Crumb Cake

I’m sorry I’ve been such a blogging slacker! I promised to get better and then I didn’t. Okay, I’m really going to try because I want you to keep coming back. I’m sure you miss me when I’m away, right? We had a busy weekend around here. My parents came up for a visit and spent the night. They were our first overnight guests. So exciting! I had to do something special so I decided to make this crumb cake that I made for my Christmas brunch a couple of years ago. This cake is so delicious! It is the best crumb cake you will ever taste, I promise. It’s probably one of the best things you will ever taste period! Yes, it is that good. If you are looking for a great brunch recipe, this is it. I think I’ll make this for my in-laws too. You can go wrong with this recipe. Just look at how delicious it looks in that photo. My stomach is growling and I’m drooling a little on the keyboard so let’s keep going. Here’s what you need to get started:

For the crumb topping:

• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 1/2 cups flour

For the cake:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream or Greek-style yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch x 13-inch pan.
For the crumb topping: In a medium size bowl, stir both the sugars, salt and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and stir until well combined. Fold in the flour until absorbed and set aside. I wouldn’t recommend a whisk though, most of the crumb topping is all stuck in the middle. I had to work it all out with a knife. Next time I’ll use a spoon!

For the cake:  Whisk  (it's safe to use here) together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium size bowl. With an electric mixer, cream the butter until completely smooth. Add the sugar and beat until the mixture is fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until well incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beat again for 30 seconds. Add the sour cream (or yogurt) and vanilla and mix until just incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, scraping down the bowl after each addition, beating until just incorporated. Look how beautiful the batter looks!

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. It’s going to be thick so you’ll need to spread it out.  Man, that looks so delicious!

For the topping, use your hand to grab handfuls of the topping and make a fist. Break off chunks and drop them over cake (you want big chunks, not crumbs). The topping layer will look just about as thick as the cake layer – that is correct and beautiful! The crumb topping is making me drool.

Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Store tightly covered at room temperature, up to 3 days.....if it lasts that long!  Of course, you'll need to sample a piece right away like I did. Caution...you WILL burn the roof of your mouth if you are as impatient as I am! Enjoy!

Brunch at the Egg & I

Okay, I know I've fallen behind on my blogging and I am really sorry about that. We are living like vagabonds between Georgia and Virginia and I just ended my job. We've had a lot going on but I promise to get better. Maybe while I'm not working I'll have time to watch more cooking shows and get back to blogging.....the important things in life.  I've missed my friends Ree, Giada and Ina. 

Just so you know, I am writing this while on an 8 hour road trip with my husband and two dogs. I'm typing it on my iphone. Are you impressed now?? Probably not, right?

While we wait on more interesting blogs, let's check out an awesome meal I had recently. The hubby and I tried a new brunch spot, The Egg & I, and it was surprisingly delicious! We both went for the pancake, yes that's singular. Check out the pic and you'll see why. It was huge! Bigger than a newborn baby! I went for blueberry, of course. Mine was served with a warm compote that was also yummy.  I probably ate a third of this massive pancake. I'm not THAT much if a pig!

All in all, great new spot and go with someone to share a pancake!

I promise a new recipe soon! Stay tuned...

Sausage & Cheese Muffins

I’m always looking for a good appetizer recipe to take to parties or serve to my guests. When I saw this one on Pinterest, it caught my eye.....anything with sausage and Bisquick HAS to be good, right?? These two ingredients combined can’t possibly make a bad recipe. The recipe calls it “all purpose baking mix”, but we all know it’s Bisquick. No pantry should be without it. You never know when it will come in handy. These taste very similar to my sausage balls, but the fiesta cheese soup gives it a different flavor. A perfect breakfast treat or a great appetizer as well. It’s super easy to throw together too, which is always a plus in my book.  Let’s get started with this tiny little treat.

Ingredients:

 

• 1 lb. hot ground pork sausage
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 3 cups all-purpose baking mix (aka Bisquick)
• 1 (10.75 oz) can condensed fiesta nacho cheese soup
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup milk (water will work too)

Directions:

Cook sausage and onion in a large skillet over medium to med-high heat, stirring until it crumbles and no longer pink. Drain and cool.

Preheat oven to 375. Combine sausage, baking mix, and shredded cheese in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Stir together the soup and milk; add to sausage mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Spoon until lightly greased mini muffin tins, filling to tops of cups.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until they look like lightly browned little morsels from heaven. This recipe made 5 dozen mini muffins. Share and enjoy! 

 

Cinnamon Sticky Buns

These are WAY better than regular sticky buns. They are like sticky buns on steroids! They are so delicious. If you are a fan of cinnamon like me, then you’ll be a fan of these delicious little treats. One of my blog readers, Nia, loves cinnamon and has fallen in love with the Easy Cinnamon Rolls, but  maybe her mom will make these for her and she’ll really be in heaven! Kelly, pay attention. :-)

 

I made the Easy cinnamon rolls for my husband and I a couple of times, but had a thought one day that I could combine them with my Dad’s sticky bun recipe. Why not have the best of both worlds, right?? Plus, I love when I can share a recipe with my Dad instead of me stealing all of his. This is a compromise, half mine, half his, and totally delicious! Let’s get started with the basic easy cinnamon roll recipe:

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 tube Refrigerated crescent rolls or the cool new dough sheet of crescent rolls.
• 1/4 c Granulated sugar
• 2 T cinnamon
• Softened butter to spread on dough

Directions for Cinnamon Rolls:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Unroll crescent dough and press seams together. Spread with a thin layer of softened butter.



How cool is this??? Thank you Pillsbury!

• Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle mixture on top of the butter.

• Roll up....you can either roll them up so that you have smaller rolls but more of them, or fatter rolls but a few less. This time I went with more and rolled them up from the longer side. Next time I’m going for fatter ones!

• Now move onto the gooey sticky bun portion. Here’s what you need for the best topping ever:

4 Tablespoons of butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup Karo pancake syrup

1/4 cup chopped pecans

• Directions:
• I used my iron skillet, but you can use whatever skillet works for you. Heat butter in pan, once melted add brown sugar, syrup and pecans, and stir.

• As you can see, I could have used a smaller pan, but this worked for me. If you use a skillet, make sure it can go directly in the oven. If it can’t, use a round cake pan and pour this mixture in the bottom of the pan.

• Take off heat, place sliced cinnamon rolls in mixture and bake for 12 - 15 minutes. Is your mouth watering yet?? Mine is. I wish I had a sticky bun right now!





• Look how beautiful they look fresh out of the oven.  Now get ready to flip the pan upside down. Another reason a smaller pan would have worked better. I had to use my muscles!

Now flip and make a mess like I did!

Now for the best part, put a few on a plate, get a fork, and dig in! Best served warm. Now just try to eat just one, I double dog dare you!

Enjoy!

Golden Rod Eggs

 

This recipe might be a little odd to some of you, but I like to think of it as unique. This has become an Easter brunch tradition in our house. I grew up on Golden Rod Eggs and can’t say that I was a huge fan of them when I was a kid. My parents made it a lot for dinner and when I was younger, but I wasn’t a fan of breakfast for dinner. I thought I was being cheated out of a real meal. Little did I know, breakfast for dinner is one of the best invention ever! My parents were way smarter than me and knew what they were doing. I love breakfast for dinner now! Golden Rod Eggs are a unique meal and I always thought my parents made it up. I had never found anyone else that had ever heard of such a thing. Sounded crazy to me.....until I met my husband. Apparently his mom used to make them growing up and it was one of his most favorite meals in the world. How could that be??? My parents didn’t really make it up to torture me with breakfast for dinner??? This was too much to handle. I couldn’t believe that another human being knew about Golden Rod Eggs. Hey, if you are out there reading this, and have heard of them, please post on this blog entry. Oh, and you aren’t my brother, sister, or Daddy. I know how you’ve heard of them.  I’d love to hear the story of how non-family members were introduced to Golden Rod Eggs. I still haven’t met anyone else who has heard of them. Maybe both of our families were “unique”. I’m sure you are dying to hear about this recipe, so let’s get started.....

 

Ingredients:

 

6-8 hard boiled eggs

1/2 stick of butter

3/4 cup milk

3-6 (plus) Tablespoons of flour

salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

 

Boil eggs, peel, and gently separate the yolk from the white part. I always get my husband to help with the peeling. I hate it. It’s his way of contributing to the meal.

 

 

Dice the egg whites and finely grate the yolks.  It can prove to be a bit difficult to grate the yolks. Be gentle and use the finest grater you have. If you don’t want to go through the trouble, you can just mash them with a fork until they are broken into very small pieces.

 

 

In a saucepan, melt butter. After it is completely melted start adding the flour. I start with about 3 Tablespoons and add until I have a nice thick roux (or rue). See photo to judge how yours should look. I ended up using about 6 – 7 Tablespoons.

 

 

 

Now add the milk. Again, start with a little and add as you go. Pour in about 1/4 cup at a time, until all has been incorporate and you have a thick sauce.

 

 

 

Once the sauce has thickened, add the diced egg whites, salt and pepper. 

 

 

Now toast 6 – 8 slices of bread. This all depends on how much topping you like on each piece. We can only make 6 slices out of this recipe. Once bread is toasted, top with egg white mixture and top with grate yolks.

 

 

How does that look?? Pretty tasty! Now you have a sacred family recipe. I hope you’ll enjoy it too. Happy Easter!

New School Sausage Balls

Okay, this is another one of those recipes where you think.....got it, already make it, don’t need it. Well, if you’re thinking that, you’d be wrong. You’ve most likely had the sausage balls made the old fashion way, with raw sausage, tons of Bisquick, water and cheese. Well, this has most of the same ingredients, but you cook the sausage first! I know, I was skeptical at first because that’s not the way I’ve made sausage balls all my life, but my cousin, Lori, showed me the light and I’ve been making them this way ever since. I hate to admit it, but Lori was right. They are so much tastier. Plus you can really adjust the amount of Bisquick to make them cheesier.  The more cheese the better is our motto around here! Okay, here’s what you do for new school sausage balls.

Ingredients:

One pound of sausage. I like to use hot to give it a little kick.

4 cups of grated cheddar cheese

10 – 20 ounces of Bisquick

Directions:

Cook sausage until done, do not drain. I know, you are thinking ICK, but it’s okay, just add the cheese and melt it on top of the sausage, grease and all! You’ll be fine. It’s just a little bit. You won’t die. Trust me. Remove from heat when you add the cheese. Stir cheese in until melted.

Now add the Bisquick a little at a time. I probably never use more than 2 cups of Bisquick because I like them really cheesy.

Bake at 375 for 12 – 15 minutes.

These are the tastiest little morsels you will put in your mouth. Bake Christmas morning and everyone will love you!

THE BEST French Toast Casserole EVER!

How's that for a title?? Catch your eye?? If the title didn't, that yummy picture should!

I have a Christmas Brunch every year for my girlfriends and love to put on a spread. One of the yearly favorites is my French Toast Casserole. It is to die for! Now you might be thinking that you’ve had a good French Toast Casserole and don’t need this recipe, but you’d be wrong! I’ve tried many other recipes, but this one is awesome! Trust me, try it and you won’t go back to your sad little recipe ever again. It will rock your world! You make it the night before so for 12 hours it’s just bathing in goodness, waiting to be cooked, and that makes all the difference. Are you tired of me going on and on about it??? Okay, fine, here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl Bread (w/without raisins)

3 Tbsp light Karo syrup

1/2 lb butter

1.5 cups brown sugar

5 eggs

1.5 cups milk

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Combine Karo, butter, brown sugar in saucepan and melt.

Pour 1/2 of the mix in a  13 x 9 dish

Place 2 layers of bread on top

Pour the other 1/2 Karo mix on top

Beat eggs, milk, vanilla & salt in medium bowl. Pour over bread, cover & refrigerate over night.

The next morning, take casserole out of the fridge and bake  at 350 degrees for 1hour.

I know you hear me say that my recipes are awesome a lot, but seriously, this French Toast is the bomb! You'll love it!! BTW, one of my best girlfriends, Kerryanne, gave me this recipe many years ago. It's been making happy bellies ever since.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Lemon Crumb Bars

I have really starting loving blueberries this year. I guess because I started baking more, but mainly because they are just delicious. You’ll see on this blog that I’ve made an awesome blueberry pound cake, scones, muffins…..I feel like Bubba on Forest Gump naming all the ways you can use blueberries. It's so true though. Who knew you could make so many delicious things with blueberries?? Well, you're lucky you have me to lead you in the right direction....to the land of blueberries!

This could be a delicious breakfast treat or a yummy dessert. I had friends over for dinner and served it as dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Of course, I had my ice cream on the side. I don't like things touching, but that's for another therapy session. Let's get back to the crumb cake.....

Here's what you need to get started:


Ingredients

1 cup white granulated sugar (for a lower fat version, use ½ c splenda and ½ c sugar)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
zest of two lemons
 
Filling

4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar ( I used ½ c Splenda)
3 teaspoons cornstarch


Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray a 9×13 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2.In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, salt, lemon zest and baking powder.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla together until combined.
4. Use pastry cutter or your food processor to blend the flour mixture with the butter and egg/vanilla mixture. I find the easiest method is to grate very cold butter into the mix.  That way I didn’t have to get the food processor dirty!

After mixing the butter in with the dry ingredients, the dough will be crumbly (really an understatement, it is VERY crumbly). Pat half of dough into the prepared pan. Remaining half will be used as topping.

5. In another bowl, stir together 1/2 sugar and cornstarch. Gently mix in the blueberries and coat with mixture. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust.

Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares. Enjoy!

Easy Blueberry Scones

 

Who knew I could make scones??? I’m so excited to find out that I can!! I love to eat them, but always thought they were pretty complicated to make. Nope, don’t believe it. This recipe was pretty easy. I made these this morning and might make another batch this afternoon to try a lower fat version. I’ll let you know how that turns out, but what I can tell you now is that these scones are to die for! My husband and I both ate two scones each. We couldn’t stop ourselves. They were warm out of the oven and just taunting us with their aroma! We tried them with and without the glaze, but the glaze just really pushes them over the edge! It really adds that nice lemony flavor and makes them a touch sweeter. There are only 3 tablespoons of sugar in these so the added sweetness from the glaze is nice. Oh, but I guess the cup of heavy cream might do a little sweetening, huh? Shhhhh.....don’t tell the hubby they have that much cream in them. I had him convinced that they were low fat because of the tiny amount of sugar. He just lost 40 pounds and watches what he eats now. Well, he didn’t ask if there was heavy cream in them so why would I tell him??? They were so good so I’m sure he would say they were worth every calorie!

 

So is your mouth watering yet? Are you dying to know how to make easy scones?? Here you go.....

 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (or I grated mine)
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup heavy cream

Icing

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process with six 1-second pulses. If you don’t have a food processor (like me), then just put it in a large bowl and whisk ingredients together.

Remove cover of food processor and sprinkle the butter evenly over the dry ingredients. Add the grated lemon zest. Cover and process with 12 1-second pulses. Again, no food processor? Do it my way......I grated the cold butter over the dry ingredients and then incorporated it well with a pastry cutter. A whisk would do the same trick.

Transfer dough to a large bowl (unless you are already using one instead of food processor. In that case, you are already there). Mix in blueberries gently, just incorporate. Add heavy cream and mix until dough begins to form.

Gently knead dough by hand until it comes together into a rough ball, about 10 seconds.

To shape the scones, lightly dust an 8-inch cake pan and press dough into the pan, then turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.

With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 wedges.

Place wedges on an ungreased baking sheet (or lined with parchment paper) and bake in preheated oven 14 to 17 minutes or until tops of scones are a light brown.


Some of the blueberries might burst during the mixing and shaping process, that's okay. You can see some of my expolded a little.

Transfer to a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving.

While the scones are cooling, make lemon glaze. Combine lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar until you achieve a thick, opaque icing. If the glaze is too thick, add a little milk or a splash of the heavy cream. Drizzle over scones.

Enjoy one while they are still warm. Delicious!

The BEST Cream Cheese Danish (and easiest!)


 

This is the easiest and most delicious cream cheese Danish you will ever make! I have a Christmas brunch every year and I think I’d have an uprising if I didn’t serve this Danish. Actually, I know I would. My RSVP’s rely on the fact if the Danish will be served! This is always the first to go. I think I need to make two next year so we don't feel guilty about seconds.....or thirds.  It really is soooooo delicious. Trust me, make it for your family and you’ll see.

Now I’ll be honest, I stole this recipe from my dad. That happens a lot. Why not, he’s the best baker I know. Here’s a funny fact about him.....he failed the first grade (a hundred years ago) because he stayed home to cook with his mama all the time. Isn’t that hilarious? He would fake sick in the morning and since he’s the baby he got away with it, but miraculously in an hour or so he felt better and could cook with his mom all day in the kitchen. Bless his little heart. Actually, it worked out for our family because he learned that he loved to cook early on and we got to reap the benefits of that little mama’s boy! ha-ha!

This is so easy, you’ll see. Here’s the details:

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese (at room temp)

2 cans of crescent rolls (I've used Pillsbury, store brand and low fat and they all work well)

1 t vanilla

1 t lemon juice

1 egg yolk

1 c sugar

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 T water (or milk – I always use milk)

1 T butter at room temperature

Spray rectangle casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray, layer with one package crescent rolls (just roll out, undivided as it comes out of can). Mix cream cheese, vanilla, lemon juice, egg yolk and sugar. Spread mixture over bottom layer of crescent rolls.

Shown: One layer of rolls on bottom with filling on top

Top with second can of crescent rolls. Brush top with egg white. That’s it! How easy is that?

Second layer of crescent rolls added

Cook for 20 min @ 350. Remove from oven and top with icing while it’s still hot so the icing melts into the Danish.

Man, this is so Delicious. Let cool for a few minutes, but serve while it's still warm. How yummy does this look?? Make this recipe now! Enjoy!