Food Friday - Dinner and Dessert courtesy of the King! (King Arthur Flour that is!)

from Kris B.

Tracey and I are enjoying trying recipes from the King Arthur Flour archives.  After last week’s scones, I decided that I needed to make a savory dish.  I ate way too many of those scones!  Lol!  I had some fresh spinach that needed to be eaten before we went out of town this weekend, so I started my search on the King Arthur website looking for a recipe that called for spinach.  I found recipes for various pizzas and calzones and spinach dip and soups and wraps and many things in between.  I settled on this recipe for Miraculous Spinach Quiche.

As I read the recipe, I was carried back about ten or so years to when my girls were both still at home and Impossible Pie, a Bisquick recipe, was a weekly meal at our house.  Since at that time I had one child that was a vegetarian and one who was a carnivore, the Bisquick recipe was easy to accommodate both.  I could mix the “batter” and pour it over veggies for Offspring No. 1 and over meat for Offspring No. 2.  Basically, it was made to order Impossible Pie at our house.

The King Arthur recipe uses ricotta cheese, as well as a generous amount of a shredded cheese of your choice,  in its batter, making its consistency a bit more dense than the Impossible Pie, but very good!  Despite the fact that I was not making this recipe for my girls and their disparate food preferences, I still found myself faced with the vegetarian and the carnivore dilemma.  The recipe calls for only spinach in the filling..  Weber wanted some meat.  Since I also had some bacon that needed to be eaten, he got his wish.  Because I used the bacon, I sautéed the onions and wilted the spinach in bacon drippings rather than the oil that the recipe calls for.   

This recipe is super easy to prepare.  Basically a little sautéing of veggies and then everything is mixed together in a large bowl and then spread in a pie plate to bake.  The crust forms “miraculously” during the baking.

With our first bites, Weber and I found ourselves trying to describe the texture of the Miraculous Spinach (and bacon) Quiche.  It was familiar, but we couldn’t quite place it.  Then it hit us.  The texture was much like that of tamales.  This is not a criticism, just an observation.  Tamales are a favorite of mine so I am perfectly OK with this masa like consistency.  We enjoyed this meal for dinner and a few lunches thereafter.  Its definitely a keeper for us!

I do have to share a humorous story that  the night I made this recipe for dinner.  My beloved husband posted this on Facebook:

“Kris Elliott Baker just told me that before we could eat dinner, she had to shoot it…This is life with a photographer.”

Um, yeah.  This is the way it is at our house.  Doesn't everyone shoot their dinner before they eat it?


From Tracey G.

Since Kris was doing a pie of sorts, I decided I wanted to do something "pie-like" as well. I knew I had some apples to use up quickly, so, I searched the King Arthur Flour website - for apple recipes. I ran across these Rustic Fruit Tarts, and this is one thing I have always wanted to make. They've always intrigued me in their simplicity and ease of fashioning, but for some reason I've never attempted them. I find that rather crazy on my part!

The dough was simple to prepare - a couple eggs, flour, butter, milk, sugar and salt. I mixed it up in my stand mixer, then divided it into 6 pieces. After I did that, I prepared the filling. After getting the filling on each dough disk, I decided to toss a couple blueberries each on/in each one just for some color, lol, and they worked really well! The filling was simple also - diced apples, sour cream (I used a light version), sugar, lemon zest, flour and cinnamon. It also lists cardamom, but that's optional. I didn't have any, so I didn't use it.

Putting together was fun and easy! You roll out each dough disk to about 8-inches. Now, the recipe calls for rolling out the dough and placing on the baking sheet to fill and fold. Well, I wouldn't be able to get all the disks on the sheet, so I rolled them out on my counter (covered with freezer paper, the waxy side up and dusted with flour), one at a time. Then I filled it, and folded it and used a metal spatula to transfer the tarts to the baking sheet that I had lined with parchment paper. Worked like a charm!!! 

I did brush half with some milk and sprinkled with sugar just to see how they'd turn out and look, and they were pretty!!! I want to try it with the coarse sugar as they've used in their photo - mine should be here this week as I ordered a bunch of goodies from the King Arthur Flour website! This recipe has inspired me to want to experiment with other fruit fillings. Fun stuff! Hooray for baking season!!! I'm looking forward to it this year! 

Here's another link to the recipe - do try them and enjoy! Between Kris and I this week, we've provided an easy meal and an easy dessert to go with! ;-) 

Rustic Fruit Tarts from King Arthur Flour

Food Friday - Dessert Anyone?

from Kris B.

A month into our mindful eating journey and we are doing pretty well.  Yes, we both succumbed to dessert last weekend, but starting on Monday we were right on track.  What we learned from our mutual experience last weekend was that we are never going to be able to do without desserts every now and then.  Call it weakness.  Call it reality.  It is what it is.  Rather than beat ourselves up over our seemingly disparate desires to lose weight and eat desserts, we decided to look for calorie friendly desserts, foods that will satisfy that inevitable sweet tooth, but also satisfy our SparkPeople food logs.  This week's recipes do both as well as passed the taste test with our families.

Keep in mind that we are trying to eat regular everyday foods so no artificial sweeteners, etc.  As with everything else here at Pixels, Plates, and LOLs, it is only the real deal!  Lol!  The key to success is everything in moderation.  I headed to the Internet in search of a cookie, my personal downfall, that tastes like a real cookie, but won't reside on my hips for eternity.  I am very happy with these Cinnamon Pecan Wafers that Eating Well (November/December 2010)  offered.  Sweet, crisp, nutty - this 63 calorie cookie is perfect as dessert or a snack.  I enjoy mine with a nice hot cup of black coffee.  Lol!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 Cup unsalted butter
3/4 Cup granulated sugar, divided
1/4 *light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
 1 1/4 Cups *whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
1 Cup finely chopped pecans
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

* The original recipe calls for light brown sugar and whole wheat pastry flour.  I used dark brown sugar and white whole wheat flour.  

1.  Beat the butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar in bowl of an electric mixer on medium high until creamy.  Add egg and vanilla and beat well.  Combine flour, baking powder, and salt then add to the butter mixture.  I sifted the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.  Beat at low speed until combined.  Stir in pecans by hand.

2.  Divide the dough in half and use lightly floured hands to shape each portion into a 6-inch log.  Wrap each log in wax paper and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour.

3.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4.  Unwrap the dough and let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes.  Combine the remaining 1/4 of granulated sugar and the cinnamon on a shallow plate.  Roll the log in the sugar mixture, then slice into 24 1/4' thick cookies.  Place the cookies about 2 1/2' apart on an uncreased cookie sheet.

5. Bake one batch at a time, until lightly browned, 10-12 minutes.  Transfer to wire racks to cool.

The uncooked dough or the cooked cookies may frozen for up to three months.  Store cooked cookies at room temperature in layers separated by wax paper in an airtight container for up to five days.

Nutrition information: per cookie; 63 calories; 4g fat; 7g carbohydrates; 1g protein; 1g fiber; 26 mg sodium; 13 potassium


from Tracey G.

In this effort to eat better and more mindfully, I've been in pursuit of some easy alternative recipes for desserts and snacks. I don't always have dessert, but there are times when that "gotta-have-something-sweet" hits and I'd rather not throw away all my hard work over something like that, or I've made a special dinner and would like a special treat - that's reasonable but still yummy - to go along with it.

 A few years ago Taste of Home put out a "Comfort Food Diet" cookbook, where they compiled a bunch of recipes, from snacks through dessert, that are reasonable in calories and so forth. They are all organized according to type of food (snack, breakfast, dinner etc) and then, in that, they are organized by calories. It's a pretty nice set up and all "normal" foods, some light on their own and  some that have been smartly lightened up. They of course have newer incarnations of it now, I just bought myself a couple digital versions recently and am looking forward to using them as much as I've enjoyed using the one I got this recipe from - my original! It's been a great tool in eating healthier without sacrificing a thing and without feeling like I'm dieting - because that is not my goal. I don't want to go on a diet - that's too restrictive sounding and that's where I fail. Tell me I can't have something and it becomes number one on my list to have! 

This cheesecake version comes in at 163 calories as written, I added one more graham cracker and that bumped it up to 172 calories per serving. And the serving size is nice too - not skimpy in the least. I thought that it would be cut into 10 or 12 slices, and I was wrong - it's cut into only 8. A very nice serving! The cherry topping is a light pie filling - and that's another item I had no issues with it tasting "diet" etc. It was a nice addition - and honestly, I liked the cheesecake just as much without the topping. 

This was another surprisingly simple recipe to pull together - I even double checked my recipe thinking that I must have missed something somewhere, but nope, it was just that easy!

No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake

courtesy of Taste Of Home; can be found here: No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake

1 whole reduced fat graham cracker, finely crushed, divided

1 package (.3 oz.) sugar-free lemon gelatin

2/3 cup boiling water

1 package (8 oz.) reduced-fat cream cheese, cubed

1 cup (8 oz.) 1% cottage cheese

2 cups reduced-fat whipped topping

1 cup reduced-sugar cherry pie filling

1. Coat a 9-in. springform pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle half of the graham cracker crumbs on the bottom and 1 in up the sides of pan; set aside. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water; cool to room temperature.

2. In a blender, combine the gelatin mixture, cream cheese and cottage cheese; cover and process until smooth. Transfer mixture to a bowl; fold in whipped topping. Pour into prepared pan. 

3. Sprinkle with remaining graham cracker crumbs. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until set. Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen, then remove sides of pan. Garnish with pie filling. 

Yield: 8 servings

Nutritional Information: 1 piece equals 163 calories; 8 g fat (5 g saturated fat); 17 mg cholesterol; 240 mg sodium; 15 g carbohydrate; .55 g fiber; 7 g protein

Food Friday - High In Goodness, Low In Calories

from Kris B.

We are two and half weeks in to our “weight reduction plan.”  With encouragement from another, both of us are doing pretty well staying within our allowed calorie range each day and not feeling hungry.  There does, however, come a time when we want a sweet snack, not a reward necessarily, but a sweet something that we can eat and enjoy and not feel guilty about having had.  It is from this place that we bring you this week’s recipes.

I like cake, but I am not a big fan of frosting.  Even though I have a powerful sweet tooth, most frosting is even too sweet for me.  I often scrape all but a thin layer of the frosting from cake and cupcakes.  I know.  It sounds like a waste; however, often there is someone nearby that has the exact opposite preferences - they love the frosting but not the cake.  It works out for all involved!  Lol!  When I make cake at home, I don’t go to the trouble of making frosting  unless I have to.

A favorite cake at our house is angel food cake.  No one expects it to have frosting.  Perhaps a dollop of whipped cream, and some kind of fruit and it is perfectly dressed and good to go.  Angel food cake is also low in calories abd fat free!  This recipe weighs in at 146 calories per (naked) slice.  Adding fruit and a little whipped cream ups that at little, but this treat still comes in far below the average for most desserts.

INGREDIENTS

12 eggs, whites only) or 1 1/2 cups egg whites)

1 Cup flour

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp almond extract

1 TBS lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and half (3/4 cup) of the sugar.

Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until  foamy..  Add the salt and cream of tartar.  Continue to whisk until soft peaks form.  Add the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar a little at a time.  Once stiff peaks have formed, beat in the vanilla, almond extract, and the lemon juice.  

Using a spatula, stir the sifted flour and sugar into the egg white mixture 1/4 cup at a time until all is incorporated.  Evenly spread the batter into an ungreased angel food cake pan (tube pan).

Bake for 50 minutes or until cakes feels slightly springy to the touch and is golden brown.  Remove from oven and invert the pan on a glass bottle to cool.  Once cooled, loosen the cake from the pan with a metal spatula and invert cake onto a plate.

Eat the cake as is, with a little non-dairy whipped cream (if you are watching calories) and fruit.  Or, if you must, drizzle with a glaze or sauce of your choice.

Makes 12 servings

146 calories; 5g protein; 39g carbohydrates; 2g fiber; 29g sugar; 0 fat; 0 cholesterol; 100mg sodium


From Tracey G.

As we come to the end of Week 3 (I've rounded up, lol) in the new Mindful Eating challenge as I like to call it, it's occurred to me that we need some healthy sweets as well occasionally. I'm not a big sweet eater, but sometimes I just gotta have it! Cupcakes, cakes, frosting and so forth. I want to be prepared for such things and have a few healthier alternatives in my bag of tricks. Not that that means I'm not going to enjoy the real deal occasionally, after all there's nothing off limits, it's all about moderation. I would just like a few healthier alternatives to old favorites and some new just-because-they-sound-good healthier things at my disposal.

Recently, I bought myself a subscription to Eating Well magazine, if their magazine is half as informative and helpful as their website, it will be deemed a good move on part! I just got my first issue this past week and this was one of a few recipes in it I decided I was going to try. I did a bit of a hunt around the internet for blueberry pound cake recipes - wanting to see how much this one might differ, and from most of the ones I ran across, this had about half the calories of most, as this comes in at about 303 calories per serving according to the recipe notes. And the 1-inch thick slice - as pictured in my photo, that is considered a serving, is really a pretty good size!

Aside from it being really yummy, it's also a one-bowl recipe - nice! It came together easily, which is always a bonus. I also know it was a hit with my boys - Harry told me that I deserved 63 kisses for it, where he came up with that number as being a good rating is beyond me, but I'll take the kisses and he took a second slice! Hubby asked me if it was easy to put together, which I've come to learn is code for "so, will you make this again because it's really good!"!

I did have to make one major change because I realized I didn't have the ingredient - it calls for 1.5 cups of white whole-wheat flour, I didn't have any, so used unbleached all-purpose. And a minor change was I used frozen blueberries - they aren't the greatest in the stores this time of year fresh, so frozen are always a staple I have on hand. 

Blueberry-Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

Courtesy of Eating Well Magazine and can be found here: Blueberry-Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

8 Servings

3/4 cup granulated sugar

5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 large eggs, at room temperature (see tip below*)

3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

2 tbsp lemon zest

2 tbsp lemon juice plus 1 tsp, divided

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 c white whole-wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups fresh blueberries (I used frozen)

2 tbsp packed confectioner's sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9x5-in. loaf pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.

2. Beat sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until creamy**. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and beat in ricotta, lemon zest, 2 tbsp lemon juice and vanilla until just combined. Sprinkle flour on top, then evenly sprinkle baking powder and salt over the flour. With the mixer on low speed, beat until almost combined. Add blueberries and  gently fold into the batter. Transfer to prepared pan.

3. Bake the cake until starting to brown around the edges and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake, then invert it onto the rack. Carefully turn it right-side up. Let cool completely.

4. Clean the bowl, add confectioner's sugar and whisk in the remaining 1 tsp lemon juice until smooth. Brush the glaze on the cake.

Serves 8: One 1-inch thick slice each

Nutritional information: Calories 303, Fat 11g (Saturated Fat 6g), Cholesterol 96mg, Carbohydrates 45g, Total Sugars 25g (added 21g), Protein 8g, Fiber 3g, Sodium 319 mg, Potassium 124mg

*This is a trick I've used for ages to get eggs right out of the refrigerator to room temperature quickly, that they suggest as well: Place the eggs (in the shell) in a bowl of lukewarm water for about 5 minutes. I usually do that first when I start a recipe that needs room temp eggs, so that by the time I'm ready for them, they are ready for me!

**They do note that for best cake texture to make sure you beat it long enough together to look creamy, and the time it take can vary. I never really did see "creamy", but it still turned out well for me!

Food Friday - Awesome Sauce!

from Kris B.

My mom was a chocoholic; she liked any kind of chocolate, by M&Ms and Breyers ice cream covered in chocolate sauce were her favorites.  Though every now and then I remember seeing a bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup in the refrigerator, most of the time she made her own sauce.  As it turns out, it is super easy to make!

I am not an ice cream fan.  I'm not sure why that is; it's just one of those weird personality traits.  I do, however, really like this chocolate sauce.  It is thick and when it starts to cool becomes almost chewy like fudge.  I had to fins a way to enjoy it other than on ice cream.  My preference is to eat it swirled in with a bit of coffee flavored yogurt; not frozen yogurt, just plain ol' yogurt.  If your world is in a sad state and you have no coffee flavored yogurt, vanilla is an acceptable substitute.

Because of its thickness, this sauce also works well for dipping.  Some of my favorite dipping devices are animal crackers, pretzels, cinnamon covered tortilla chips, fruit, and this time of year, Girl Scout Trefoil cookies.  Don't judge me!  I am admitting my bad habits here and now.  Lol!  If your cupboard is bare a spoon, spatula, or a finger will do in a pinch!

INGREDIENTS
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan.  Heat over medium heat stirring continuously.   Once mixture boils, reduce heat to low and continue to stir until until the chocolate is completely melted and thoroughly integrated.  Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Reheat either on the stove top over low heat or in the microwave for a minute and half at about 50% power.  YOU MAY NEED TO ADJUST MICROWAVE TIMES AND SETTINGS BASED ON YOUR MICROWAVE.  Do not leave the chocolate sauce unattended until you are sure of the behavior of your microwave.


from Tracey G.

Ever since I was a kid, I've loved the hard shell chocolate sauces, and now my child does too, along with me! It always kind of irked me that it comes in such a small bottle for what you were paying, but it's fun, so I made sure we had it around! Then one day I ran across this recipe for homemade "Magic Shell", and I filed it away under "to make someday". I'd finally went out and gotten the ingredients necessary, but still, hadn't made it. A Food Friday post seemed like as good of an excuse as any to finally give it a whirl and am I glad I did! It turned out better than I could've ever expected, and it introduced me to working with coconut oil. It worked just like it should and I was rather impressed at how easy it was to make a large batch of chocolate hard shell topping for my ice cream at home - the secret is in the coconut oil - it hardens as it cools.

I have to say, though, that it got strange and mixed reviews from my guys - big and little, which made me laugh. Harry at first loved it, was great, then it was "blah" to him. Jeremy said it tasted like chocolate chips - um well, yeah, that's because that's what it is! But when Harry saw me give my "photo prop" serving to Daddy, he had a fit - so I think it wasn't as blah to him as he'd previously stated!! LOL! Me personally? I loved it - it tasted perfect to me and I was super giddy I could make as much as I wanted whenever I wanted! After chatting with Jeremy, I did decide it would be fun to try and experiment with different chocolates, maybe mix some milk with the semi-sweet chips or whatever, you could have fun combining and trying different chocolates for whatever tasted you're going for.

The method and recipe is so easy it's almost embarrassing, lol. Here it is:

12 oz package chocolate chips - about 2 cups

4 tbsp coconut oil

1/4 tsp salt

Combine all in a large microwavable bowl. Microwave on high, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and blended. . Let cool slightly, then spoon over ice cream or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 1 month.

For gift giving (and using directions even if not gifting!): Divide among jars and instruct the receivers to microwave the chocolate sauce, uncovered and stirring every 30 seconds, until melted.

That's it! It was scary simple for such a fun treat to be able to make at home, whenever you like for a fraction of the cost of the commercial variety!! 

Food Friday - Pie in the Sky

"Pie in the Sky" is probably not the most honest title for this week's post.  It is actually pie in my belly.  This is one of my favorite pies so as soon as I got the photos taken I felt obliged to eat the model.

In our family, my oldest daughter and her dad (my ex-husband) have had an ongoing battle waging over who makes the best pumpkin pie.  His is the more traditional type, and hers is vegan.  They are both really good.  I am always amazed that the vegan pie is as good as it is.  In all honesty, I bet you wouldn't know that it was vegan unless you were told.  Because I am the non-competitive member of the family, I never joined in the pie battle.  I took a completely different route and always make a pie for the non-pumpkin pie eat that comes to dinner every now and then.

This recipe comes from The Pantry Restaurant in McKinney, Texas, a locally owned family business.  Their recipes are longtime family recipes that have been passed down through generations. Fortunately, they also published a cookbook with the recipe for this pie!

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs
1/2 Cup melted butter
1 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 Cup flour
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 Cup pecan pieces
1 10 inch pie shell

Mix eggs, butter, sugar, flour, and vanilla together.  Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.  Pour into the 10-inch pie shell.  Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes to an hour.  Serve topped with whipped cream or, if you are feeling really decadent, vanilla ice cream.

I usually melt the butter in a four-cup measuring cup and then mix all the ingredients in.  This makes it easy to pour the filling into the pie crust and it is easy clean up.  Only the measuring cup and a stirring spoon!  I also do not make my own crust for this one.  The pie itself is so rich that the taste of the crust is lost, so save the trouble of a homemade crust for that apple or peach pie!

On a side note, this is another in our "brown food series."   Again I say that brown food is really hard to photograph in an appealing way!


by Tracey G.

This recipe intrigued me, the fact that it's a colonial-era pie caught my attention. Add in the fact I love cranberries in just about any form and I'd never eaten them in the form of a pie, and I was really interested! The yummy ingredient list and the easy-factor sealed the deal for me.I think then next time I have some I'm going to heat it up and put a scoop of vanilla ice cream with it - yum!

I must thank Taste Of Home once again for the recipe and this venue for me having the reason to make this recipe! :-D 

Now, instead of making my own pastry for the pie, I just bought and used the refrigerated crust, made it super simple! But I've included the pastry recipe that came with the pie recipe :-)

And this was my first lattice topped pie - and it was so much easier than I thought it would be! I'd always said, nope, not doing that, that looks way too difficult, lol. Well, it's not and it sure looks pretty when you're done and it's baked! :-D

Cranberry Walnut Pie

courtesy of Taste of Home Magazine

Makes 8 Servings

1 pkg (12 oz) fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed

1 1/2 c packed brown sugar

1 c chopped walnuts

1/4 c butter, melted

4 1/2 tsp flour

2 tsp grated orange peel

Dash salt

Pastry for double crust pie (9-in.)

1) Preheat oven to 375° F. Place cranberries in a food processor; cover and process until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in brown sugar, walnuts, melted butter, flour, orange peel and salt.

2) On a lightly floured surface, roll one half of the pastry dough to 1/8-in. thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2-in. beyond rim of plate. Add filling.

3) Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in. thick circle; cut into 1/2-in wide strips. Arrange over filling in a lattice pattern. Trim and seal strips to edge of bottom pastry; flute edge. Cover edges loosely with foil.

4) Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake 20-25 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on wire rack.

Pastry for 9-in double-crust pie:

2 /12 c flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup cold butter, cubed

1/3 - 2/3 c ice water

Combine the flour and the salt; cut in the butter until crumbly. Gradually add 1/3 to 2/3 cup ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together. Divide in half, shape into disks; wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour.

Sugar and Spice and Cinnamon are Nice!

Morning, noon, and night, coffee is the number one drink at our house.  The common question in the morning is not, "Do your want coffee with your breakfast?" but, "What do your want to eat with your coffee?"  I just love the stuff; my husband needs it!  He is one of those people that you don't want to encounter in the morning until he has had at least his first cup of coffee.  That is why he gets the job of packing lunches in the morning; this gets him to the kitchen coffee pot first.  Once the coffee is poured, the food that accompanies it really doesn't matter.

We also drink coffee at night, often with a late night snack.  (Yes, we can both drink lots of coffee and go right to sleep with no problem.)  This is where the coffee cake comes in.  I'm not much for wanting to eat sweets with my morning coffee, but with the night time cup it's a different story!  The evening is when my sweet tooth is ramped up and ready to go.  Coffee cake loaded with cinnamon is the perfect complement to a nice bold cup of coffee.

I have used King Arthur flour as well as their recipes for a long time.  I don't think that I have ever tried one of that didn't meet or exceed my expectations.  And, I am a bit nostalgic where King Arthur  baking products are concerned.  Weber and I visited the King Arthur campus when we were in Vermont on our honeymoon.  It was definitely a baker's, and eater's paradise!

The King Arthur Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake is pure deliciousness!  It is loaded with cinnamon in that it has a filling as well as a streusel topping.  The cake itself is dense, but not overly sweet, allowing the filling to take the flavor center stage.  This coffee cake is a little labor intensive, but it is more than worth the time that it takes to make it!

Because I make this recipe exactly as directed by King Arthur, I am copying the recipe exactly as they have it printed on their own web page and inserting my own photos.

INGREDIENTS

Streusel topping

• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt (if you use unsalted butter)
• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling

• 1 cup brown sugar, light or dark
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder 

Cake

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon salt (1 ¼ teaspoons if you use unsalted butter)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
• 1 1/4 cups milk (anything from skim to whole)
• 3 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Directions

1. 1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, or two 9" round cake pans.
2. 2) Make the topping by whisking together the sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon. 

1. Add the melted butter, stirring till well combined. Set the topping aside.

1. 3) Make the filling by mixing together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Note that the cocoa powder is used strictly for color, not flavor; leave it out if you like. Set it aside.

1. 4) To make the cake: In a large bowl, beat together the butter, salt, sugars, baking powder, and vanilla until well combined and smooth.
2. 5) Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

1. 6) In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream or yogurt and milk till well combined. You don't need to whisk out all the lumps.
2. 7) Add the flour to the butter mixture alternately with the milk/sour cream mixture, beating gently to combine.

1. 8) Pour/spread half the batter (a scant 3 cups) into the prepared pan(s), spreading all the way to the edges. If you're using two 9" round pans, spread 1 1/3 cups batter in each pan.

1. 9) Sprinkle the filling evenly atop the batter.

1. 10) Spread the remaining batter atop the filling. Use a table knife to gently swirl the filling into the batter, as though you were making a marble cake. Don't combine filling and batter thoroughly; just swirl the filling through the batter. 

1. 11) Sprinkle the topping over the batter in the pan.

1. 12) Bake the cake until it's a dark golden brown around the edges; medium-golden with no light patches showing on top, and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes for the 9" x 13" pan, 50 to 55 minutes for the 9" round pans. When pressed gently in the middle, the cake should spring back. 
2. 13) Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 20 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve cake right from the pan.

Tips from our bakers

• Since butter and sour cream are both key ingredients in this cake, we encourage you to use the best quality you can get. We highly recommend Cabot, a superb Vermont brand available nationally.
• It's easy to spread half the batter in the pan when you know how much it weighs. If you have a kitchen scale, half the batter weighs about 28 ounces.
• Want to prepare this coffeecake the night before, then bake in the morning? It's easy; simply cover the unbaked cake with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Next morning, bake the cake as directed. Start testing for doneness at the end of the suggested baking time; you'll probably have to add 5 minutes or so to the total time, to account for the batter being chilled.
• Dress it up for guests: Make a glaze with ½ cup confectioners' or glazing sugar and 1 tablespoon milk; drizzle glaze over the cooled coffeecake.

by Tracey G

Another thing Kris and I have in common or share in likes/loves, is, the love of coffee!!! I have been drinking the stuff since I was like 4, lol. Well, not a full cup to myself, but a sip or two from Mom and Dad's cup - and that's where I learned to be able drink mine with either cream and sugar, or just black, lol. Preferably with cream and sugar, but in a pinch - black works just as well, lol.

Which reminds me of a funny story from my childhood coffee-drinking days... My father was concerned with my taking sips off their coffees, so he asked the pediatrician about it - whether or not it was ok for me and the pediatrician answered, with a straight face according to my Mom's retelling, "well, how does she drink it? Black or with cream and sugar?" And my dad thought he actually had to answer that not realizing the doctor was just messing with him, lol. It didn't matter -  the small amounts I was imbibing were ok - no growth stunting or whatever other horrible things could befall me according to coffee drinking lore, lol. ;-)

I also discovered one more thing in the "share column" of likes/loves of Kris and I - our use of King Arthur Flour! I don't remember when I started using it, but once I did I never looked back - any time I buy anything else it's because the store was out of it, lol. It was their gluten-free brownie mix I tried a few posts back and it was yummy! I do have a gluten-free yellow cake mix by King Arthur Flour that I plan on testing some time in near future here on the blog. :-)

Now, on to the Cinnamon Rolls. I found this recipe in my Taste Of Home magazine. (see a theme here? LOL ToH is my all-time favorite food magazine, I've been a subscriber for at least 25 years, which is hard to believe considering I'm only 29, lol;-) )

I found it awhile ago and have been wanting to make it for ages, I love cinnamon rolls and it's very close to the usual recipe I use, only this adds vanilla pudding mix to the dough, and it intrigued me. And what better excuse to make them then to make them for the food aspect of the blog? :-) I didn't realize though, that this endeavor was going to be an all day undertaking - and it really wouldn't be, lol, but when you stop to photograph every little step, it ends up being that way! LOL And I discovered that it seems like a lot steps! But really it wasn't that many and it wouldn't take very long while not taking photos, lol. And in the end, they were super yummy so was worth it! I still don't advise trying to do this on a busy weeknight or anything, that might just prove frustrating, lol

And they go smashingly with coffee ;-)

Of course I forgot to include a few ingredients in the photo, but it wouldn't be right if I didn't, lol. Good grief, someday I'll get everyone in the shot! Anyway, here's the "not pictured": Water, butter, milk and salt. And here's the pictured: flour, yeast, egg, sugar and pudding mix. 

I had to deviate from the combining method a little bit because I use Rapid Rise yeast and it gets combined with the dry ingredients, and not dissolved in the warm water as directed in the recipe. But I will describe it as per the recipe...

In a bowl dissolve the yeast and the sugar in warm water. In another bowl you mix the pudding mix and milk until well blended for 1 minute. Then you let that stand for about a minute more. To the pudding mixture you then add the egg, butter, salt, yeast mixture and about 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth, then add enough flour to make a soft dough.

Here's another place I diverge from the recipe - I use my KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook to replace hand kneading, it's easier and takes less time. But again, the recipe's directions state to turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, approximately 6-8 minutes.  

You then place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top.

Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour (or less using Rapid Rise yeast)

While the dough is rising, mix the filling ingredients - sugar and cinnamon. It calls for 1 tbsp cinnamon - but I used a bit more because Harry asked if I could make them extra cinnamon-y, lol.

Once dough has risen, punch down....

... and divide in half.

Roll each half into a 18x10-in. rectangle.

Brush each half with 2 tablespoons of butter each, and then sprinkle each with half of the sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Roll up from the long side, pinch seams to seal. Cut into 12 rolls. I got out the ruler to make sure I had them fairly even, and each piece was about 1 1/2-in. wide.

Place all the pieces in a greased 9x13-in. baking pan. 

Cover and let rise until doubled. Preheat oven to 350° F. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden.

 While they are baking, mix up the frosting ingredients - softened butter, vanilla and powdered sugar.

When the rolls are done, spread the still-warm rolls with frosting mixture. Then, eat! LOL

Favorite Cinnamon Rolls

Originally called "Can't-Eat-Just-One Cinnamon Rolls"

courtesy of Taste Of Home

Makes 12

Dough:

I pkg (1/4 oz) active dry yeast

1 tbsp sugar

1/4 c water (110° F)

1 c milk

1/3 c instant vanilla pudding mix (it's about 1/2 of a 3.4-oz pkg)

1 egg

1/4 c butter, melted

1 tsp salt

3 - 3 1/2 c flour

Filling:

3/4 c sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/4 c butter, melted

Frosting:

11/2 c powdered sugar

1/2 c butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp water

1) In a bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tbsp sugar in warm water. In a large bowl, beat milk and pudding mix on low speed for 1 minute. Let stand 1 minute. Add egg, butter, salt, yeast mixture and 2 cups flour; beat on medium until smooth. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough.

2) Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top of the dough. Cover, let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

3) For filling, in a bowl mix sugar and cinnamon. Punch down dough; divide in half. Roll each half into an 18x10-in. rectangle. Brush each with 2 tbsp butter; sprinkle with half of the sugar mixture. Roll up, starting with long side; pinch seam to seal. Cut each into 12 pieces.

4) Place in a greased 9x13-in. baking pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350° F.

5) Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown. In a bowl, beat frosting ingredients until creamy. Spread over warm rolls.