Granola, Plain and Simple

I don't want coconut or nuts or fruit bits in my granola. Even if I did, I'd add them later. 

Photo represents the one time I added a little quinoa to the mix.

Preheat oven to 300 or 325 depending on whether you like your granola a bit toasty.

Whisk well:
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 c. brown rice syrup or honey or maple syrup (or any combination)
1/4 c. vegetable or olive oil (or combination)
1 tsp. vanilla
dash of cinnamon (optional)
1 egg white (optional)

Add and stir well:
3 c. old fashioned rolled oats (not quick, not steel cut)

Spread onto a parchment-lined pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, checking often and stirring a bit halfway through. Remove when it's golden brown. Let cool. Break up chunks and store in an airtight container at room temperature. 

Easiest Sticky Cinnamon Rolls Ever

Charlie gets the credit for discovering these which are from the book Teens Cook which, if you're looking for a good tween/teen cookbook, I definitely recommend. The best thing is that they are a no-rise dough so you can have them on the table in an hour. I have only modified the recipe slightly, with the addition of some salt to the dough and a reduction in the butter.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

The Dough
1 c. cottage cheese
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. milk
1/2 t. salt
2 T. baking powder
4 1/4 c. all-purpose flour plus some for dusting

Put the cottage cheese in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add sugar, eggs, oil, milk, and salt and puree until smooth.
Put the mixture in a large bowl and stir in the baking powder. Add 3 1/2 cups of the flour and stir until it forms a dough. Using your hands, add the remaining dough a little at time until the dough is smooth and not too sticky. This is not so much kneading as a "smush and fold" technique. 
Spread some flour on a clean, flat surface and roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 16x20 inches.

The Filling

2 c. brown sugar

3 T. cinnamon

6 T. butter

1/4-1/2 c. honey

Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Melt the butter.

Assembly & Baking

Melt the butter and brush over the entire surface of the dough. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking pan. (If you wanted more of a classic sticky bun situation, you could sprinkle nuts in the pan at this point.)

Drizzle the honey over the buttered dough. Now I admit, I didn't measure out the honey at all. I just squeezed it right out of that little bear in sort of a loose grid pattern. Seemed like maybe 1/4 cup total but the recipe calls for 1/2 cup if you want to do it their way.

Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the dough. Roll the dough, as tightly as you can, the long way.

Using a serrated bread knife, cut the roll into 1 inch slices. Arrange them into the pan, right up next to each other, and sprinkle with any remaining butter and cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until done.

Remove from the pan and turn out onto a platter.

Eat while warm.

Apple-Cinnamon Muffins a la Hilton

My daughter went on her eighth grade trip to Washington, DC and came back talking about two things: Roland Fritter, coolest tour guide ever, and the apple cinnamon muffins at the Hilton somewhere in Maryland. Here is my attempt to replicate them based on a very minimal description. I used an old King Arthur Flour recipe as a guide with several tweaks.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups unbleached all-purpose or white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat flour or similar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup of whatever else you'd like to add for texture (nuts, chopped or dried fruit or my favorite cheat -- crumbled granola or Nutrigrain-type cereal bars that my kids begged me to buy then instantly decided they no longer like.)
Optional: Coarse sugar or streusel (mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter with a fork until you get a "clumpy" texture) for sprinkling on top

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Line a 12-muffin muffin tin with papers.

2. Whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl (I use my stand mixer) until light and fluffy and almost white in color. Scrape down the bowl to make sure all the butter is incorporated, then turn the mixer back on and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, applesauce, and sour cream, and mix until incorporated.

4. Add the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed just until the batter is smooth. Scrape those sides and bottom of the bowl once more, to be sure everything is evenly combined. Gently fold in the fruit and refrigerate for 15 minutes or up to an hour+ if you have the time. (I don't.)

5. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Scoop the batter by the 1/4-cupful into the prepared pan and sprinkle with sugar or other topping. Bake the muffins until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove them to finish cooling.

Puff Daddy Baked Apple Pancakes

Make this for breakfast for someone you love. Everyone will be happy.

Puff Daddy

• 1/2 (1/4 cup) stick unsalted butter
• 2 large firm, tart apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (granulated is fine in a pinch)
• a couple of decent shakes ground cinnamon
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (many recipes call for far less flour but I don't like it too eggy)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 425F. Melt butter over medium-high heat in an ovenproof 10-inch skillet. Add apples, granulated sugar, and cinnamon and saute, stirring occasionally, until the apples begin to brown and most of the juices have evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn off heat.

Combine eggs, milk, flour, and salt in a bowl and whisk until smooth. You can also whisk in some (2 T.) melted butter but that takes this to a new buttery level that is not actually necessary but, yes, delicious.

Spread the browned apples evenly across the bottom of the pan. Pour the batter over the apples. Place the skillet in the oven and bake until the pancake is golden and puffed, about 15-18 minutes. Be amazed.

Remove the pan from the oven and let the pancake rest in the pan for about 3 minutes. Squeeze a little lemon on it if you wish, sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar, cut into wedges, and serve with warm maple syrup.

Serves 2-4.

Chilaquile Casserole

It's Mother's Day and that means one thing: brunch. Amy Spar, domestic goddess and queen of Lunch Bunch and other fabulous things, turned me on to this brunch gem in 2006 and happy people have been inhaling it ever since. It's maybe the most adaptable recipe ever since there are infinite combinations of things to put in and on it, and can be eaten around the clock. It's become a staple for our post-triathlon brunch and Christmas Day breakfast, too. It's also worth noting that this is Amy's go-to-dish whenever someone has a baby and she brings them dinner. I think you're getting the picture. Amy got the recipe from Mollie Katzen’s Still Life with Menu.  

12 corn tortillas

1 4-ounce can diced green chiles

2-3 c. jack cheese

6 eggs

2 c. buttermilk

salt & pepper

Optional fillings: mushrooms, peppers, beans, spinach, tofu etc.

Optional toppings: enchilada sauce, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, chopped tomatoes, sliced avocado, bean & corn salad, etc.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 9x13 pan.
2. Tear 6 tortillas into bite-sized pieces and spread them in pan.
3. Spread ½ the cheese and ½ the chiles over the tortillas, as well as any additional fillings.
4. Tear the other 6 tortillas and spread them on top.  Follow with remaining chiles and cheese.
5. Beat the eggs with the buttermilk and salt and pepper.  Pour over casserole evenly.
6. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes.
7. Serve hot or warm with toppings.

Jordan Marsh Berry Muffins

My Grandma Nancy had a real thing about eating in department stores and hotel coffee shops (back when such places were fine places to eat and weren't named things like "Champs".) In fact, for many years, we ate at the Tea Room at Gilmore's department store every Monday. So you can imagine her excitement when we went to Boston to visit my Aunt Dede and had the famous muffins at the Jordan Marsh department store. She was beyond thrilled. We proudly brought that recipe back to Paw Paw, MI and made them in the pizza oven in lieu of the usual Sara Lee coffee time treats.


I can't remember what they originally called for - blueberries or raspberries. Having come late to blueberries, I make these with raspberries and they are delicious.


1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 c. flour, sifted
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
2 1/2 c. berries

1. Cream butter and 3/4 c. sugar.
2. Add eggs. Blend well.
3. Sift all dry ingredients.
4. Add to butter mixture, alternating with milk and vanilla.
5. Mash 1/2 the berries with a fork and fold into the batter.
6. Fold in the remaining whole berries
7. Pile high into greased muffin tins.
8. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 c. sugar.
9. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Eulie's Ozark Apple Cake

My grandmother made this as a breakfast or snack cake when I was a child. It's similar to a typical "Ozark" apple cake, but uses butter, not oil. I think she got the original recipe from a cookbook called Symphony of Cooking. The actual honest-to-God note handwritten on the back of the original recipe card says, "If you are planning to serve this to guests, better make two as Jen can eat one whole one." Um, yes.

SERVES 6

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cup flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups finely chopped, peeled apples
• 1/2 cup nuts, dried fruit, etc. optional, though I never include them

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Add egg. Beat well.
3. Sift all dry ingredients.
4. Blend into wet ingredients.
5. Fold in apple and optional items
6. Spread into a well-greased 8x8 inch pan.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
8. Serve warm or room temp, with whipped cream or without. 

Eulie's Sour Milk Doughnuts

It's Sunday morning and that means a breakfast better than toast. And last night was a dancing and 2AM kind of night which doesn't happen very often these days. That means that breakfast should be not only better than toast but maybe deep-fried.

Homemade doughnuts are a little tricky but not as difficult as you'd think. My Grandma Eulie, a goddess of homemade delicious treats, routinely made these on a weekend morning and it's time for you to, too. Done right, a homemade doughnut will ensure you never eat Dunkin again.

Mix well in large bowl:
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup sugar
3 T melted butter

Add:
1 cup sour milk (1 c milk + 1 T white vinegar + 5 minutes)
1/2 t nutmeg OR cinnamon (Eulie preferred nutmeg, I prefer cinnamon)
3/4 t salt
1 t baking soda
3 1/2-4 cups flour (the batter should be quite stiff)

Fry small spoonfuls in shortening, about a pound. Eulie preferred lard, I prefer Crisco. in a heavy pan. Eulie used an electric frypan, I use a Le Creuset.

I use two teaspoons (one to scoop, one to scrape) or a very small springy scoop like this to plop the batter in the grease. They really do need to be quite small - sort of doughnut-hole sized, duh - and fried until quite brown or you run the risk of them being doughy and raw in the center.

Shake the warm doughnuts and a cup of powdered sugar in a brown bag. Eat them all, they don't really keep well.

I didn't make these (my friend Lynne P-G did) but it proves that making doughnuts at home is nothing to be afraid of.

Banana Bread

My daughter has taken a peanut butter and banana sandwich for lunch pretty much every day for seven years running. Which means I always have a lot of bananas in the house and then sometimes she gets lucky and can take leftover pizza or pierogi for lunch and we end up with a backlog of too-ripe bananas. So I puree them with a stick blender and freeze them in one-cup or two-cup portions in freezer bags.  What to do with tons o' banana puree? The answer is always banana bread.  This version is Martha Stewart's lightened slightly due to the applesauce in lieu of some butter (thanks, Amy Spar) and the low fat Greek yogurt.

Makes two large loaves or six small loaves. This recipe can easily be halved.

1/4 pound (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
2 t. salt
2 c. mashed or pureed very ripe bananas
1 c. Greek yogurt or sour cream or a combo of the two (low-fat or no-fat is fine)
2 t. vanilla extract (I like Nielsen-Massey because boozy flavor)
1 c. mini chocolate chips

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter (or Pam for Baking) your pans of choice.
• With an electric mixer, cream the butter, applesauce and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well.
• Sift/mix (Who am I to judge?) the dry ingredients together and add to the butter mixture. Blend well at a low speed.  Add the banana puree, yogurt or sour cream, and vanilla. Mix well. Don't over mix.
• Fold in the chocolate chips and pour into the prepared pans.
• Bake one hour for large loaves and maybe about 45 minutes for small. Either way, they should be nicely browned and a cake tester should come out clean. Turn out on a rack to cool.