Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Binge, bender, jag - I get on these kicks, these I-can't-stop-obsessing-on-this-thing kicks. For instance, we ate this salad once a week, every week this summer and often times I also ate the leftovers for lunch. Its not just recipes either - I'm currently binging on books. I can go a few months without reading more than a magazine and then I get on a book bend and - poof - I'm gone. I've read three books this week and I'm trying to decide what to read next. Suggestions welcome.

I've also got a bit of a bread bend going. If you follow me on Instagram you know I'm currently on a quest for my ideal sandwich bread recipe. Last week I made a batch of soft pretzels just because it was a grey drizzly day. And muffins, I've come down with a case of the muffins.

In culinary school, there was kind of this running joke amongst us baking-and-pastry folks that muffins are kinda like the medicore back-up singers of the pastry world. I mean, they're no cupcake! Muffins are fine and lovely, but when you choose a muffin for breakfast what you're really saying is - 'I wish I was having a cupcake'. And let's be honest, muffins aren't really that much healthier than cupcakes. Sure, they usually have some fruit thrown in, but they're still full of sugar and fat.

I had forgotten how lovely a really good a muffin could be! I made a version of these muffins for Ella's preschool birthday treat with chopped strawberries and mini chocolate chips, which we all adored. I didn't want to sugar-load a bunch of 3 year olds with full sized cupcakes, but a muffin is sweet enough to feel like a treat, without too much sugar, plus like I said before, there's fruit in there! I've made another batch with diced pears. Today I needed to use up some blueberries that had been in the freezer a little too long. You can basically use any fruit you want here.

And easy, muffins can be thrown together in less time than it takes Ella to watch an episode of 'My Little Pony' - which is important because those 21 minutes of peace are more precious than gold.  My secrets to a really delicious muffin are yogurt instead of buttermilk in the batter and streusel on top. Streusel makes everything better*.

Some tips for muffin baking:
Do not over mix - Whisk together your dry ingredients, stir together your wet ingredients, and bring them together gently or you'll end up with a tough muffin.

 Use an ice cream scoop or fisher to make each muffin exactly the same size. Bake your muffins in a rising oven (I actually learned this from biscuit baking)

Preheat the oven to 375 degree fahrenheit but crank it up to 400 when you put the muffins in.

Cool the muffins in the pan for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

*actual fact

Blueberry Streusel Muffins
yield: 12 muffins

streusel topping:
½ cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

blueberry muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup greek yogurt (or buttermilk, which I never seem to have on hand)
1 large egg
½ cup canola or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen,

Heat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Line a 12 cup cupcake, er, muffin pan with paper cups.

Make the streusel: Stir together the 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Work the butter into the flour an sugar until it resembles coarse crumbs and holds together when pressed. Refrigerate while you prepare the muffin batter.

Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, egg, oil and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined. Batter will be thick. Fold in the blueberries.

Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups - about a 1/2 cup of batter per cup. Sprinkle streusel over the top.

Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Bake for about 20 minutes until the topping turns golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool for about five minutes, then remove muffins from trepan and cool on a wire rack.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies for Lactation

Brace yourselves friends, I'm going to talk about breast feeding again. Just over three years ago I shared my choice to stop breastfeeding Ella when she was just 7 weeks. At the time, it felt like such a hard heavy decision and disappointment, but now that she's basically a grown up (as in she turned three last week) it seems so silly to have cried over breast milk. 

I was exclaiming to a friend recently how different the second baby experience has been than the first, to which the friend replied "Of course, its different. You're a whole other person than you were 3 years ago!" Duh. Being a mom to Ella prepared me to be a mom for Emmett. My breastfeeding experience with Emmett has also been tremendously easier. 

One thing I learned between Ella and Emmett is that there is a whole list of foods that are actually reported to increase a mother's milk supply naturally. Galactagogues are foods that naturally promote breast milk production. While little scientific data exists, anecdotal evidence suggests that consuming food such as fennel, chickpeas, or papaya will help breast feeding mothers. Oats and other whole grains and beer are also reported to have the same affect. 

There's a small niche of food companies working to full fill the needs of nursing mother's and I actually stumbled upon the idea of lactation cookies through Amazon (which has saved me too many times during these "new mom of two" times). I tried a few pre-made cookies as well as some mixes for "milk maker" cookies cookies. Whether they actually worked or there was just a placebo affect - I decided to create my own cookies.

These 'lactation' cookies are a hack of my favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Oats are regularly prescribed to nursing mamas for milk supply. Flaxseed meal and brewer's yeast are added for the same reason and both were easily found at my local Whole Foods Market (you can also order both on Amazon). I've decreased the chocolate (which can some times upset tiny tummies) and messed with the sugar ratio a bit. 

I wasn't even planning to share this recipe, but this is seriously the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever had. The edges are crisp but the rest of the cookie is pleasantly chewy, there's just the right amount of cinnamon and chocolate. And here's the thing - you can't taste the flaxseed or brewer's yeast - so unless you tell them no one would ever know that this cookie helps with lactation. 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies for Lactation 
Makes 3 dozen cookies

These cookies are designed to help breast feeding mamas increase their milk supply. They will not introduce lactation in Dads, kiddos or neighbors - so feel free to share. If you just want to enjoy these as the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies - omit the brewer's yeast but leave the flaxseed meal and be sure to refrigerate the dough as directed below.

1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup brewer's yeast
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Combine the water and flax seed meal in a small bowl and set aside. Beat together the butter and sugars in until lightened and fluffy. Add the water-flax mixture, eggs, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Add the flour, brewer's yeast, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and stir to combine.  Finally add the oats and chocolate chips and stir to incorporate.

Scoop the dough into 2 tablespoon sized rounds and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake 12 cookies at a time on parchment lined sheet pans for 8 to12 minutes. The edges should be golden brown and the middles should look slightly damp still - cool for 2 minutes on the pan. Then remove to a cooling rack.

Toasted German Chocolate Cake

I never forgot about the cake I promised back in September. And here we are in mid-December, with days until Christmas and I'm not wrapping presents or addressing cards because, well, let me be honest, I just order everything from Amazon this week. I have a really great excuse though: 

Meet Emmett, the newest addition to the Splawn family. He eats up every moment of my days and some of my dreams too. We're adjusting to life as four during the busiest, most joyous time of the year. My heart is crazy stupid full and so I, kind of, don't care that we didn't all the decorations put up and that my Christmas cards will probably be late, kind of. 

Here's to finally fulfilling my promise of cake, to filling your holiday with the things that make your heart full, and a some good ole procrasti-baking - from my crazy heart to yours. 

Toasted German Chocolate Cake

Makes one 9 inch layer cake, 10 to 12 servings

You can make the cake several weeks ahead, wrap them well in plastic wrap, and freeze. The buttercream, caramel, and toffee can all be made up to a week ahead. I made the parts of this cake over the course of one week after work and did the final assembly the day of. 

Presuming you have just one full day to prep this cake – it could be done all at once. Bake the cake first so that it has plenty of time to cool while you prepare the other ingredients. Make the caramel and let it cool while you toast the nuts and coconut. Make the buttercream while the cake cools and skip the toffee if you run short on time.

Coconut Pecan Caramel Filling

Makes 3 cups filling – enough for 1 triple layer cake

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon corn syrup

1 cup full fat coconut milk, at room temperature 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup toasted coconut flakes, finely chopped

½ cup toasted pecans, finely chopped

Combine the sugar, water, and, corn syrup in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan. Attach a candy thermometer and cook over medium heat, without stirring, until the mixture turns golden amber and is approaching 320˚F. 

Immediately remove from the heat and add the coconut milk, vanilla extract and salt. Return to medium heat and cook until the mixture reaches 230˚F. Pour the caramel into a heat-proof bowl and cool for 20 minutes. Fold in the coconut and pecans and cool completely before storing in an airtight container. The finished sauce can be made up to a week in advance – store in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before assembling the cake.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Makes 6 cups of frosting – enough for 1 9-inch layer cake, with extra

1 cup egg whites, approximately 5 large

1 cup granulated sugar

5 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped

1 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extra

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Fill a 4-quart pot about half way with water. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat.

Combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Set the mixer bowl over the simmering water (the boil should not touch the water) and whisk the egg whites and sugar until the sugar has dissolved completely, the eggs are foamy and the mixture is warm, approximately 5 minutes.

Set the bowl on the stand mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and sugar on high until they reach stiff peaks and the bowl is cool to the touch, approximately 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, microwave the chocolate for 30 seconds on high in a microwave safe bowl. Stir the chocolate and return to the microwave for an additional 15 seconds to melt the chocolate. Set aside the cool while the egg whites whip.

When the egg white mixture has reached stiff peaks begin adding the butter in 4 tablespoon pieces (about a half a stick at a time) with the mixer on low speed. Be sure that each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next. Once you’ve added about three-quarters of the butter – there will be a moment of panic – the frosting will look as though its curdled or separated. Be persistent and continue whipping and adding the butter. After the final addition of butter turn the mixer to medium high and whip for 1 minute.

Return the mixer to low speed and slowly add the melted chocolate followed by the vanilla extract and salt. Mix for an additional minute and remove the frosting from the mixer. Store the frosting in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days before assembling the cake.

Dark Chocolate Layer Cake

Makes three (9 inch) round layers

2 cups granulated sugar


1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour


3/4 cup dark cocoa powder, plus extra for the pans


1 teaspoon baking powder


1 teaspoons baking soda


1 teaspoon kosher salt


2 large eggs


1 cup whole milk


1/2 cup vegetable oil
, plus extra for the pans

2 teaspoons vanilla extract


1 cup boiling water

Heat the oven to 350°F.

Lightly grease three 9-inch round baking pans. Dust the pans with extra cocoa powder and knock out any excess. Set aside.

Whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat with a hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Mix in boiling water. The batter will be quite thin. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center of each cake comes out clean.

Set the pans on wire racks and cool for 10 minutes. Then, lightly run a knife around the inside of the pans to help the cake edges release. Flip the cake pans over, one by one, and tap firmly with the palms of your hands. Carefully lift up the cake pan; the cake should release easily. If it doesn't drop right out, drape with a warm wet towel while continuing to tap.

Cool the cake layers completely before frosting.

Assembly

Gather the cake layers, filling, buttercream, toffee, a cake stand, an offset spatula, a piece of parchment paper, a zip-top bag, and a pair of scissors. A clean kitchen towel is helpful too.  I prefer to frost cakes at my kitchen table rather than my counter – its just a little bit more comfortable.

Prepare the cake stand by cutting the parchment paper into a few thing strips and place them around the edge of your cake plate (this will keep the plate clean while you frost).

Put a dab of frosting in the middle of the cake plate and center the first layer of cake on top of it. Fill the ziptop bag with about a cup of the buttercream and snip off one corner. Use the bag to pipe a border of buttercream around the edge of the first cake layer. Fill the buttercream boarder with half of the filling. Top with the second cake layer and repeat, using the remaining filling. Top with the final layer of cake.

Apply a thin layer of buttercream all over the cake – don’t worry if it is messy – this step is affectionately referred to as the “crumb coat”. Professional bakeries refrigerate their cakes after the crumb coat for about an hour – I find about twenty minutes set the thin layer enough to finish frosting the cake. 

Frost the cake with the remaining buttercream: Pile the buttercream on top of the cake and use the off set spatula to smooth the top of the cake while simultaneously pushing buttercream over the edge of the cake onto the sides. Smooth out the sides of the cake.

Press handfuls of the toasted coconut onto the sides of the cake. Remove the parchment paper and top the cake with broken toffee pieces. Enjoy.

Coconut Pecan Toffee & Coconut Caramel Sauce

There will be cake. It may take me a few weeks to share the recipe with you, but I promise there will be cake. Consider these your warm-up recipes - a rich Coconut Pecan Toffee and a Coconut Caramel Sauce with no dairy! Also tips for toasting nuts and coconut. 

I've been a little MIA here and on social media and even a little bit in real life. We've been traveling and working, preparing for a kitchen update and for bringing home a new baby in mere weeks. Weeks, you guys! I'm completely unprepared for a new baby and blogging seemed like reasonable enough procrastination from putting the crib back together.

Truthfully, I'm not sure that I will get back to blogging here regularly until next year at least, or honestly  ever. I have no idea what having two kids, working freelance, and still being a normal human will look like so I'm only promising you cake at this point. A one-bowl-rich-and-moist-chocolate cake, no less. Let's call it Denial Chocolate Cake.

I've been sitting on these recipes for a while, because they didn't seem appropriate for the spring or summer. The weather in the South has finally decided to be fall, which has me ready to bake, carve pumpkins, and find some new boots - basically any fall activity that helps me avoid putting the crib together or crying over tiny baby socks.

Coconut Pecan Toffee
Makes 8 ounces toffee – enough for garnishing one 9-inch cake, plus extra for nibbling

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup toasted pecans
½ cup toasted coconut flakes


Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.

Combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan. Stir until sugar is dissolved and bring to a boilAttach a candy thermometer to the pot and continue cooking until temperature reaches 300 degrees F.

Remove saucepan from heat and quickly stir in butter, vanilla, and baking soda. Immediately add the coconut and pecans.

Pour onto prepared baking sheet and use a silicone spatula to spread the mixture into a thin even rectangle.

Cool completely on a cooling rack.  Snap the brittle into pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature. Brittle can be made up to a week before assembling the cake.

Coconut Caramel Sauce 

Makes 3 cups filling – enough for 1 triple layer cake

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon corn syrup

1 cup full fat coconut milk, at room temperature  

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

½ teaspoon kosher salt 

optional additions

½ cup toasted coconut flakes, finely chopped 

½ cup toasted pecans, finely chopped

Combine the sugar, water, and, corn syrup in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan. Attach a candy thermometer and cook over medium heat, without stirring, until the mixture turns golden amber and reaches 320 degrees F.  

Immediately remove from the heat and add the coconut milk, vanilla extract and salt and stir carefully. Return to medium heat and cook until the mixture reaches 230 degrees F. Pour the caramel into a heat-proof bowl and cool for 20 minutes. Fold in the coconut and pecans and cool completely. The finished sauce can be made up to a week in advance – store in the refrigerator in an airtight container and bring to room temperature before assembling the cake. 

Toasted Coconut Flakes
Makes 12 ounces toasted coconut –enough for the Coconut Pecan Caramel Filling, the Coconut Pecan Brittle and garnishing the finished cake

1 12-ounce bag unsweetened coconut flakes

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the coconut into an even layer on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Stir the coconut and bake an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool completely on the baking sheet. Store in an airtight container. Coconut can be toasted up to 2 weeks ahead of assembling the cake.

Toasted Pecans
Makes 1 pound toasted nuts – enough for the Coconut Pecan Caramel Sauce and Coconut Pecan Brittle

1 pound whole pecans

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the pecans into an even layer on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Stir the nuts and bake an additional 2 to 5 minutes or until the nuts are fragrant and just begin to brown. Remove nuts from the baking sheet to cool completely before chopping or storing. Store pecans in an airtight container. Pecans can be toasted up to 2 weeks ahead of assembling the cake. 

Blondie Swirled Brownies

I read about motherhood a lot. Not just because its relevant to me, but because I find modern motherhood to be particular enthralling. Never before have we had so many choices as mothers - breastfeeding vs. formula, to vaccinate or not, stay at home vs. working mother, exposing our children to technology. And these choices are continually hyped by the media. We're suppose to lean-in, cry it out, find balance, and put a tidy little label on it. 

The last 60 days of my own adventure in motherhood has been challenging. I left full time work in preparation for baby number two, but also to find a better work/life ratio. I won't call it a work/life balance, because 'balance' is a beautiful, mythical unicorn. Anyway, I thought that being a full time mom and wife might be better for our family. The first week I was so gun-ho: making a cleaning schedule, committing to a summer reading program, trips to the library, the park, and potty training (!!!). Basically I was a SUPER MOM. I was also really miserable. I found my threshold for pleasant homemaking, creative toddler activities, and reading Fancy Nancy with enthusiasm is about 4 days. 

A creative person, like myself, with no outlet can be kind of ugly. I spent a lot of time and money on finding curtains, of all things, and maybe I irrationally cried about laundry once. Luckily my husband is incredibly supportive (or terrified of me) - so I started taking freelance work. Recipe development, food styling, and a little project management for good measure. The pendulum quickly swung the other way and I was busier with work than I had been with a full time job and I was still trying to do the SUPER MOM thing. It was silly. 

The struggle, my struggle, was I felt like I needed to be something - if I wasn't a "working mom" then I had to be "stay-at-home mom", right? When I reach these questions I ask myself - "What would I want my daughter to believe"? And I realized something so stupidly simple, something that should be so apparent already (and maybe it is to everyone but me?!) If Ella wants to be a mom, start a family, have a career, become a CEO - I want her to know - she doesn't have to label it. She doesn't have to put her head before her heart just to fit into a tidy little box. She doesn't have to choose between being a homemaker or being a boss. 

I'm still finding clarity on what I am now - I'm still working (at home and sometimes not) but I don't check into a desk each day, and I have the flexibility of taking Ella on a donut picnic anytime I want to. Ella will continue to go to preschool 3 days a week, because I now understand what I need my work/life ratio to be - even if I don't know how to label it. 

Our challenge as modern mothers will be stepping away from clean profile labels and the ever-widening exposure of motherhood to understand ourselves without comparison. We will be stronger mothers without comparison or labels when we can each tell our own stories in real conversations (hopefully over lots of wine). 

These blondies meets brownie bar mash ups are much less about 'not having to choose' than they are about my  procrastination, because I would, of course, feel inspired to bake and write a blog post when the thing I need to be doing is packing my daughter and I up for a ten-day trip. I may take a few of these as gifts of thanks, bribery, or apology for our fellow travelers. Two and 3/4 years old is a very emotionally erratic time, so it either going to be smooth sailing or a complete disaster! Wish us luck. 

Blondie Swirled Brownies
Makes 28 bars

This bars are inspired by Dorie Greenspan's Chipster bar, which is basically a brownie with a chocolate chip cookie baked on top. I was feeling too pressed for time to make a batch of cookies and blondies are always the perfect solution for that! These are rich and sweet, loaded with chocolate and you are absolutely going to need a glass of milk or a strong coffee on the side!


for the brownie layer: 
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 ounces unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour - I used white whole wheat
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped

for the blondie layer:
4 ounces unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour - again with the white whole wheat
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup milk chocolate, chopped or semi-sweet chips

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 baking pan and line with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a large microwave safe bowl using 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring between each. This should take about a minute and a half. You can also melt the chocolate and butter over a double boiler.  Beat in the sugars. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until smooth. Fold in the flour, salt, and additional chopped chocolate and pour into the prepared pan.

Melt the remaining butter in another microwave safe bowl on high in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Beat in the brown sugar, followed by the egg, flour, baking powder and salt. Fold in the chopped chocolate.

The blondie batter will be slightly thicker than the brownie batter, so I like to scoop the blondie batter in 2 tablespoon scoop over the brownie batter and then swirl with the spoon to incorporate.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of the pan comes out mostly clean. Cool for about 30 minutes in the pan before removing a slicing.

Measuring Moments + Sweet Cream Biscuit Recipe

I've started and stopped this post 76 times in the last 4 weeks. I wanted to share where I was, why I was away, and that I would be back, but concise words never came to me. I just couldn't find the best way say - I've just been measuring moments.

Friday was my last day at my full time job of over 7 years. The first job I had as a culinary school graduate. The job where I started as an intern and left as a recipe developer, project manager, food stylist, and food media specialist. I started as a single 20-something and am leaving as a wife and mother on the brink of her thirties. The end of my full time job has been hard - it's made me introverted and reflective. Seven years is a lot of moments - and in preparing all my files I relived them all over again. I wanted to give my job all of me for the last month. So I stepped away from the blog for a bit. I still feel timid about coming back here - I'm just starting a new routine, trying to figure out my roles as a freelance professional and work-at-home mom.

The other exciting news is that I'm pregnant with baby #2! We're expecting him/her in early November.  We will not be finding out the sex of this baby (per my husband's request!). If you've been reading since before I had Ella, you might remember that I was pretty much sick my entire pregnancy. The first trimester of this pregnancy was also really rough - I could barely stand to think about food. But I've been feeling much much better the last two weeks, so my money is on this little biscuit being a baby boy.

Ella's growing like a weed - devouring books, telling us wild stories, and trying to learn how to use the potty (mostly for the temporary tattoos). We took a day trip to Chattanooga. We went to visit all of the MawMaws (and my Nana) for Mother's Day. We got a new HVAC system. I started doing some really fun food styling with my photographer friend Jeff Roffman. May was mostly a really great month and with so many big life changes happening at once I wanted to put down my phone, turn off my computer, and experience it all with my eyes wide open.

I'll be back in this space more regularly and updating my portfolio site with new client work and collaborations every month. It feels good to be back. Thank you so much for your patience.

Sweet Cream Biscuits
makes about 18 (1 1/2 inch) biscuits

Ella and I made these for our Mother's Day picnic and served them with roasted strawberries and lightly sweetened whipped cream. We also had them toasted with butter and jam the next day.

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream plus more for topping
coarse sanding or turbinado sugar for topping

Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the vanilla extract and 1 cup of cream to the dry ingredients, stirring as you pour in the cream. Stir to combine.  Add 2 more tablespoons of cream as necessary to create a moist, but not sticky dough.

Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.  Gently press the disk out into a 3/4″-thickness.

Use a small biscuit cutter to cut small circles from the dough. Place the biscuits close together on the prepared sheet pan.  Brush each biscuit with heavy cream and sprinkle generously with sanding sugar.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.


Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Cranberry Sauce Swirl Coffee Cake

Let's pretend that Thanksgiving isn't a week away and that we've made menu plans and picked up a turkey. Forget all that. Let's bypass straight to the weekend after Thanksgiving when we get to eat leftover turkey sandwiches, listen to Christmas music (officially), deck the halls, and start holiday baking! This Cranberry Sauce Swirl Coffee Cake is a great use of leftovers and perfect for serving lingering Thanksgiving guests over coffee. 

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Cookies are like the poor middle child of the dessert world; Not nearly as elegant and grand as a layer cake, or cute and charming like a pie. When asked to make something special for a celebration, I almost always rely on cake or pie. April has been such a busy, busy month filled with birthdays that I just haven't had time for my usual celebration cakes. 

Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies

Dear Lovely Neighbor:  

So sorry for the other night when my husband had a five-ton truck stuck in your driveway. Thank you for parking in ours while we waited for the tow truck. Also sorry about that patch of grass and for what was surely a lot of swearing coming from said husband. 
I hope your little boy enjoyed seeing that semi-truck lifter pick that five-ton off the ground and that you will accept these Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies as a token of both apology and thanks.  

Sorry and thanks again, Meghan 

FEEDING BABY: Leftover Oatmeal Muffins

*Cora is the Winner of the Breakfast for Dinner giveaway from last  week! Congrats Cora, I'll be sending you an e-mail shortly.*

Well, it has been quite a while since we talked about feeding baby, huh? I guess I was all caught up in playing mama and got too busy to share what I was making for our daughter, Ella. I had planned and shot a couple of posts along the way but they never made it here. Now Ella is 13 months and a lot has changed since we first introduced purees. 

Chai Spiced Snickerdoodles and the Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2012

It is officially baking season! Yes, I believe there is a season for butter and sugar. Strawberries and tomatoes get their season in the spotlight, so why shouldn't cozy spices too? 

{Just A Tip} Double the Vanilla

So we already know that I'm kind of obsessed with vanilla as evidenced by the fact that I once wrote a haiku about it. Vanilla bean paste was my go-to-ingredient until last December. I discovered I could buy vanilla beans in bulk on E-Bay. Yes, I know you are questioning the quality of e-bay vanilla beans, because I did too. I took a chance so you don't have to, but enough about how sweet I am to you guys. 

Donut Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze

Let's agree on two things: if it is not fried dough, call it a donut, not a doughnut and this motherhood thing is not for the faint of heart. The first, I just made up and the latter I am slowly learning.

I'm typing frantically, hoping that Ella sleeps twenty more minutes so I can finish this post and clean the toilets. You probably shouldn't mention toilets on a food blog. Also, you probably shouldn't talk about poopy diapers while you're at lunch with a bunch of lovely ladies, but its kinda par for the course today. All of this to say, that this time in my life is full of emotions. Emotions and complete craziness.

Some days I wish Ella would just learning how to walk/talk/use the toilet already. And then, in the same day, I will cry because she's almost getting too long to lay in my lap anymore and the elephant pajamas with the ruffles on the butt don't fit. I feel guilt for leaving her to work, obligated to work so I can give her everything. And in twelve years she will absolutely hate me, and five or so after that she'll leave completely.

My mom came to visit recently, and I am reminded and glad for the way our relationship has grown. It got me thinking a lot about the lineage of mother's before me. In fits of daydreaming and tired-mind wandering, I remember my mom's mother. Her house cast a sepia tone on everything in the summers I spent there. She kept a small garden and her cellar was lined with canned beans and carrots. Two freezers below the house kept blueberries we picked, popsicles, cool-whip, and bags of her cake donuts.

I wasn't one of those cooks who was taught at my grandmother's hip. I begrudgedly picked snap peas and peeled the toothy thread from the back steps of her little house on the corner. She always always took me blueberry picking under the guise that it was something I loved. I do now, but I was easily bored with it as a kid. Now I wish I had paid more attention to her in the kitchen. She made the very best cake donuts. My father loved them so much that she continued to make them for him long after my parents divorced. She made them every time I came to visit until her arthritis bothered her too much and then she'd ask a friend to make them for me. I never learned to make them from her before she passed.

On a trip home last fall I got to look through her recipes and found two notes regarding the infamous donuts. Neither is quite right, I'm sure something is missing. Now I'm sure the secret ingredient was her well word hands and heart. She too knew motherhood is not for the weak.

Donut Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze

serves 10-12

Inspired by my grandmother's cake donuts that were flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg and deep fat fried, this cake requires a few extra steps than most cakes; I promise its worth it.

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature, plus 2 tablespoons for the pan
2 cups sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for the pan
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extra
1 cup whole milk

For the glaze:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup half and half
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
Sprinkles, optional but highly highly recommended

Heat the oven to 350˚F and rub a large bundt pan with two tablespoons butter. Make sure to cover the pan well to prevent sticking later. Next coat the pan with 2 tablespoons of sugar: it easiest to do this by dumping the sugar into the pan, covering the pan with plastic wrap and shaking the whole pan until it well coated, remove the plastic wrap and tap out any excess sugar.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.

Cream together the butter and sugar in a stand mixer on medium-high, until lighted, 3-4 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding the next. Stir in the vanilla.

Add one third of the flour mixture and stir in at medium speed. Stop scrap down the work bowl and add half of the milk. Repeat, ending with the last third of the flour mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 45 minutes to an hour, until the cake is set and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in the pan, then remove and cool completely before glazing.

For the glaze: Combine the butter, milk, and vanilla in a small saucepan and bring just to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat and toss in the chocolate. Leave the chocolate alone for 2 minutes and then whisk until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and whisk, whisk, whisk until smooth. Pour over the cooled cake, sprinkle on your sprinkles and set for 30 minutes before slicing.

I suggest serving this cake with hot coffee and some good belly laughs.

More Donut Cravings? Check out:
Emma's Donut Cake
Luisa's Donut Cake 
Deb's Cinnamon Brown Butter Breakfast Puffs

Hot Cocoa Treats

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas at our house. The lights are hung, the tree is decorated, and my Christmas gift crafting is well underway. It hasn't quite felt so much like winter in Georgia yet. The temperatures have dropped and snow is in the forecast this week, but today was the first day that a coat was really required.Still the snuggly-weather spirit moves me in December and I just want to drink hot cocoa under the Christmas lights and watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special, instead of tackling anything on my holiday "to-do" list.

On Love and Cake

I had a panic attack on the first flight. "I should have packed my cake decorating stand," I thought. I ran down the list again, a suitcase already packed and checked: 3 sizes of cake pans (2 of each), a full size off-set spatula, same in mini, a box of pastry tips, piping bags, parchment paper, two jars of vanilla bean paste, and a jar of Duke's mayonnaise*. "When can I get into the kitchen? Will there be enough fridge space? Is there even a mixer?" The panic continued.

Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

This week last year, I was in Portland, Oregon for the IACP conference. We stayed at the Ace Hotel there which has a Stumptown Coffee Roaster in the lobby. This was probably my second favorite feature of the hotel, as we could have awesome coffee and a snack before walking to the conference. One of my favorite snacks were their Bacon Cheddar Biscuits, even as they were served cold. Obviously I've been thinking about them since then and had to do something about it as a trip back to Portland isn't on my schedule anytime soon. I will, however, be in Austin for this year's conference.

Hummingbird Cake

I make Hummingbird Cake once a year.

I'd never heard of it until I was asked to make it for a colleague's birthday about a year after I moved to Atlanta. I'm a very visual person, so as soon as I heard "hummingbird cake" I instantly pictured hummingbirds being captured and baked into a cake. I was a little embarrassed to admit that I had no idea what the cake was (I was after all a baking and pastry student!).

Apparently its quite the Southern treat originating in North Carolina in the 70's and become wildly popular after a spot in Southern Living magazine in 1978. Imagine banana bread turned cake studded with pineapple and pecans. Then top that image with tangy cream cheese frosting. Yup, it is that good.

Funnily enough this cake typifies Tamie* in the best ways. It's roots aren't Southern, but it is in every way. It is unassuming but brilliant. Not too sweet and sassy enough to make a permeant impression.

My recipe is an adaptation of the cunning and stunning Nancie McDermott, who, herself typifies the Southern woman. I've added a bit of brown sugar in place of the white, merely because I like the flavor it lends to both the bananas and pineapple. And I like to leave the pecans out of the frosting.

Happy Birthday Tamie! *said colleague, who only asks me to make it once a year, for her birthday!



Humming Bird Cake

adapted from Southern Cakes from Nancy McDermott

Serves 10

3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, juice and all

2 cups mashed banana (it took me about 4 whole bananas)

1 cup chopped pecans

Heat the oven to 350˚F. Line 2 nine-inch cake pans with parchment and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine the flour, sugars, cinnamon, soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a medium bowl combine the eggs, oil, pineapple and bananas. Add the wet mixture to the dry fold in the pecans.

Divide between the prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes before de-panning. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature

16 ounces powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Beat the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about a minute. Add the powdered sugar in 1/2 cup intervals, mixing on medium speed between each addition. Stop every other addition or so and scrap the sides of the bowls to avoid any clumpy business. Add the vanilla and salt at the very end, mixing to fully incorporate.

Put a dab of frosting on your favorite cake plate or a cardboard cake circle. Set one cake layer right side up on top of said cake layer. Dollop about 1/3 of the frosting in the center of that cake. Use an offset spatula to spread into an even layer. Top with the second cake layer, this time upside down. Cover the top and side of the cake with the remaining frosting and refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Preggers!

No, I am not! 

But the adaptation of a Buckeye recipe to pretzel-stuffed-chocolate- covered-peanut-butter-balls could only have come from the crazy cravings of a pregnant woman. When my colleague Vanessa was pregnant with her son Ethan all she wanted was peanut butter, chocolate, salty and sweet. For her baby shower, I made these. Later when Vanessa's hairdresser was pregnant, she asked for the recipe and that is how they got the clever label of Preggers.

Death, Taxes and Banana Bread

Inevitably, you will have brown bananas. Ugly, spotty, squishy bananas. You are not even particularly fond of bananas and yet, here there you are, you and ugly bananas, together. You have tried every trick you know, and nothing will make those bananas look better. So here's what you do: you mash the life out of those bananas and you butter them up, egg them on, and share some bourbon. You really show those frickin' bananas what's what and they give you delicious, comforting bread.

Chocolate and Beer Cupcakes

I am a fan of Fridays (hello, weekend!), of chocolate, of beer, of rom-coms and snuggling. I also love puppies, especially squishy ones eating ice cream, but who doesn't?! But what I really like is a recipe that feels fussed up, but actually requires a very minimal effort on my part.