Bacon Pancakes

I have several things to say about this particular recipe. First of all, while it may look from that picture up there that I have simply artfully arranged a piece of bacon on the top of those pancakes, if you look very closely you will see that the bacon has actually been cooked INTO the pancake itself. Yes, while those pancakes were on the griddle I dropped some bacon on top of the batter and let that bacon cook into the center of the pancake. Wrap your mind around that for a minute. Take deep breaths.

The other thing I want to point out is the placemat. I got these a couple of years ago at Williams Sonoma...they are hard placemats with Twelve Days Of Christmas artwork on them, and they make me so, so happy. They have a whole line of Twelve Days stuff now, and last week when I was in the store I had to restrain myself from buying matching napkins. Actually the Southern husband had to restrain me - he literally took them out of my hands and put them back on the shelf. Probably because he was remembering that we already have napkins that each have the name of one of Santa's reindeer on them. (I always save Vixen for myself. Which explains a lot about me that you probably didn't want to know.)

But I digress. The pancakes are as simple as I described them above - you mix up a batch of your favorite pancake batter (I am a faithful Bisquick girl myself), and after you ladle your batter onto the skillet, drop on a piece of cooked bacon. Flip your pancake as usual, and when they are gorgeously brown you will see that the bacon has cooked into the batter.

Now pour on some maple syrup, and ask yourself where this bacon-infused pancake has been all your life.

Bacon Pancakes, adapted from Everyday Food

• 1 batch of pancake batter - your choice.  I like the Bisquick recipe, which is happily right there on the back of the box
• Butter for griddle
• 8-12 slices of bacon, depending on how much pancake batter you are making.
• Warm maple syrup

1. Preheat of to 400.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and lay bacon strips on the foil.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until bacon is cooked but not too crispy.

2.  Heat griddle or large frying pan over medium heat and melt a tablespoon or so of butter on the griddle.  Pour scant 1/4 cups of pancake batter on the griddle.  Carefully lay a slice of cooked bacon on top of each pancake.  Cook until bubbles appear on the top of the pancake and the underside is golden.  Carefully flip and cook for another minute or two until second side is golden.

3. Serve at once with warm maple syrup.

Click here for printable recipe

 

French Toast Muffins

French toast is my secret weapon when it comes to teenagers. No matter how embarrassing I manage to be as a mom (yes! as a matter of fact I DO have Single Ladies on my Ipod, and I am going to sing it. Loudly. And yes, I realize I might have gotten the lyrics wrong, but I like singing it anyway, even if your friends are over.)...even if I am that mortifying, I still can redeem myself by making my famous french toast.

And honestly, it's not that famous. It's the garden variety dunk some bread in beaten egg, fry it up in butter and serve it with cinnamon sugar and maple syrup version, but hey, apparently it just tastes that much better when Mama makes it, and I'll take it. She adores it, and I adore her, so it's all good.

Anyway, when I ran across this recipe for french toast muffins I knew I was on to something really, truly great. See those little chunks up on the top of each muffin?

They are pieces of cinnamon bread that have been soaked in the egg batter and then plunked on the top of the muffin batter, so they cook up as little heavenly pieces of actual french toast right on top of your french toast flavored muffin.

Let's take a closer look.

I figure I am now good to sing the wrong lyrics to Single Ladies for the rest of my born days now.

French Toast Muffins, from Recipezaar

French Toast Topping

• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg,slightly beaten
• 6 slices cinnamon bread, crusts trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Muffins

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon maple extract
• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping

• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 375°F
2. Combine all French toast topping ingredients in medium bowl; set aside,.
3. Combine 1 cup milk, melted butter, 1 egg and maple flavoring in another medium bowl. Combine all remaining muffin ingredients in large bowl. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture just until mixed.
4. Spoon batter into greased 12-cup muffin pan. Spoon French toast topping evenly over batter; press down slightly. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
5. Immediately brush muffins with maple-flavored syrup. Combine sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Sprinkle over glazed muffins. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Serve warm.

Click here for printable recipe

Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles

Here's what you know about these waffles by looking at that picture: they are big, fluffy, buttermilk waffles swimming in Vermont maple syrup.

Here's what you can't tell from looking at the picture: the waffle batter is made with a generous dose of brown sugar. Here's what else you can't tell from the picture: the waffle batter also contains chopped up pieces of bacon that was cooked up with a lavish coating of brown sugar that got all melted and caramelized as the bacon cooked.

That's right. There are pieces of brown sugar bacon baked right into that waffle up there. Right. Into. The waffle.

I have to go lie down now.

Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles, from Allrecipes

8 slices bacon 2 tablespoons brown sugar 3 cups flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt 4 eggs 2 1/2 cups buttermilk 2/3 cup vegetable oil 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.	Preheat an oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange the bacon on the prepared baking sheet, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Bake in the preheated oven until the bacon is crispy and the brown sugar is caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. Immediately remove the bacon to a cutting board; cut into small pieces and set aside.
2.	Preheat a waffle iron; grease with cooking spray.
3.	Whisk the flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Beat the eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla together in a separate bowl; fold the wet mixture into the flour mixture. Add the bacon and stir, being careful to not over mix.
4.	Ladle the batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook until golden brown; serve hot. Click here for printable recipe

Blue Dory Cookies

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, the Southern husband and I were just the two of us. The teenager was just a twinkle in our eyes, and we were footloose and fancy free. Not that we don't love and adore her, not that we would trade one single second of our charmed life together. Except maybe for the part that involved listening to Barney the Purple Dinosaur sing the I Love You song about 14 million times. But nothing else.

However, parenthood did put an end to our days traipsing through various and sundry bed and breakfasts, and we did spend a lot of happy weekends in a lot of those. And if you put us in separate rooms and asked us each which was our favorite, I know for a fact that we would both say the Blue Dory Inn on Block Island, Rhode Island. The Blue Dory is a little bit of heaven right in the center of the tiny town. Rocking chairs on the porch, antique furniture in the rooms, walking distance to the beautiful New England beach...and Blue Dory Cookies.

Every afternoon we would come back from wherever we had been that day and there would be a plate of these warm, wonderful cookies on the kitchen table. They are chocolate chunk cookies, but they are lighter and not as sweet, and totally addictive. Finally one day I asked the owner what the secret was, and she told me the only sweetener was maple syrup. Which you can't really taste in the cookie, but it is the perfect ingredient. And then she wrote out the recipe on a piece of the inn stationary, and I have treasured it ever since.

Now, I know that piece of paper says chopped walnuts, and you are perfectly free to put those in if you like -- I'm sure they would be lovely. But the Blue Dory cookies we had back in the day only had chocolate chunks, and so that is the only way I have ever made 'em.

So if you are looking for the perfect, peaceful, romantic bed and breakfast getaway, the Southern husband and I highly recommend the Blue Dory. And in the meantime, make their wonderful cookies for someone you love.

BLUE DORY COOKIES, from the Blue Dory Inn

• 1 pound butter
• 4 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/2 cups maple syrup
• 2 cups chocolate chunks

1. Cream butter in mixer until fluffy. Stir in flour at low speed.
2. Add maple syrup in a slow, steady stream.
3. Stir in chocolate chunks
4. Drop onto greased cookie sheets 2 inches apart and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes
5. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet, then cool on wire cooling racks
6. Give the first one to your sweetheart with a kiss and a hug. Make vacation plans.

Click here for printable recipe

Sour Cream Pancakes

I've been trying to pace myself going through the new cookbook by the Pioneer Woman so as not to make Every Single Recipe In The Book in the first two weeks. Even though my ravenous Southern husband keeps leaving it open to the page with the recipe for ribeye steak with whiskey cream sauce. This fabulous cookbook is like a box of Godiva chocolate...you need to work your way through the wonderfulness with patience, and restraint and...oh, never mind, pass the sour cream pancakes.

Now I am embarrassed to admit this, but when I first read this recipe I thought -- oh no! there is a MISTAKE in this recipe!!! Because it only calls for 7 tablespoons of flour. For the entire batch of pancakes. I mean really, when have you ever seen any recipe call for 7 tablespoons of flour, especially a pancake recipe? I'm used to measuring out the flour (okay, the Bisquick if you are going to get all technical on me) by the cupful, not the tablespoonful. But that's what it said.

Hmm.

The Pioneer Woman has never let me down, not once, not ever. So I measured out those 7 tablespoons along with all the other goodies in this pancake batter, and fired up the griddle. And you know what? These were the lightest, fluffiest, airiest pancakes I have ever had in my life. These are not your garden variety pancakes, folks. They are like little clouds. Okay, they are like large clouds...in pancake form. They were GREAT.

A bit of advice for the novice Sour Cream Pancake maker: this batter is much lighter and more delicate than your regular pancake, and they seem to cook a little faster. When you flip them, the top of the pancake will still be very liquid, so it helps if you make them on the small side, and flip 'em fast. And keep the griddle a little bit lower than your normal pancake heat. These pancakes are sensitive and delicate. And I mean that in the best possible way.

Okay! THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS! Go buy it for yourself for the holidays, or at the very least leave major hints around the house. And in the meantime...sour cream pancakes, and I solemnly swear I will never doubt the Pioneer Woman again.

SOUR CREAM PANCAKES, from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

• 1 cup sour cream
• 7 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• Butter
• Maple syrup

1. Place griddle or frying pan over medium low heat to get hot.
2. Put sour cream, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Stir very gently until just combined
3. Whisk eggs in separate bowl and add vanilla.
4. Pour egg mixture into sour cream mixture and stir gently.
5. Melt a tablespoon of butter on skillet.
6. Pour the batter onto skillet 1/8 cup at a time.
7. Cook for 1/2 minutes, then carefully flip and cook for another 45 seconds. Remove to plate and serve with butter and maple syrup.

Click here for printable recipe

Ham with Chunky Apple Walnut Cranberry Sauce

Fall is really here, and all those summer tomatoes, all that never-ending basil, the sweet corn...it's all a memory now. But that's okay, because now we have butternut squash, and pumpkin, and apples, apples, apples. And they aren't just for dessert, no ma'am. This super-quick recipe is a luxurious tasting number that would be perfectly wonderful on a holiday table if you used a spiral cut ham...but this version uses ham steaks and therefore cooks up in about 10 minutes. The absolute longest and most challenging part is cutting up the apple (which you don't even need to peel -- we are talking coring and chopping only).

I like to get the large ham steaks -- usually sold next to the bacon in the supermarket -- and I cut them into quarters and pop them right into a non-stick skillet over medium low heat. They are fully cooked so you are just looking to heat them through and maybe get a little bit of brown on them. If you are feeling really feisty, you can send your significant other out into the brisk fall evening to grill them. Whatever way you choose to heat them up is just fine with me.

Meantime, you can throw together this chunky sauce in just about the amount of time it takes to heat up the ham. Chopped walnuts are browned briefly in butter, and then you quickly cook up the apples, with some dried cranberries, maple syrup and brown sugar. It all combines into a syrupy, succulent sauce that you ladle over your ham slice (here comes that sweet and salty combo that I love so much!) to make a quick and happy dinner that practically sings "Fall is here!" It's enough to make you not even miss those summer tomatoes. Well...almost.

HAM WITH CHUNKY APPLE WALNUT CRANBERRY SAUCE

Serves 3-4

• 1 large ham steak
• 1 medium apple, cored and chopped
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

1. Heat ham over medium low heat in large skillet until heated through and slightly browned.

2. Meanwhile, melt butter in medium skillet over medium high heat and add walnuts. Stir until walnuts are browning, about 2-3 minutes.

3. Add apple, walnuts, cranberries, syrup and brown sugar. Bring to boil and stir until sugar is dissolved and apple softens slightly, about 3 minutes.

4. Place ham slices on plates and ladle sauce over top. Serve immediately.

Click here for printable recipe

Maple Syrup Blueberry Muffins

I've said it before, but one of the best things about this little blog is all the great recipes folks have been sharing with me. This delectable muffin recipe is one of them, given to me by my good friend Toni who is one of my favorite fellow cooking enthusiasts, and who has promised to bring me over some of her homemade gnocchi one day. Hopefully it will be one day SOON.

In the meantime she passed along this recipe for blueberry muffins. These muffins are sweetened with maple syrup instead of sugar, which makes them just perfect to be sharing with you while I am off in the mountains of Vermont, undoubtedly stocking up on maple syrup and maple sugar candy left and right.

The recipe says these are just like little pancakes you can eat with your hands -- sweet and buttery with the blueberries and the syrup baked right in. They took less than 30 minutes start to finish, including baking time, and man did my kitchen smell like heaven. If heaven includes butter and maple syrup, which I am pretty sure it does.

So thanks for the recipe, Toni! And thanks to everyone else who has been so generous about sending me recipes; I am going to diligently, happily work my way through all of them. Wait until I get to Jenn's chocolate chip coconut cheese ball.

Maple Blueberry Muffins

adapted from The Muffin Book

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup milk
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 400° and grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, maple syrup, milk and melted butter. Add to flour mixture and stir until just combined. Carefully fold in berries.

4. Spoon into 12 muffin cups and bake until golder brown, about 15-18 minutes.