Recipes Discovered

Nutty Pear Toast Recipe

For those of you who know Seth, it’s no surprise when I say that he gets bored easily. It holds true with breakfast as well. He would probably complain if I gave him cold cereal too many days in a row, so I try to keep my eye open for new breakfast ideas that are still quick. He loves pears, so I though nutty pear toast would be right up his alley. It’s simply a toasted bagel (or bread) topped with cream cheese, sliced pears, walnuts, and a drizzle of honey. I used the new bagelbread, which is a lot lighter than a traditional bagel. They taste pretty good as well. After putting everything together, I put the bagels under the broiler for a minute, just to warm up the pear and melt the honey. Although it sounded really good, something about the pear and the cream cheese just didn’t work for me. I’m not sure what it was, but I didn’t like the combination. Seth agreed, but he thought an apple would be better since it would have more crunch. Maybe I’ll have to try that next time.

Breakfast (Bacon) Cookies Recipe

After all of the cookies that Seth took to work with him, one of his co-workers decided that the only cookie missing was one with bacon. I thought Seth was crazy until he actually e-mailed this recipe, and asked me to make them. Raisins, multi grain flakes, and, of course, bacon are mixed into a standard cookie dough to create a sweet and savory cookie. It’s a very strange combination, but it has a lot of components of breakfast, hence the name breakfast cookies. I cooked the bacon in the microwave, which I find it the least messy cooking method. I used 6 slices of thick bacon, and ended up cooking them for 10 minutes to get them really crisp. After stirring the dough together, I used my cookie scooper to place the cookies on cookie sheets, and then baked them 10 or 11 minutes, just until the edges of the cookies were brown. I then transferred the cookies to wire racks and let them cool. Although I’m not a huge fan of bacon, I was very curious about these cookies. After tasting one (or two), I have to admit, they are really good. They are crisp from the flakes, but still a little bit chewy. And while the bacon flavor definitely comes through, it’s not the dominate flavor. The raisins give the cookies a little sweetness, which balances the saltiness. It’s a unusual cookie, but, as Seth tells me, everything is better with bacon! I just like an excuse to eat cookies for breakfast.
Breakfast (Bacon) Cookies Recipe

Sweet Potato Waffle Recipe

Blueberry Syrup Recipe

Since my family was visiting today, Seth and I took everyone to the Waffle Shoppe for breakfast. Their waffles are some of the best I’ve had, and it reminded me of my horrendous waffle iron at home. I tried replicating Sarabeth’s Pumpkin Waffles with said iron, and needless to say, it wasn’t a complete success. I have also tried the make sweet potato waffles with my waffle iron. I am a pretty big fan of sweet potatoes, so when I saw a recipe for sweet potato waffles in the Mayo Clinic cookbook, I decided to try the waffle iron again. The recipe is more complicated than the pumpkin waffles because of whisking the egg white and incorporating that separately. It makes the batter lighter though, which I think make a fluffier waffle. Unfortunately, not matter how much oil or cooking spray I added to my waffle iron, the waffle stuck and torn in half when I tried getting it out. The waffle pieces were good though. I liked the flavor combination of the corn meal with the flours and the hint of spiciness from the cinnamon and nutmeg. The best part of the waffle was the blueberry syrup though, which was simply blueberries, lemon, honey, and molasses. It paired really well with the waffle and the leftover syrup was great on oatmeal the next morning.

Sweet Potato Waffle Recipe

Blueberry Syrup Recipe

Pumpkin Waffle Recipe

There is a restaurant in Key West, Sarabeth’s, that has the best pumpkin waffles. The waffles are served with raisin, pumpkin seeds, sour cream, and homemade orange-apricot marmalade. Seth was definitely tired of going there for breakfast by the time we left. Now that we are back home, I have been desperately searching for a recipe to calm my craving for these waffles. The recipe I found had a lot of spices added, which Sarabeth’s didn’t seem to have, so I only added cinnamon and a little nutmeg. I also added some whole wheat flour to give the waffles a little more depth. So after mixing the batter together, I brushed the waffle ironwith oil, and poured the batter in. When the light went off, indicating the waffle was done, I tried opening the iron only to discover that both the top and bottom of the waffle stuck and the waffle tore in half. Obviously, I was frustrated, but I figured it was just because it was the first waffle or because I didn’t add enough oil. So I tried again… and again… and again. And each time, I had the same result. The stupid waffle stuck and tore. My conclusion from all of this is that I probably need a different waffle iron, but I did try to salvage the waffles. They didn’t taste exactly like Sarabeth’s, but they were a decent substitute. Anyone have any suggestions on waffle irons?

Oatmeal Cookie Pancake Recipe

This is one of my favorite pancake recipes. The pancakes really do taste like a giant oatmeal cookie. The banana adds moisture, but not a lot of banana flavor. The flavor comes from the cinnamon and oatmeal. I have made the pancakes with and without the raisins and walnuts, and they are good both ways.
Start by mixing together oatmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and, if desired, walnuts. In another bowl, mix together sour cream, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. I usually use low fat sour cream and 1% milk, and I haven’t had a problem. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just moist, and then fold in the mashed banana, raisins (if desired), and melted butter.
To spoon the pancake batter onto the skillet, I use a 1/3 cup measuring cup. The batter is usually a little thick, so I spread it out a bit once I get it into the pan. I cook them over medium to medium-low heat, and it usually takes 4 or 5 minutes on the first side and maybe a minute less on the second side. Once they are golden on both sides, I serve them with a little drizzle of honey. There’s nothing like an oatmeal cookie for breakfast!