Tag Archives: breakfast

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal {Gluten-Free} Some foods are easier to photograph than others and…well…baked oatmeal is an “other.” It just is.

It doesn’t matter what I do to it or how good the light is, baked oatmeal is simply difficult to make into a beauty queen. It’s never going to be the belle of the ball. It’s oatmeal, after all. <—hey, that rhymes! That said, what baked oatmeal lacks in aesthetic appeal (dull brown and lumpy 😬😬) it more than makes up in delicious whole grain flavor. This one is especially enticing—it’s made with a hefty scoop of pure pumpkin purée and big hit of pumpkin pie spice for maximum seasonal breakfast magic. Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal {Gluten-Free} It’s also very easy to make. The most difficult (if you can even call it that) step is toasting the oats, and that requires little to no actual brain power. Just scatter the oats onto a pan, put them in the oven, and set a timer. Boom. Done.

The rest of the process is simply adding dry ingredients (oats, pie spice, baking powder, salt) to wet (pumpkin purée, brown sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla, milk). Whisk ‘em together, pour the mixture into a greased pie plate and bake just until the center is set. Then just scoop it into bowls, adorn as desired and serve. Really, it couldn’t be easier. Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal {Gluten-Free} My favorite thing about Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal? It reheats like a dream! This, in addition to being filling and fairly good for you, makes it perfect for weekday breakfasts. Just heat individual portions as needed and enjoy.Of course, it’s also a great low-maintenance-but-still-“special” thing to make on the weekends. And I wouldn’t be disappointed to see it over the holidays.

Versatility, y’all. It’s a beautiful thing. Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal {Gluten-Free}

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
makes about 6 servings

2 cups old-fashioned oats (certified gluten-free for gluten-free)
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup pure pumpkin purée
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups milk of choice

For serving:
maple syrup
butter
plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a deep 9-inch pie plate or other casserole dish. Set aside.

Place oats on a dry rimmed baking sheet (or other large pan) and toast in the oven for 5 minutes, or until fragrant. Let cool a few minutes. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl and stir in pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin purée and light brown sugar. Whisk in eggs one at a time, followed by oil, vanilla, and milk. Mix in oat mixture.

Pour mixture into the prepared pie plate. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes, or until the center is lightly set.

Let oatmeal cool for at least 15 minutes before serving with maple syrup, butter, and/or yogurt. Oatmeal is best warm or at room temperature.

Leftover oatmeal will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It reheats well in the microwave. Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal {Gluten-Free}

Orange Cardamom Morning Buns

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Orange Cardamom Morning Buns There’s little rhyme or reason as to what I choose to blog—it’s usually just whatever I’ve felt like making lately. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been on a bit of a breakfast kick. I’m not exactly sure how many fall breakfast options I think you need, but it’s at least three: waffles, a pumpkin-spiced oven pancake, and these Orange Cardamom Morning Buns.I mean, look at these sticky, swirly things! You need them. I need them. Preferably on Saturday morning alongside my daily French press.They’re flaky and fluffy, filled with a fragrant orange-cardamom sugar, and twisted to perfection. The crowning glory is a brush of orange-cardamom glaze as soon as the buns come out of the oven, which gives them an extra layer of flavor and their gleaming appearance. Orange Cardamom Morning Buns Oh, and they take two hours start-to-finish—a rarity in the from-scratch breakfast bun realm. And their twists? Much easier than they look. My motor skills are seriously lacking (I am comically bad with scissors), so if I can shape them, anyone can.Just twist a strip of dough and tie it in a knot. Boom, done. Orange Cardamom Morning Buns Even if you do it “wrong” (which is near-impossible), I promise they will still turn out beautifully. And even if they don’t (which is also near-impossible—can you see that I did this with one hand?), call ‘em rustic. That’s what I do. If anyone complains, eat theirs. That’s also what I do. Orange Cardamom Morning Buns What?! You don’t need that negativity at breakfast.

Orange Cardamom Morning Buns
makes 12 buns

Dough:
2 3/4-3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup whole milk
1 large egg, room temperature

Filling:
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
4 teaspoons ground cardamom
pinch of fine sea salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Glaze:
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Make the dough. In a medium-large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sugar, instant yeast, and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter and milk together until just warm to the touch, about 95-110 degrees.

Crack the egg into a small mixing bowl. Whisking constantly, add the butter/milk mixture in a thin stream until completely combined. Add mixture to the dry ingredients and fold together. A shaggy dough should form and be pulling away from the bowl. Gradually add flour in 2 tablespoon increments until the it pulls away a bit.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead 5-6 minutes, until smooth. Gather dough into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl, making sure to get a little oil on all sides. Stretch some plastic wrap over the top and allow dough to rise in a warm, draft-free environment for 40 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

In the meantime, line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.

Make the filling. Combine sugar and orange zest in a small bowl. Rub together with your fingers to release the oils in the zest. Use a fork to stir in cardamom and salt.

Shape the buns. Return dough to floured surface. Flour a rolling pin and roll dough into an 18×12-inch rectangle. Brush dough with butter, leaving a 1/2-inch border on all sides.

Mentally divide the dough into thirds, like an unfolded letter. Place half the sugar mixture in the middle third of the dough—it’ll be a 12×6-inch section surrounded by two buttered sections of the same size.

Carefully grab one short side of the dough and fold it over the center, so that the dimensions are now 12×12-inches. Brush the top of the folded section with more butter and scatter on the remaining sugar mixture. Fold the other short side over the top so that the dimensions are 12×6-inches. Tap edges “closed” with your rolling pin.

Carefully lift and turn dough over so that the seam is against the floured surface. Roll the dough so that the dimensions are 14×8-inches.

Use a large, sharp chef’s knife to trim the short edges of the dough by about 1/2-inch. Slice dough into 12 strips. Working with one strip at a time, twist the ends until you have a loosely-twisted rope of dough. Carefully bring ends toward one another until they cross over one another and create a small hole. Tuck ends into that hole. Place shaped buns on prepared pans, leaving about 6 inches of space between (I can get 6 on a half-sheet sized pan).

Cover pans loosely with wax paper (or parchment) and let rise in a warm, draft-free environment for another 25-30 minutes. Remove wax paper (or parchment). They will not seem to have changed drastically, but if you poke one with your finger, the indentation should remain. If any ends have come loose, just nudge them back into the centers.

Place oven racks in the center positions. Preheat oven to 375F. Bake buns for 10 minutes. Rotate pans top-to-bottom and front-to-back. Bake another 7-8 minutes, or until golden brown.

While buns are baking, make the glaze. Combine orange juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until sugar dissolves (about 3-5 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in cardamom and butter.

Use a pastry brush to brush warm buns with glaze. Buns are best the day they are made, but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or so.

Orange Cardamom Morning Buns

Pumpkin Puff Pancake {Dutch Baby}

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Pumpkin Puff Pancake {Dutch Baby} It’s that time! Tomorrow morning will be the first weekend breakfast of fall (even if you are regretting having packed away your summer clothes two weeks ago) and it should absolutely be this Pumpkin Puff Pancake. (And maybe bacon.)

(So many parentheticals today. Oy.) Pumpkin Puff Pancake {Dutch Baby} This Pumpkin Puff is simply an autumnal take on my very favorite breakfast. Or maybe I should say “another” autumnal take—I made a Caramel Apple Puff a couple of years ago. You can have that next weekend though. This weekend, it’s all about the pumpkin.Mix up your pumpkin pie spice, crack open a can of Libby’s, put some of both in a blender with the usual suspects, and whirl up a smooth pancake batter. Pumpkin Puff Pancake {Dutch Baby} Pour it in a screaming hot pan with plenty of butter and go find something to do for roughly 17 minutes. I recommend figuring out which Emmy-nominated show you can manage to binge watch in its entirety before the broadcast on Sunday night (When They See Us! Pose! Fosse/Verdon!). Or, alternatively, if you’re local, determining which panel you’re going to attend at the Brooklyn Book Festival (I’ll be at the 4pm “How We Eat at Home” panel to hear Anita Lo, Carla Lalli Music and Alison Roman).

(What is it with the parentheses today?) Pumpkin Puff Pancake {Dutch Baby} Anyway…when you have decided to watch Sharp Objects and a few episodes of The Good Place…oops, sorry.

*ahem*

When your time has elapsed and your pancake is puffy and voluminous and golden, remove it from the oven. It will be big, buttery and beautiful at first, but will quickly settle into a crinkly, custardy pancake in the shape of its pan. Also, it’s going to smell magnificent, as almost all pumpkin spice-scented things do. Pumpkin Puff Pancake {Dutch Baby} Top it with whatever makes you happy—I went for my usual maple syrup and confectioners sugar, along with some toasted pecans. Keeping it seasonal, you know, because it’s officially fall in my kitchen and on this blog.

Pumpkin Puff Pancake {Dutch Baby}
makes 4-6 servings

For the Puff Pancake:
1/4 cup pure pumpkin purée (I prefer Libby’s)
1 cup milk (preferably whole)
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt

For the pan:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

For serving:
confectioners sugar
pure maple syrup
toasted pecans

Place a large ovenproof cast iron or stainless steel pan in a cold oven. Preheat oven to 400F.

In the bowl of a food processor or high-powered blender, combine pumpkin purée, milk, eggs, vanilla, flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Process 30 seconds, or until no lumps remain. Let batter rest at least 5 minutes.

Once oven has reached 400F, remove the hot pan and add butter. Place pan back in the oven for 60-90 seconds, until butter has melted. Remove pan from the oven, and swirl the butter so it coats the pan. Pour in batter. Bake 17-18 minutes, until puffed and golden. Do NOT open the oven door during baking.

Remove pancake from oven—it will deflate quickly. Let cool 2-5 minutes before slicing and serving immediately with toppings of choice. Pumpkin Puff Pancake {Dutch Baby}

Sour Cream Waffles

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Sour Cream Waffles I love baking with sour cream for the richness, tenderness and moisture it adds to my cakes and other baked goods, but I have no desire to eat it on anything but pierogis—and I never make pierogis. And so sour cream frequently gets sad and gross in the back of my fridge, having been forgotten until I run out of space for the next cake or bowl of cookie dough or yogurt container.

Until now, that is. Sour Cream Waffles A few weekends ago, armed with a half-container of sour cream leftover from making kolaches, I set out to make some waffles. I had previously tried Molly Wizenberg’s Waffles of Insane Greatness and was intrigued by Stella Parks’s Buttermilk Waffles, but wasn’t going to make either of those recipes because sour cream, duh. Sour Cream Waffles Instead I combined aspects of both recipes into The Best Waffles I Have Ever Eaten In My Life. We’re talking crispy edges and fluffy interiors, light and not too sweet, and gorgeous and golden. Truly, the best waffles I’ve ever eaten in my life.I have 24 of them in my freezer leftover from testing and have been toasting and eating them plain as a midnight snack for the last few weeks, so I can confirm: these are the fluffiest and crispiest and The Best Waffles I Have Ever Eaten In My Life. Period. Sour Cream Waffles Reasons the insides stay nice and soft:

• Sour cream is creamy, rich, and thick, which means it adds lots of moisture and some heft to the batter. Also, it’s acidic, so it reacts with the baking soda in the batter to help with the fluff factor.
• Egg whites are used in their liquid state. That’s right—no whipped egg whites here! This is a waffle recipe for those of us who are never going to be up for whipping egg whites before they’ve had at least two cups of coffee. If you’re skeptical, baking queen Stella Parks says using liquid egg whites instead of the more traditional whipped ones creates more moisture in waffle batter, which creates more steam, which creates a fluffier waffle, and—no surprises—she’s right. Sour Cream Waffles
• The dry ingredients include a large amount of cornstarch. Here, it impedes gluten-development in the same way that it does in cakes, producing a more tender texture.
• This recipe calls for a fifteen minute rest after you’ve prepared the batter. This allows the developed gluten to relax and gives your waffle iron time to get screaming hot, which is important for crispy edges! Speaking of which… Sour Cream Waffles Reasons the outsides get crispy:

• Sugar. There isn’t much in this recipe, but the small amount is crucial for crispy waffle success. It caramelizes against the hot iron creating both crisp texture and golden color. Sour Cream Waffles
• Making sure your waffle iron is HOT. I let mine heat for at least 15 minutes.
• Letting the waffles cook until the steam dissipates. That may mean that your waffles take 6-7 minutes instead of the 4-5 it takes for the “ready” light to come on, but I promise you it’s worth the extra wait. Sour Cream Waffles I mean, look at that. Does breakfast get any better than that? I don’t think so.Needless to say, half-containers of sour cream are a hot commodity around here now.

Sour Cream Waffles
makes about 8 4-inch waffles

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
2/3 cup full-fat sour cream
2 large egg whites, room temperature
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the waffle iron:
cooking spray

For serving:
butter
warmed maple syrup
seasonal fruit

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large liquid measuring cup (or small mixing bowl), use a fork to whisk together whole milk and sour cream. Whisk in egg whites, melted butter and vanilla.

Add liquid ingredients to dry in two installments, whisking until combined and mostly smooth (a couple of small lumps are okay). Let batter rest at room temperature for 15 minutes while the waffle iron is heating.

Preheat oven to 200F. Place a cooling rack over a rimmed baking sheet.

Grease waffle iron with cooking spray. Pour 1/3 cup of the waffle batter into each well of the iron and close the top. Let cook until steam dissipates and the waffles are turning golden, about 6 minutes.

Transfer cooked waffles to the prepared rack-over-pan and place in the oven to keep warm. Re-grease the waffle iron and cook remaining batter.

Serve waffles with butter, warmed maple syrup, and seasonal fruit, if desired. Enjoy immediately.

Leftovers may be layered with parchment, placed in a freezer bag, and frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat in the toaster. Sour Cream Waffles

Pineapple Kolaches

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Pineapple Kolaches The end of summer always seems to be a time when I lose my recipe muse, albeit briefly. It’s disconcerting and annoying, but temporary, and understandable, I think.

I’m getting tired of berries. I’ve done everything I’m going to do with stone fruit. I’m eating figs on toast, but can’t seem to rustle up any fresh ideas for them. My head is filled with recipes for pumpkin, apples and pears, but I won’t be posting any of them until after September 20th (wrote ‘em all down—Thanksgiving is gonna be goooood this year, y’all).Times like this are why I have my ever-growing list of blog inspiration. I wrote down “pineapple kolaches maybe?” after I made pineapple-centric sweet rolls and Rosh Hashanah challah last year, knowing I would be glad to see those words weeks, months or years later.And I am, thank goodness. I think we can all agree that the unofficial last week of summer deserves some quality baked goods.Make no mistake: these Pineapple Kolaches are quality.

This take on the Czech pastry favorite is made with a pineapple juice-spiked version of my favorite kolache dough and a tart, gingery pineapple filling. YUM. Pineapple Kolaches Kolaches are surprisingly simple to make—I think they’re less intensive than your average cinnamon rolls. The dough and filling are both made the night before baking. The next day, the kolaches are assembled, proofed, sprinkled with posypka (crumble) and baked until ever-so-slightly golden. It sounds like a lot, but the total “active” work time is probably 60-75 minutes and the payoff is 🍍🍍🍍🙌💗🎉‼️ Pineapple Kolaches There’s little that beats a soft, fresh from the oven, butter-brushed pastry with jammy pineapple filling.I won’t be diving into any pools this holiday weekend, but I really want to dive into that well of filling. Don’t you?!

Pineapple Kolaches
makes about 18 pastries

Pineapple Filling:
1 20 ounce can crushed pineapple in juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
juice of 1/2 lime

Dough:
1/2 cup (1 stick) + 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice (reserved from filling)
2/3 cup full-fat sour cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lime zest (from 1 medium lime)
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
2 large eggs, room temperature

Posypka (Crumble):
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of ground ginger
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

The night before you want to eat kolaches, make the pineapple filling. Set a colander over a bowl and pour in crushed pineapple. Press out 1/2 cup of juice and set that aside for the dough.

Combine remaining crushed pineapple in juice, sugar, cornstarch, ground ginger, salt and lime juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until juices are clear and mixture thickens slightly. Cool for a few minutes. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.

Make the dough. Cut 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter into 8 pieces.Combine butter, whole milk, and sour cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Melt together, stirring occasionally, until mixture is warm to the touch (about 115F). Pour into a large mixing bowl and stir in sugar. Sprinkle yeast over the top and allow to prove for 5 minutes. Mixture will have just a few small bubbles. If bubbles do not form, your yeast is dead. Discard mixture and start the dough from the beginning with fresh yeast.

Add 1 cup of the flour, the lime zest, and salt to the wet ingredients. Fold together. Fold in beaten eggs, followed by 2 1/4 more cups of flour. Dough will be very soft and a bit sticky.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead 5 minutes before forming into a ball. Dough will be very soft and sticky—use a bench scraper for easiest kneading. Grease a mixing bowl with oil. Place dough ball in the bowl, being sure to grease it on all sides. Press plastic wrap to the surface of the dough. Refrigerate overnight, about 8-12 hours.

In the morning, line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Remove dough from refrigerator and discard plastic wrap. Into two pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough until it’s 1/2-inch thick. Use a 2 1/2-inch round cutter to cut kolaches, rerolling as necessary. Place 3 inches apart on prepared pans.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Brush on the tops of cut kolache dough. Flour the back of a tablespoon and press it into the center of one kolache to make a well. Immediately fill with a heaping 1/2 tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) of pineapple filling. Flour the tablespoon again and repeat process with all remaining kolaches on the baking pan. Repeat process with remaining baking sheet.

Loosely cover with plastic wrap (or greased foil) and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 30 minutes, or until puffy.

Make the posypka (crumble). Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Stir with a fork until crumbly.

Position oven racks near the center. Preheat the oven to 350F.

Remove plastic wrap from one baking sheet of dough. Top each kolache with a big pinch of posypka. Bake kolaches uncovered for 18-20 minutes, rotating pans front to back at the 10 minute mark. They will be barely-golden when they are done. Brush baked kolaches with 1 tablespoon melted butter.

Let kolaches cool slightly on the pans. Serve warm.

Kolaches are best the day they are made, but may be refrigerated for a couple of days. Warm before serving. Pineapple Kolaches

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Tag Archives: breakfast

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

Orange Cardamom Morning Buns

Pumpkin Puff Pancake {Dutch Baby}

Sour Cream Waffles

Pineapple Kolaches