Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

While I've been enjoying smoothies for breakfast lately, I still prefer baked goods for breakfast because they are generally portable, filling, and sweet. I came across these muffins while searching Pinterest and was intrigued by the addition of the oatmeal and yogurt. These muffins are delicious! They have exactly what I look for in a baked good; they are portable, they are filling, and they are sweet, but not overly sweet! Best of all, these muffins are relatively healthy! With fibrous oats, protein packed yogurt, fruit, minimal butter, and no oil, you can feel good about yourself when you start your morning off with one of these muffins!

2 cups Flour
1 cup Oats
2/3 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 cups Greek Yogurt
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons Butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Blueberries (I used frozen, but the original recipe calls for fresh)

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, stir together the yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla until combined. Fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture, stirring until incorporated. Gently fold in the blueberries. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and spoon the batter into each lined well. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until golden. Makes 12-14 muffins.

SOURCE: Domesticated Academic

Blueberry Biscuit Cobbler

Ok, I lied. I didn't come up with this recipe. It's from my favorite magazine, Bon Appetite. I did slightly modify it however, by cutting the amount of sugar by about a quarter, I like my teeth as they are, thank you very much.

I don't usually eat dessert in our house. Surprising, right, considering the amount of desserts and sugary treats made and posted on this site? Once in a while though, I like to surprise Melissa by pulling off something like this, something I know she'll enjoy, and something that I'll enjoy as well- because it doesn't require chocolate. View the nutritional information on Bon Appetite's website at your own risk.

This recipe was a great use for a box of blueberries bought from the farmer's market. It's easy to make, tastes great, and serves four-six depending on serving size.

1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons plus 1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. sour cream
6 cups fresh blueberries (about 2 lb.)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 375°

Stir 1 1/2 cups flour, 3 Tbsp. sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add butter; using your fingertips crush and knead it until it forms small pea-size nodules. Mix in sour creme. Knead, using your hands until a thick dough forms, but be careful not to over-knead.

Add the remaining 1 cup of sugar (cough), remaining 3 Tbsp. flour, berries, juice, and zest in a large bowl. Toss to coat. Spoon the mixture into baking ramekins. Crumble the biscuit topping evenly over the bowls.

Bake until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling and molten.

 

Peach Cobbler Scones

Oh scones, how I love thee! I feel like for a while, I was baking every Sunday, but somehow that has stopped. I'm sure that part of the reason is that it is summer, but I think that is the very same reason that I felt that I had to bake these scones. Peaches are one of my favorite summer fruit. I've eaten them in muffins, on sandwiches, in salads, and of course just as they are, but I haven't ventured into making scones with them until now.  Traditionally, when I think of peach cobbler, I think of dessert. But, with these scones, it is totally acceptable to eat peach cobbler for breakfast! A hot mug of coffee and a fresh peach cobbler scone…how much better can my mornings be?

For the Scones:
3 cups Flour
1/4 cup Sugar
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 sticks Butter, cold and cut into cubes (whoops, not exactly healthy!)
1 Egg, beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3/4 cup Buttermilk, plus more for brushing
1-2 Ripe Peaches, sliced thin

For the Cinnamon Sugar:
2 tablespoons Sugar
3/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

To make the dough, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk briefly to blend. Add the butter to the bowl and cut it into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal and the largest butter pieces are the size of peas. Stir in the egg, vanilla, and buttermilk and gently mix with a fork until a dough forms. Knead briefly, about 10-15 times, until the dough comes together. Be careful not to over handle the dough, as it can result in tough, dense scones. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a well floured work surface. At this point, if the dough is too soft to shape, chill for 15 minutes before proceeding. Roll the dough out into a 10x12-inch rectangle. Brush half of the dough lightly with buttermilk. Lay the peach slices in a single layer over the buttermilk side of the dough. Sprinkle evenly with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture and carefully fold the other side of the dough over the peaches, as if closing a book, pressing down gently. Slice the dough into 8-10 equal size pieces. At this point, the shaped, unbaked scones may be frozen on a baking sheet and transferred to a freezer-safe container. Brush the top of each scone with buttermilk and sprinkle with additional cinnamon-sugar. Bake until the top of the scones are golden brown and baked through, about 15-18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Let cool for 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool further. Serve warm. If baking frozen scones, add a few minutes to baking time.

SOURCE: Joy the Baker, via Annie's Eats

Blackberry Gin Fizz

This week, I've been on a roll with cocktails. Usually, I don't plan our meals down to the drinks I serve, but for some reason, this week, I found several cocktails that I was dying to try. As I've mentioned before, everything that Deb makes is amazing, so when I saw her post about these babies, I knew I had to have them. I ran to the liquor store and bought gin, since it isn't something we typically drink. I didn't feel bad, though, because it helped me to stock the bar! While pureeing and straining the raspberries seems like a lot of work, I assure you that it is well worth it! These fizzy drinks complemented our quesadillas very well, and were incredibly refreshing!

1/4 cup Fresh Blackberries
2 tablespoons Sugar
1/2 cup Gin
1/4 cup Fresh Lime Juice (from 2 limes)
Club Soda
Lime Wedges or Basil Springs, to garnish (optional) 

Puree the blackberries and sugar in a blender until they are ais as liquefied as possible. Strain the puree through a fine-mesh sieve or tea strainer into 2 tall collins-style glasses (I used stemless wine glasses and it was perfect); discard the seeds in the sieve. Divide the gin and lime juice between the two glasses and stir to combine. Add ice to the glasses, then top each with club soda and the basil or lime wedge. 

SOURCE: Smitten Kitchen

Puffed Cherry Pancake

Happy Birthday Mom! I hope you enjoyed your day at the wineries yesterday. Here is some virtual breakfast for you…enjoy!

Earlier this week, I bought some cherries at the grocery store. They were $2.99 per pound, which I thought was awesome, but of course, my bag was way over 1 pound, so when I printed out my little ticket at the scale, I had a bit of sticker shock. Oh well, I guess with that many cherries, it was time to start getting creative. I knew I wanted to make this pancake recipe that I saw on Prevention RD, and then I figured we would snack on a bunch throughout the week, which would finish up the bag. I told Joel that I bought them as soon as I got home from the store, but he must have forgotten because when I opened the fridge this morning to make breakfast, the whole bag was still in the crisper, completely untouched. I guess that means I get to make more cherry goodness throughout the week! I pulled out the cherry pitter (first time using it on cherries!) and got to work. If you haven't used a cherry pitter before, do yourself a favor and pit the cherries into the sink because the cherry juice sprays all over. My sink looked like a war zone when I was done! The pancake came together with ease and was done cooking in no time. There is something about the flavor of cherries when they have been cooked; I like cherries raw (?) but cooked cherries have such an amazing flavor! That, paired with the crunch of the almonds on top, made for a delicious breakfast!

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Butter, divided
1/2 cup Milk
3 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour 
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/8 teaspoon Salt
Pinch of Ground Cinnamon
1 pound Cherries, pitted and halved (if frozen, be sure they are thawed and drained)
1/4 cup Almonds, sliced
Confectioners' Sugar, for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place 1 teaspoon of butter in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet (cast iron or nonstick) and transfer to the oven to melt the butter. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a small pan or in the microwave. Transfer to a medium bowl and whisk in the edges, milk, and vanilla. Add the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon and whisk to combine. Remove the pan from the oven and tilt to coat the bottom with the melted butter. Add the cherries in a layer. Pour the batter over the cherries and sprinkle with almonds. Bake the pancake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Let it cool for 5 minutes, then cut it into 4 wedges. Sprinkle the top with confectioners' sugar, if desired. 

*As with all of her recipes, for nutrition information, see Nicole's post