Category: Breakfast

This scone recipe is one of the recipes my mom and I always fall back on, particularly when we have overnight guests. Last time I made them, I was at my parent’s house. It was a little breakfast treat for my dad, as well as for the guests that were trickling in and out of my parent’s house during Thanksgiving week. I even pulled out some of Mom’s pretty antique china for the photo (the morning coffee didn’t make the cut for the photo). Anyway, these scones are quick and easy to make and always come out just wonderfully. I usually use dried cherries or cranberries, but you can substitute any dried berry you’d like. The scones will keep for at least a week, if they last that long!

Dried Cherry/Cranberry & Walnut Scones

Adapted from Sour Cherry & Walnut Scones,

Fine Cooking No. 68 (p. 22)

Makes 8-12 Scones

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. plus 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 c. cake flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3/4 c. dried cranberries, tart cherries, or other dried fruit
• 1/2 c. walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 2/3 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the 3 Tbs. sugar with the cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and orange zest. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into dry mixture, until butter lumps are no larger than peas. Stir in cherries/cranberries and walnuts. Add buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon (or your hands) until dry flour is no longer visible. The dough will be very wet and sticky.

Flour work surface and turn dough out onto floured surface. Pat into a 1-inch thick round. Cut into 8-12 wedges (I like 12 scones). Using a large, thin cookie spatula, transfer to baking sheet, 1-2 inches apart. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake 18-20 minutes, until the bottom and edges of the scones are lightly browned. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

As I was flipping through my Barefoot Contessa cookbook collection that I got for Christmas, this recipe jumped out at me. I’m not really sure why, as I’m not a big breakfast person and rarely eat eggs. But it seemed like an easy weekend breakfast to try.

Once again, Ina did not fail me. The herb and Parmesan topping to these eggs was a nice change from simple salt and pepper on a sunny-side up egg. The edges of the eggs were all crispy while the yolk stayed a bit runny. This recipe is definitely worth keeping for overnight guests – quick to assemble and no hoovering over the stove. Got 15 minutes one Saturday  morning? Give these eggs a shot.

Herb Baked Eggs

Adapted from Ina Garten’s Barefoot in Paris, also found on Food Network

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1/4 tsp. minced fresh garlic
• 1/4 tsp. minced fresh thyme
• 1/4 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
• 1 Tbs. minced fresh parsley
• 1 Tbs. freshly grated Parmesan
• 4-6 large or extra-large eggs
• 2 Tbs. heavy cream
• 1 Tbs. unsalted butter
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• toasted french bread

Preheat broiler for 5 minutes, with an oven rack 6-inches below the heat.

When preheated, place ramekins or gratin dishes on a baking sheet with 1 Tbs. cream and 1/2 Tbs. butter  in each, and put in heated oven for 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine garlic, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and Parmesan in a small dish. Set aside.

Crack 2-3 eggs (my gratin dishes only fit 2 eggs) into small bowls, so that the eggs are ready to go when the ramekins/gratin dishes are heated.

After 3 minutes, remove baking sheet from oven. Butter and cream will be hot and bubbly. Quickly pour the pre-portioned eggs into each dish. Sprinkle with herb mixture, salt, and pepper. Return to oven and cook for another 5-6 minutes, until whites are almost cooked. Remove from oven and let sit 60 seconds before serving (eggs will continue to cook while resting).

Note: I don’t care for runny eggs, and ended up cooking mine for 10-12 minutes total. I suspect the small size of my gratin dish meant that the eggs took a little longer to cook.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve gotten to spend any real time in the kitchen, reading, or at the computer. I’m hoping things will calm down in another week or so, as I’m almost finished with school and almost finished with fundraising for the Susan G Komen Walk for the Cure. However, I have managed to steal a few minutes for myself, both to write this post and make this quick easy breakfast.

I’m not a huge breakfast eater, but I do enjoy granola mixed with yogurt in the morning. Night and light but still filling. This granola recipe only takes a few minutes to prepare, and is cooked in less than 45 minutes. I hope you enjoy it!

Honey Almond Granola

Adapted from Fine Cooking, Weekend (p. 46)

Makes 8-10 cups

Ingredients:

• vegetable oil cooking spray
• 4 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 c. oat bran
• 2 c. whole almonds, chopped, or 2 c. slivered almonds
• 3/4 c. vegetable oil
• 3/4 c. honey
• 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 c. nonfat dry milk powder
• 1/2 tsp. table salt
• 1 c. raisins, dried cranberries, or other dried fruit (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 and spray two rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, honey, vanilla, almond extract, milk powder, and salt (will be a “gloppy”). In a larger mixing bowl, combine oats, oat bran, and almonds. Pour wet mixture over dry mixture stirring until well combined.

Spread granola in an even layer between the two prepared baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, stir granola and then bake for another 10-20 minutes. Oats will be golden brown and almonds will look toasted.

Remove from oven (granola will become crispier as it cools) and allow to cool completely before adding the raisins or dried fruit. Store in an airtight container for 3 weeks.

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins have a light, cake-like texture with bursts of sweetness from the fresh blueberries.

This month’s Barefoot Bloggers recipes made wonderful use of the month’s take from my CSA – tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers all went into Ina’s Greek Panzanella, which I enjoyed with a girlfriend that lives down the road (because my husband won’t eat any of those vegetables!). The blueberries from the CSA went into these blueberry coffee cake muffins.

These muffins are a delight for breakfast or snack any time of day. With a light, cake-list consistency and bursts of sweetness from the fresh blueberries, what’s not to love? In fact, when I first made these muffins in 2010, my coworkers were thrilled and devoured every last bit of these muffins. Years later, this recipe continues to be one that we all enjoyed, especially my son who eats muffins for breakfast every day.

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Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins have a light, cake-like texture with bursts of sweetness from the fresh blueberries.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Cooling Time 5 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 24 muffins

Author Liz

Ingredients

• 12 Tbs. 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1/4 c. milk
• 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 half-pints roughly 2 c. blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line two muffin pans with paper liners.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Lower speed and add eggs, vanilla, sour cream, and milk, a little at a time. Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed. Sift baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour into the wet mixture. Mix on low.
3. When just barely mixed in, turn off stand mixture. Scrape down sides of the bowl and fold in blueberries. Use an ice cream scoop to portion into prepared muffin tins, filling each almost to the top.
4. Bake 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Store, covered, at room temperature.

Recipe Notes:

• Unlike many muffin recipes, the directions say fill to the top. These muffins didn’t rise as much as others, so filling to the top will give you nice round muffin tops.
• The original recipe states that this recipe makes 18 muffins. However, I’ve consistently gotten almost 24 muffins each time I make it.

This recipe was adapted from Ina Garden’s Barefoot Contessa Family Style.

This post was updated in April 2018, with new photos and tweaks to the text and format. The recipe remained unchanged. 

I think its fair to say that my coworkers love me. I work with a bunch of guys, and they get to try out all the tasty treats that I don’t want to keep in the house. The biggest compliment I’ve received? “Don’t eat it, it’s terrible,” as one guy helps himself to thirds (and hopes to take the tray of whatever I brought in home). Anyway, for a big meeting last week, I decided to bring in breakfast foods – biscotti and this coffee cake.

Since I was bringing this to work, I did skip the maple glaze. I didn’t want to mess with it before work and figured I’d never get the chance to make and glaze the cake before someone dug in. I also doubled the ingredients for the crumb layer (reflected below), per the feedback on Food Network.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties!

Ingredients for the Cake:

• 12 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 c. sour cream
• 2 1/2 c. cake flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Ingredients for the Crumb Layer:

• 1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 6 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 c. chopped nuts, pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 10-in tube pan. If using a bundt pan, be sure to grease very well – you can tell that the dough gets stuck in the dips quite easily.

Make the Cake: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light-colored, 4-5 minutes. Lower the speed and add eggs, vanilla, and sour cream, a little at a time until thoroughly incorporated. Sift together remaining dry ingredients and with the mixer on low, add to the wet ingredients until just combined.

Make the Crumb Layer: In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave, about 30 seconds. Add all other ingredients and stir with a fork (or your fingers!) until combined.

Put it Together:Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half the crumb layer. Repeat. Cook 45-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate to cool completely.