Banana Pecan Mini Muffins

I had some bananas that were turning brown and my daughter suggested making banana bread. I didn't feel like waiting an hour for the bread to cook so mini muffins were the way to go! I usually don't add nuts to my banana bread but I LOVE the addition of pecans in this muffin. I will definitely be making these again!

Enjoy!

Banana Pecan Mini-Muffins
Recipe slightly adapted from Chocolate & Zucchini
Makes 48 mini muffins

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 ripe bananas
1/4 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 and grease mini muffin pan.

Cream butter and sugar in bowl. Add egg, bananas, and milk; mix until well combined. Add dry ingredients; mix just until combined. Fold in pecans.

Pour the batter into the muffin tins and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the muffins are nice and golden. Allow to cool for a few minutes then turn out on a rack to cool.

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

You can't go wrong with chocolate banana pancakes!!! YUM!

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons oil
2 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl; set aside. Whisk together wet ingredients in another bowl. Mix wet into dry. Fold in chocolate chips.

Cook pancakes on griddle until done.

Fresh Cherry Streusel Muffins

What do you do when you have a bag of cherries and are craving muffins? You make cherry muffins! YUM! :)


Fresh Cherry Streusel Muffins
Makes 6 Texas size muffins or 12 regular

1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup pitted & chopped cherries
Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1 TBSP water

Preheat oven to 400. Grease large muffin tin or line with paper liners.

Mix butter through vanilla in small bowl; set aside. Mix flour through salt; toss in cherries. Mix wet into dry just until combined. Spoon batter into tin.

For topping, combine all ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of muffins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Holy smokes... these pancakes were delicious!!! I used my basic buttermilk pancake recipe and added chopped cherries and chocolate chips. It tasted like chocolate covered cherries! Mmmmmm! I topped the pancakes with some whipped cream but you could totally use syrup if you wanted.

Enjoy!

Cherry Chocolate Chip Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons oil
1 cup chopped frozen cherries
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl; set aside. Whisk together wet ingredients in another bowl. Mix wet into dry. Fold in cherries and chocolate chips. Batter will be very thick.

Cook pancakes on griddle until done.

Lemon Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

I absolutely love lemon and blueberries together (see THIS TART and THIS TRIFLE for 2 examples) so lemon pancakes with homemade blueberry syrup was a no-brainer. I tweaked my basic pancake recipe and came up with these. They are fantastic, fresh, and delicious! Enjoy!

Lemon Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

Pancakes:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP baking powder
Zest of 1 large lemon (about 2 TBSP)
Juice of 1 large lemon (about 1/4 cup)
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 egg
3 TBSP vegetable oil

Mix flour through zest in large bowl. In a different bowl mix juice through oil. Mix wet into dry until combined.

Spoon onto hot griddle and cook until done.

Syrup:

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 TBSP lemon juice

Mix blueberries, sugar, and water in saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce to simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.

Giant Blueberry Muffins

I love a good muffin for breakfast and these were delicious. You can't go wrong with blueberries & lemon zest. YUM!

Giant Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

Zest of 1 lemon

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 egg

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 cup fresh blueberries

Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Mix flour through lemon zest in bowl. Mix wet ingredients in seperate bowl; gently mix into dry ingredients. Fold in blueberries.

Divide batter between large cupcake liners; sprinkle with Turbinado sugar.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until baked through.

TWD - BWJ: Pecan Sticky Buns

This recipe is one of those recipes that is so amazing and yet SO bad for you! I think there was a total of 5 or 6 sticks of butter in the entire recipe but you know what? They were so delicious that I just didn't care!

The recipe started with brioche dough... my absolute favorite dough to work with. The brioche is then laminated with more butter just like puff pastry. Then you top it with cinnamon and sugar, roll it up, put it in a pan with more butter and brown sugar, and bake it.

They are AMAZING! I don't think I would ever make them just for a random weekend breakfast for my family but for a group of people I most definitely would!

Thanks to Lynn of Eat Drink Man Woman Cats Dogs and Nicole of Cookies on Friday for hosting this week. The recipe can be found at their blogs.

Cake Batter Pancakes

Today my sweet baby girl turned 7! Yes, I realize she isn't a baby anymore but she will always be my baby girl! :)

Since her birthday fell on Pancake Sunday (yes, it is an official day at our house!) we decided to make cake batter pancakes. It was a great start to the day and my daughter loved them!

Enjoy!

Cake Batter Pancakes
Adapted from Cassie Craves

For the pancakes:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup yellow cake mix
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3cups milk

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
6 TBSP heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine flour, cake mix, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix. Add 1 cup of milk, egg and vanilla extract and stir until smooth. 

2. Preheat a skillet or griddle over medium heat.  Pour batter in 1/4 cup measurements onto skillet and let cook until bubbles form on top, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook for 1 minute more.

3. To make the glaze, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla until glaze forms, adding more sugar and/or heavy cream until you reach the desired consistency. Drizzle glaze over pancakes and top with sprinkles or non-pareils.

Whole Wheat Cherry Vanilla Bean Pancakes

My daughter is usually in charge of deciding what type of pancakes we make on pancake morning. Usually she comes up with her own creations and other times she browses through  my pancake folder on Pinterest. That is where she saw these pancakes and she immediately asked to make them.

I was hesitant at first since cherries aren't in season yet. I was pleasantly surprised to find out these pancakes call for frozen cherries which are available year round. :)

The pancakes have chopped cherries in them and are topped with cooked cherries and a delicious vanilla bean glaze. SO GOOD!

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Cherry Vanilla Bean Pancakes
Recipe from How Sweet It Is

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, well beaten
1 3/4 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
contents of 1/2 vanilla bean
2 cups frozen cherries

Stir together dry ingredients. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla. Fold in vanilla beans. Mix until dry ingredients are moistened. Chop 1 cup of cherries into fine pieces. You can either stir them into the batter (the pancakes will turn reddish-blue in color) or drop the cherries in the batter while each pancake is cooking. To cook, heat a griddle or skillet on medium heat and pout in 1/4 cup of batter. Flip once tiny bubbles appear on the pancakes.

Heat remaining cup of cherries in a saucepan or in the microwave. Mash with a fork and stuff in between pancakes and drizzle juice on top. Top with vanilla glaze.

Vanilla Bean Glaze

1 heaping cup of powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 tablespoons milk
contents of 1/2 vanilla bean

Add sugar to bowl and stir in heavy cream and vanilla until mixture resembles a thick batter. Add milk one tablespoon at a time, stirring until smooth – about 3-5 full minutes. Mixture may look lumpy at first but just continue to stir and it will come together. Fold in vanilla beans and pour over pancakes.

Hashbrowns

These hashbrowns were easy, delicious, and the perfect Saturday morning breakfast! My friend, Bri, posted these on her blog and I adapted them to fit for our family. We LOVED them! Looking forward to the weekend so I can make them again!

Enjoy!

Hashbrowns
Adapted from All Recipes

3 large potatoes, shredded
1/2 medium onion, shredded
1/2 bell pepper, shredded
1/4 cup flour
1/2 - 1 tsp season salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 egg

Vegetable oil for cooking

Squeeze as much water out of the potatoes. Mix all ingredients in large bowl.

Pour enough oil into skillet to cover bottom. Heat over medium heat. Add potatoes in one even layer. Cook 5 minutes on each side or until evenly browned. Can cut into sections to make flipping easier.     

Carrot Cake Pancakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Easter and Happy Pancake Morning! We enjoyed delicious carrot cake pancakes this morning and they were a hit! I hope you all have a fantastic Easter with your families!

Enjoy!

 Carrot Cake Pancakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

3 cups flour
5 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
Dash nutmeg
Dash cloves
2 eggs
2 2/3 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup shredded carrots

Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese
3 TBSP pure maple syrup
Dash cinnamon

For pancakes, mix dry ingredients in a bowl; set aside. Whisk together wet ingredients in another bowl. Mix wet into dry.

Cook pancakes on griddle until done.

For frosting, beat ingredients until smooth. Spread on pancakes and serve.

Anya's Apple Banana Pancakes

These pancakes were created by my 6 year old daughter, Anya. She said she was daydreaming when she came up with the idea. :) I gotta say, I think it is adorable that she daydreams about pancakes! I think I may have a little foodie on my hands!

The batter has a mashed banana and a grated apple and the combination is delicious! We all loved these and I hope you will, too!

Enjoy!

Apple Banana Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 apple, grated
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1 large banana, mashed
3 tablespoons oil

Mix flour through apple in a bowl; set aside. Whisk together egg through oil in another bowl. Mix wet into dry.

Cook pancakes on griddle until done.

Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes

These are definitely once in a while, no other sugar for the rest of the day, delicious, amazing, fantastic pancakes! They remind me of a delicious crumb cake. We all know the crumb is the best part and these pancakes are topped with a fantastic streusel reminiscent of the crumb I love on crumb cake.

They are a very sweet pancake, no syrup needed unless you really want it. I couldn't even eat one whole pancake... although they are huge so that may have been partly to blame!

These will be made again for a special occasion... definitely fantastic! Give them a try when you are wanting something sweet for breakfast... you won't be disappointed!

Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes
Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon Streusel:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Directions:

1. First, make the cinnamon streusel. In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Mix together with your hands or a fork, until you have a crumbly mixture. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Do not over mix, batter will be slightly lumpy.

3. Heat a griddle or pan to medium low. Coat with cooking spray. Drop 1 cup of batter onto heated skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon streusel. Cook on the first side until bubbles begin to form, about 2-3 minutes. Carefully flip pancake over and cover very generously with cinnamon streusel. Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Continue this process to make the rest of the pancakes.

Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes

I picked up some strawberries yesterday and wanted to use them in a delicious way. I debated making a strawberry syrup for our regular buttermilk pancakes but then the idea for Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes came to me. Boy am I glad I went this route! These are some of the best pancakes I have EVER tasted! So amazing! The addition of the vanilla extract (I use vanilla bean paste but extract will work, too) and the almond extract really make the pancake. These will definitely be made again and again.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
12 tsp almond extract
Strawberries
Whipped Cream

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl; set aside. Whisk together wet ingredients in another bowl. Mix wet into dry.

Cook pancakes on griddle until done.

Layer pancakes with sliced strawberries and whipped cream.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes

You can never go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate and in pancake form it is divine! You could serve these pancakes plain, with butter & syrup, or with whipped cream. Either way is sure to be delicious!

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
2 TBSP peanut butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl; set aside. Whisk together wet ingredients in another bowl. Mix wet into dry. Fold in chocolate chips.

Cook pancakes on griddle until done.

Oatmeal Raisin Pancakes

It's Sunday which means Pancake Day in our house! :) The majority of the time I make my buttermilk pancakes but every so often I like to try out a new pancake recipe. This morning it was Oatmeal Raisin Pancakes. :)

They are rustic and bumpy thanks to the addition of oats and raisins. They are incredibly delicious and remind me of an oatmeal raisin cookie. My family gobbled them up and they will make their way back to Pancake Sunday again soon!

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Raisin Pancakes
Recipe from Tracy's Culinary Adventures

2 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
heaping 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins
Add the eggs to a medium bowl and whisk to break them up. Combine the buttermilk, maple syrup, melted butter and vanilla in a measuring cup then pour them into the eggs and whisk to incorporate.

Add the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg to the bowl and stir just until barely combined (the batter may still be lumpy, that's fine). Fold in the raisins with a rubber spatula then set the batter aside to rest for about 5 minutes.

Cook pancakes on griddle until done. Serve with butter and syrup.

Red Velvet Pancakes

Happy Valentine's Day!

I made these pancakes this morning for my kiddos and holy moly are they AMAZING!!!!! I served them with a light dusting of powdered sugar and some whipped cream. You could use maple syrup, too, or if you wanted to go completely over the top you could use a cream cheese frosting for the topping. They are insanely delicious... in fact, I may have some of the leftovers for lunch! hahaha

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Pancakes
Recipe from That's So Yummy

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 large eggs
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons red food coloring
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix flour through cocoa powder in large bowl; set aside. Mix eggs through vanilla; whisk into dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips. Cook on griddle until done.

World Nutella Day - Chocolate Nutella Pancakes

Every Sunday is pancake morning at our house. A little over a week ago my friend, Rebecca, posted a recipe for Chocolate Nutella Pancakes and I immediately bookmarked the recipe. I set it aside to make this morning without even knowing that today was World Nutella Day. While I was checking Google Reader this morning I saw a few Nutella posts and discovered it was World Nutella Day. I thought it was perfect timing considering I was planning on making these pancakes!

The pancakes were AMAZING! I mean, let's be honest... can you really go wrong with a pancake filled with Nutella and topped with strawberries and whipped cream? No, you can't! This isn't an everyday breakfast but it's fun to indulge sometimes!

Happy World Nutella Day! Look HERE for prior Nutella recipes that I've made. Hope you'll break out a jar of Nutella and bake something yummy today!

Chocolate Nutella Pancakes
Recipe from Delectable Delights with Rebecca

2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs
3 1/2 TBSP melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup sugar
nutella

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder in a small bowl. Whisk together sugar, melted butter, eggs, vanilla and milk. Add dry to wet and whisk until combined. Preheat griddle, and ladle pancake onto hot griddle. Take a spoonful of nutella and place it in the center. Cover it with a little more batter. When pancake bubbles, flip and cook until cooked on the other side is done.  Serve with whipped cream and strawberries.

Baked Chocolate Donuts

I love traditional fried donuts as much as the next guy but sometimes it is nice to get that donut taste without all the extra work that comes from fying. These were a delicious breakfast treat and we will be making them again!

Baked Chocolate Donuts
Recipe from Sea Salt with Food

Baked Chocolate Cake Doughnuts

Ingredients

130 g (About 1 cup) All Purpose Flour

2 Tbsp Natural Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp Baking Soda

75 g Sugar

½ tsp Freshly Ground Nutmeg

½ tsp Sea Salt

2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter 

¼ Cup Buttermilk

¼ Cup Yogurt

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Large Egg

Method

Lightly grease a doughnut (or muffin) tin and preheat the oven to 350˚F.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda, and then whisk in the sugar, nutmeg and salt.

Add the butter, and using your fingers, rub it into the dry ingredients until it becomes coarse crumbs.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, yogurt, vanilla and egg. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Do not overmix, or your doughnuts may be a bit rubbery.

Fill each cup 1/2 to 3/4 full with a piping bag. It’s important not to overfill, or as the doughnuts rise, you’ll lose the hole.

Bake for 6 to 10 minutes (depending on the size of your doughnut pan), until the doughnuts spring back when touched. Let cool slightly on a wire rack before glazing. If coating in powdered sugar, let them cool even a bit more.

Makes about 15 mini doughnuts.

Chocolate Glaze/Dip (Recipe adapted from Baked Explorations)
4 oz Good Quality Dark Chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ Cup Heavy Cream
2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
Sprinkles to decorate

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream until it is just about to boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and wait 1 minute. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in the butter. Keep mixture warm.

Freezer Breakfast Burritos

There are many mornings when my husband has to be out the door by 5am and he needs a good breakfast before running out the door. These burritos are perfect because they are full of protien, delicious, and are ready after 2 minutes in the microwave. We love these burritos! The recipe makes 24 good sized burritos and they hang out in the freezer until we need them. It doesn't get easier than that!

Enjoy!

Freezer Breakfast Burritos
Recipe from Mom On Timeout

 lb breakfast sausage
1 lb bacon
1 cup chopped ham
2 pound of red potatoes, cubed into bite size pieces
16 oz cheese (any kind you like)
24 flour tortillas
12 eggs, extra large
1/2 c milk
1/3 c olive oil
1 tsp each: Emeril's Seasoning, Seasoning Salt or any seasoning you prefer
salt and pepper

Meats:

1. Cook bacon and crumble.
2. Brown the sausage.
3. Fry up the ham. 

Roasted Red Potatoes:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Dry cubed potatoes with a towel to eliminate any extra water.
3. Toss the potatoes with 1/3 c olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper. Use additional seasoning (such as Emeril's or Seasoning Salt) if desired.
4. Roast for 30 minutes until golden brown. Start checking at 20 minutes.


Scramble eggs and assemble burritos. Roll up tightly and place seam side down on a baking sheet. Freeze.

Once frozen, wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in a ziploc bag.

To cook, remove plastic wrap, wrap in paper towel, and microwave for 2 1/2-3 minutes.