Pumpkin Biscoff French Toast with Maple Cream Cheese Syrup

 

 

 

If you're thinking, "There's no way it will actually taste as good as it looks and sounds", you're wrong. Wronger than wrong. In fact, somehow it tastes better. My first bite I litereally said "Oh my gosh!" so loud that all the kids came running in to see what was the matter.

 

Pumpkin? Good. Biscoff? Good. French Toast? Goooooooood. You get the picture. The best way to eat this is on a frosty morning with big fat slippers, a steaming mug of cocoa, and a sister to play cards with. At least, that's what we did and it was a pretty perfect morning.

 

Pumpkin Biscoff French Toast with Maple Cream Cheese Syrup

    

     For the toast:

3 eggs

1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 loaf french bread, sliced about 3/4 inch thick

 

Beat all of your ingredients together (minus the bread) until nice and frothy. Turn on a griddle or stove to about medium heat and let it get hot for a minute. Dip your bread in the mixture and coat well on both sides. Fry those babies up, a few minutes on each side. (Watch it, every stove is different. This is not yummy burned.)

 

     For the syrup:

8 oz cream cheese at room temp

1 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 tsp cinnamon

 

Beat it and beat it good. Give it a few minutes and voila! You're got one tasty syrup on your hands.

 

     A handful of biscoff cookies, crushed up nice and small. This is it for the topping. Why mess with a good thing?

 

Stack your toast, douse with syrup, and sprinkle with cookies.

 

 



 

-Jessica and Leah

 

 

 



Strawberry Banana Muffins

When I was a kid, we found out that I was allergic to strawberries. I was incredibly sad when we first made the discovery. My mom had brought home a giant box full of them, and I ate about half of it. To myself. I'm not even ashamed to admit it. Anyhow, later that night, I was suddenly hit with a horrible wave of...itchiness. I was covered in welts, and the worst was the bottoms of my feet. I know it sounds weird, but an intense itch of your feet bottoms is pretty horrible, I remember my mom putting my in a cold bath, rubbing them with calamine lotion, everything she could to get it to stop. Not fun. I spend the next 10 summers watching in jealousy as everyone around me snacked on the beautiful red berries, longing for one. Every so often I'd have one to see what would happen, and it was always the same.

One summer, I just couldn't take it anymore, and I ate 10 in one sitting. And nothing happened. I had some more, just to check. Nothing. I feasted for a whole day on strawberries, and it seemed my allergy had gone. I made strawberry pie, ate strawberry jam, drank strawberry smoothies, and it seemed that I had grown out of the allergy. Horray!

These muffins are deliciously moist, fresh, and of course filled to the brim with strawberries.

Strawberry Banana Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 ripe, mashed bananas (about 2 cups)

1/4 cup water

1  1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees ferenheit
• Mix together flour, baking soda and salt
• Add remainder of indredients, blend well
• Put muffin papers in a muffin tin and fill about 2/3 full
• Bake for 18 minutes or until lightly browned
• Serve warm with a bit of butter

-Jessica



Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

My mama used to tell me that her eyes used to be blue, but she ate so much chocolate that it turned them brown. I believed her. You may say you like chocolate, but I would put money on the fact that my mom liked it more. At any given time, there were at least 5 chocolate bars stashed somewhere in her bedroom, just in case of a must-eat-chocolate-now emergency. It would absolutely amaze me that she could have chocolate just sitting there, waiting to be eaten. I liked my chocolate right here and now, thank you very much. But she taught me to savor things. The anticipation of something is almost as good as the thing itself.

I can't say that I have learned the truthfulness of this completely yet- I am pretty darned impatient. Good things come to those who wait? Who cares. BUT, I have learned to save my chocolate. After all, what if we get snowed in for a week and I can't get to the store? I have a  basket on the topmost shelf of my cupboard with basically the entire edible contents of my Christmas stocking in it. Don't get me wrong, I have eaten lots of it already, but my hubby  Santa was good to me. And in that basket is a Terry's chocolate orange. Oh how I love chocolate and orange together.

This morning I was looking for some breaky and I accidentally found my way into the basket. As I was brainlessly munching away, I thought that I should probably come up with a way to eat this for breakfast without feeling so guilty about it.

Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

• 1 orange quartered and seeds removed (with peel)
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cup sall-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips

       Directions

• Preheat oven to 400F; spray a muffin tin (12) with non-stick cooking spray like Pam and set aside.
• Put orange quarters in food processor (or blender) along with orange juice and process or blend until pureed.
• Add egg, butter, and vanilla to food processor and combine; pour into large bowl.
• Combine dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then add all at once to orange mixture.
• Add chocolate chips
• Stir to combine.
• Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes; remove from oven and let stand in tin for 5 minutes before removing muffins.

I like them fresh out of the oven with a bit of butter and a cup of tea. Now that's a breakfast!

-Jessica

Recipe adapted from this recipe.

    

Eggnog Pancakes

About 7 years ago, when my husband and I were engaged, he had some dental work done. Quite a bit, actually. Enough to sedate him and drug him up pretty good. (And if you knew him, you would know that it doesn't take much to drug him. One Sudafed and he is done for the night. Pretty funny to watch, too.) But I am getting sidetracked.

Anyhow, I went over to his place after work to check up on him, make sure he wasn't caught in the blinds or something. He was pretty groggy on the couch, and I tried to let him sleep, but he was so distracted. He could hardly speak because his mouth hurt, and so all I could make out was "eggnog".

"Eggnog?" I asked. "PLEASE! I need some eggnog!!" He was getting louder. Eggnog eggnog eggnog. I would have loved nothing more than to fulfill his request, but you see, it was July. They don't make eggnog in July. At least not where I live. I tried, as nicely as I could, to let him down easy, but he was pretty mad. In fact, he didn't talk to me for the rest of the day. This may or may not have been the drugs. Still not sure.

Well, one thing I promised when we got married was to keep him in eggnog from October to December every year. I have not failed. We may not have milk, fresh fruit, or even bread. But you can bet your boots we have eggnog. These are dedicated to him.

Eggnog Pancakes

1  1/2 cup flour

3  1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1  1/3 cup eggnog

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

3 tbsp melted butter

-Mix your dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.

-Add remaining ingredients and stir with a wire whisk.

-Heat a lighty oiled or sprayed frying pan or electric griddle over medium-high heat.

-Scoop dollops of batter onto the griddle, using about 1/3 cup per pancake.

-Brown on both sides and top with syrup (maple, if you have it!) and powdered sugar.

-Jessica