

Yogurt Pancakes


Ingredients
* 2 cups flour
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 2 cups (16 oz) yogurt, any flavor
* 1 cup water
* 1/2 cup milk

Directions
1. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda in one bowl.
2. Combine the eggs, yogurt, water and milk in another bowl.
3. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until everything is well combined.  If the batter seems too thick for you, add a little milk or water until you reach your desired consistency.
4. Pour by 1/4 cupful onto a hot griddle.  Flip the pancakes when bubbles have formed on top and cook until the second side is browned to your liking.
5. Serve with syrup, jam, or nothing at all!

Notes
I used blueberry yogurt, and they were great!  Any flavor of yogurt could be used - whatever your  (or your kids') heart desires.  Very easy, and these would be a great go-to pancake if you want to make a lot of pancakes but only have 1/2 cup of milk on hand!  I also bet you could trade a quarter to half the flour for whole wheat flour if you want to try that.  This made 28 good sized pancakes for us.


Banana Waffles



Ingredients
* heaping 3/4 cup AP flour
* heaping 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
 * 1 tbsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1 3/4 cup milk (I used skim)
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
* 1 mashed banana
* 1 tsp vanilla

Directions
1. Whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt.  Add the milk, eggs, melted butter, mashed banana and vanilla and stir just until combined.  Let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes while you heat up the waffle iron.
2. Make waffles as you do in your waffle iron (typically 1/4 cup of batter per waffle).  Serve hot and enjoy!

Notes
These were fantastic!  Definitely a hearty breakfast with both AP and whole wheat flour, and the banana added a lovely note without being totally overpowering.  We will definitely make these again!