Breakfast

Lemon Zucchini Bread

img_9770

It’s been a minute since I made a post! I’m so sorry! We have just been enjoying summer to the fullest. The last 4 days have literally been pool, beach, pool, beach and tomorrow we have plans to go back to the beach! Trust me, I know how lucky I am to be able to do that. Living close to the lake in Chicago is the best and I would not have it any other way 🙂 Until it’s January and I’ll be looking at real estate in California…

Anyway, here I am with an absolutely delicious bread or cake, whatever you want to call it. The perfect summer snack for you and your loved ones to enjoy after a fun filled sun filled day! So turn on your ovens and let’s get baking….

What you will need:

1 loaf pan greased and lined with parchment paper hanging over the sides

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tespoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk (I used almond milk)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini, drained and dried
1 tablespoons lemon zest

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.  In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.  In another bowl, beat together the sugar and oil until blended. Add in eggs and milk and beat until incorporated. Beat in lemon juice and vanilla. Slowly beat in flour mixture until just blended. Fold in the zucchini and lemon zest.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before lifting it out with the parchment paper. Cool completely.

To make the glaze, stir ingredients together. Start with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and go up from there depending on consistency. Drizzle over bread. Slice and enjoy!

Iced Lemon Crumb Cake

img_9309-1

I’m baaack! Did you miss me? I feel like it’s been way too long since I made a post. I was going to blog about our trip to Cabo San Lucas but I may not. You guys let me know if you’re interested in that or not. It was so fun and we had a great return experience bringing Liam but I already posted pictures on Facebook and Instagram. I don’t want to over share if you know what I mean…?

Anyway, I have been baking, just not new stuff that I can blog about. There is always something at my house; cookies, bread, cake… but I finally got inspired to make something new with this nice weather we’ve been having! So, kicking off my posting slum with a delicious lemon cake! I’ll just sit here and eat the entire thing, thank you so much. Very summery and seriously, go ahead and eat it for breakfast as a coffee cake! I won’t judge 🙂

So, go get some lemons, get your aprons on and let’s bake!

What you will need:

8 x 8 inch square bake dish, greased

For the crumb topping:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
6 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sour cream

For the glaze:

About 1 cup powdered sugar
Fresh lemon juice (I used about half a lemon)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. First make the crumb topping. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, salt and zest. With your hands or a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Place the bowl in the fridge while you make the cake batter.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another large bowl, beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add in eggs, lemon juice and zest and beat until combined. Fold in the sour cream with a spatula until combined. Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined. Pour into your prepared bake dish.

Take the crumb topping out of the fridge and evenly sprinkle it over the cake, breaking up any large pieces. Bake for about 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before making the glaze.

Once cake is completely cooled, stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl until you reach a drizzly consistency. Drizzle over the cake with a spoon.

Enjoy! Store covered at room temperature.

Blueberry Muffins

img_8882

It’s a snow day here in Chicago. 9 inches so far and its continuing to come down. So after a fun time with the sled and freezing our fingers and toes off, I decided (of course) to bake! Blueberries have been super tasty lately so I bought a bunch to make muffins. Yum! I’m glad I didn’t have this recipe on my blog yet. This recipe is very easy and has a streusel topping which really gives them a bakery style flavor.

So, if you are stuck inside like we are today and you have blueberries, make these beautiful muffins! The perfect weekend snack or breakfast 🙂

What you will need:

12 cupcake tin lined with cupcake liners

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup fresh (or frozen) blueberries. I used fresh

For the streusel:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the middle and pour in egg, milk and oil. Stir until you still see some clumps. Gently fold in blueberries.

Scoop batter into each cupcake liner and set aside to make the topping.

To make the streusel, whisk together the flour and sugar. With your hands, cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Evenly top the muffins with the streusel.

Above is a picture of the muffins just before going into the oven.

Bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes before removing from pan and cooling completely on a wire rack.

Yum! Seriously they are so pretty 🙂 Store covered at room temp and enjoy!

Pumpkin Maple Scones

img_7929

Happy summer! I mean… fall! Seriously, this 90 degree September weather in Chicago is really weird. I want the cool nights and brisk mornings! Not hot and muggy, need the air conditioning on! But, I’ll take it. Leaves have started to change and fall off trees and Halloween stuff is out in all the stores, and of course, pumpkin everything!

I love baking with pumpkin. The result is always delicious and it’s just so warm and inviting. I found a similar recipe on Pinterest for pumpkin scones but I changed it up a little. Also, pouring out 10 teaspoons of milk seems like a lot. I tried to convert to tablespoons but it was getting too complicated. So, here we go! Our first recipe of the fall season…

What you will need:

Baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with a non-stick spray

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons (+1 teaspoon) maple syrup
10 teaspoons (+ 1 teaspoon) milk

For the glaze:

1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1-2 teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter in until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in pumpkin, 3 tablespoons maple syrup and 10 teaspoons milk until just incorporated.

Divide the dough into 8 equal balls and place on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk together the 1 teaspoon of maple syrup and milk and brush over the tops. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden on top. Cool on a wire rack.

Once cooled, combine all ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl. Stir until you get desired consistency. Drizzle over the cooled scones. Enjoy!

Store in an airtight container at room temp. Serve warm.


Banana Bread Muffins with Crumb Topping


I love me some crumb topping and I always have bananas in my freezer so… the perfect recipe is here! These are SO good! The perfect breakfast or snack packed with flavor, carbs and sugar! 

I needed a recipe not only to use up the bananas in my freezer, but one that I could use a jumbo size egg. Why they even sell those at the store RIGHT NEXT to the large ones is beyond me. But yes, I accidentally bought jumbo eggs. They are perfect for scrambling eggs for breakfast. Baking with them is another story. 2 jumbo eggs is more like 3 large ones. I used 1 jumbo in this recipe and it was perfect! Now that doesn’t mean you have to run to the store and get jumbo eggs. You might just need to use the whites of an additional egg for this recipe.

Ok… enough about jumbo eggs, let’s get to baking!

What you will need:

Cupcake tin lined with liners

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Egg
3 bananas, mashed

For the Crumb Topping:

2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside. In another bowl, beat melted butter and sugar. Beat in egg until combined. Beat in mashed bananas until everything is nice and smooth and blended. Slowly beat in flour mixture until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan, just above halfway full. Then, make the topping. In a bowl, mix all ingredients with your fingers until it resembles sand or coarse crumbs, pinching the butter with your fingertips. Evenly distribute on the tops of the cupcakes. Bake for 14-15 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack before digging in.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Makes 10 muffins

img_6889

Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

img_6452

Flourless Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Muffins is what I called these on Instagram and what they really should be called. But holy mouth full! These are really good and great for a fast, healthy breakfast on the go for the whole family. However, I typically do not enjoy baking without flour. Or eating baked goods without flour. I like my gluten! BUT, to please my husband I made these… now I just have to see if my son will eat them!

The recipe below can easily be doubled to make 24 muffins. But a dozen is perfect for my little family of 3 🙂 Go start your ovens and lets bake!

What you will need:

Muffin tin lined or sprayed with non-stick spray

2 ripe bananas
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Note: I used regular sized chocolate chips but if I make these again will use mini. It’s a pretty thin batter so some chocolate chips fell to the bottom and got stuck to the pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Add egg, milk and brown sugar and whisk until combined. Add baking powder, vanilla and cinnamon and whisk until combined. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.

Pour batter evenly into prepared cupcake tin. Bake for 22-26 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before taking out of pan. Store covered for a couple days. Enjoy!

Makes 12 muffins

Simple Butter Cake 

img_6393

Yum! Yum! Yum! Ate way too much in my tum tum tum! This butter cake is so simple to make and it is so delish! Very similar to a pound cake but not as dry or dense. I had to use up some strawberries and had these ingredients on hand so here I am, sharing this gorgeous cake recipe with you. It’s perfect for the first day of spring! Top it with powdered sugar and fresh fruit and you are good to go! Have a slice for breakfast even, with a cup of coffee and you are ready to tackle the day.

What you will need:

9 inch round cake pan sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with parchment paper

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup granulated  sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk (preferably 2% or whole)
Powdered sugar (for dusting)
Fresh fruit for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another large bowl, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Slowly beat in flour mixture, alternating with the milk until everything is combined.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before inverting to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with fresh fruit. Enjoy!

 

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

img_5544

Hooray for fall! All things pumpkin, get in my belly! This coffee cake does not disappoint. I will definitely be having a slice with my morning coffee 😉 It seems like I haven’t posted in a while so I’m hoping this recipe helps with any baking beauty withdrawals. Let’s go start those ovens, put on our aprons and bake this delicious cake!

What you will need:

8 x 8 inch square bake pan sprayed with non-stick spray

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin

For the crumb topping:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger. Set aside. In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs and beat until incorporated. Add the pumpkin and beat until incorporated. Stir in the flour mixture until combined. Pour into prepared pan and even out the top. Set aside.

To make the crumb topping, put all ingredients in a bowl and mix with your fingers until it looks crumbly. Evenly spread of top the crumb cake batter. Bake for about 40 minutes. Allow to cool completely before enjoying!

I’m not sure why these pictures are coming in smaller and of less quality but I still wanted to share 🙂

Dense, pumpkiny, crumbly goodness!

Mini Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Yes! I feel like I have not been blogging as much as I’d like but this recipe makes me feel ok about it 🙂 Seriously, these little breads are so freaking good and beautiful. I mean… Holy moly. Me and my 3 year old just ate a whole one in about 3 minutes. I have no shame.

Ok, so there are 2 things I need to mention about this recipe. First, I made 4 mini loaves. If you want to make one big one you can, you will just have to bake it longer. Second, I used frozen bananas. I mashed them up as much as I could but they were still so cold when I mixed all the ingredients together. SO… the butter was very clumpy when I poured the batter into the pans and there was nothing I could do about it. However, I think it worked  in my favor because of how delicious these turned out. Obviously use whatever bananas you have, but know that frozen worked great!

Alright, I think that’s it. Let’s go bake…

What you will need:

4 mini loaf pans (or one 9 x 5)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Spray the pans with a nonstick spray and then line them with parchment paper. Leave some parchment paper sticking out for easy removal:

img_4336-1

I was able to pull the breads right out! In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside. In another bowl, beat together the mashed banana and eggs. Add both sugars and vanilla and beat until combined. Beat in butter and oil. Add in flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

Evenly distribute batter into each pan. Sprinkle more chocolate chips on top if desired. Bake for about 25 minutes for mini pans. Double the time for 1 big one. Allow to cool on wire rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan. Slice, serve and ENJOY!

Store covered for a few days (if they last that long!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buttermilk Biscuits

Yum! These turned out so delicious and are not difficult at all to make! I will be keeping this recipe handy for Thanksgiving 😉 No mixer needed, just a bowl and a spoon. So let’s turn on those ovens and bake some biscuits…

What you will need:

Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
Biscuit cutter or circle cookie cutter

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for rolling)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit. Cut the butter into small pieces and put in the freezer while you whisk the other ingredients.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. With a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles small crumbs. Make a hole in the flour and pour in the buttermilk. Stir until everything starts to stick together.

Pour the dough onto a generously floured surface. Fold the dough into itself until it is not too sticky to handle. Pat down into a 1 inch thick circle. With the biscuit or cookie cutter, push down into the dough and come straight up without twisting. Keep doing this until all the dough is used. Arrange the biscuits onto the prepared cookie sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Serve with butter, honey or gravy. Enjoy!