Blueberry Crumbcake Pancakes

I was feeling a little frisky this morning and wanted to try something new. There was this recipe I came across on Joy the Baker's blog, Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes. They looked so delicious and we definitely share a love of pancakes.

So, I took Joy's recipe into the kitchen with me and got to mixing.

Here is the finished plate:


Delicious, no? YES!

From the blueberries, cinnamon, and brown sugar IN the batter.....all the way to that delightful crumb/streudel topping.....then drizzled with maple syrup.

Talk about Heaven. Mmmmmmm.

If you would like to try your hand at these, here ya go:

Blueberry Crumbcake Pancakes
(modified from Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes, Joy the Baker)

2 eggs
2 C buttermilk
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C old fashioned oats
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 C blueberries

(oil, butter, or cooking spray for the pan)

Step 1: In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add buttermilk, butter, and vanilla; mix well. Add flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Mix well until mostly smooth. Fold in blueberries and let batter set for a few minutes.

Step 2: Heat griddle or pan over medium heat. Add a tsp of oil or butter to pan (or spray with cooking spray). You can test to see if the pan is hot enough by adding a few drops of water, when the water drops start to dance, its hot enough.

Step 3: Pour 2 Tbsp of batter onto the griddle. Cook on the first side until bubbles that form start to pop. You can also gently lift up the pancake to make sure the bottom is not overcooking, if it is the pan may be too hot and you will need to adjust the heat. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is gone. Let cooked pancakes rest on a heat proof plate in a 200 degree F over until ready to serve.

Step 4: Serve pancakes in stacks with a dollop of butter, drizzled with maple syrup, and topped with streudel crumbs.


Streudel Crumbs

1/4 C oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 Tbsp brown sugar (packed)
1 1/2 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened

Mix ingredients together with a fork until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Sprinkle on top of your pancakes.

*You can adjust the quantity of any ingredient to suit your personal tastes.



Enjoy!
-Erica

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Courtesy of Jenny Bakes, I have made Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. Honestly, I have never heard of such a combination before, especially for pancakes....but it sounded interesting enough for me to try it.

Now, my hubby is pretty weird when it comes to trying things that you wouldn't normally think to put together, so I have to approach him carefully with things like this. *giggle giggle* Which means, I omit the fact that there is an uncommon ingredient in the recipe. *smile*

So, I started mixing it up in the kitchen, keeping hubby at bay while I threw in the ricotta cheese.



The batter came together beautifully and it was light and fluffy. I couldn't wait to try them! They didn't really take much longer than my normal pancake recipe, so hubby didn't really suspect anything. *giggle giggle* (I know, I'm so cruel)

Now, I had some left over blueberries from that awesome scone recipe I tried the other day....so I decided to put some of them on top of the pancakes after they were finished.

Beautiful, don't you think?


Ok, so my hubby took ONE bite of them and.....

"Ooooh. Mmmmmm. Honey, what did you do? These pancakes are THE best pancakes I've ever had in my life. Fabulous."

So, naturally I start laughing....evil-like, too. Now he is curious.

We stare each other down a little, but he can't keep his fork out of those pancakes, he is still shoveling them in....even though he now knows there must be something weird in them. *giggle giggle*

Alright, well I laid it on him.

"Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. I got the recipe from this blog that I like."

"Well, keep that recipe. Can you make them again tomorrow?"

He was right, too, THE best pancakes I have ever had in my life. We didn't even add butter or very much syrup, which is very unusual for us.

Thanks Jenny for an awesome recipe! We'll be having them again....soon.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Sunday Spotlight: Brownies for Dinner

Happy Sunday!

I've decided that I'm going to "spotlight" one of my favorite blogs each Sunday...along with a few of their recipes that catch my eye. :)

For my first spotlight:

Brownies for Dinner

What could be better? The moment I seen the title, I knew that blog was for me! *smile* I found Patricia's blog through the Daring Bakers' blogroll. Her blog is really nice, so if you have a few minutes, go check her out.

Alright, so moving on....the first post that really caught my eye:


Blueberry Scones

They just looked so good. I knew I was going to have to try them! So, I went on searching her blog for a few other things that I wanted to try....and boy did she deliver! I'll be posting later with a couple more recipes I tried from Brownies for Dinner....so be on the lookout!



The recipe is easy to follow and has no obscure ingredients. So, it made me happy!



I cheated as well, though, and didn't separate the scones prior to baking. What I did was put them in a "round" and cut them. Then I baked them for 10 minutes, pulled them out, cut them again and then separated them. Put them back in the oven and finished baking. They turned out fabulous (I think so anyway).

My daughters had them for breakfast and totally agreed!

Thanks Patricia!

PS) You can view the recipe and try them for yourself by clicking here.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Lemon-Nutmeg Scones

I've never made scones before, so I was anxious to try some. I found this recipe in Pillsbury Best of the Bake-Off 2008 edition.

They turned out good, if I do say so myself! :)

Here is the recipe:

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1/4 C cornstarch
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t ground nutmeg
6 T butter or margarine
1 container (6 oz) lemon fat-free yogurt, divided
1/3 C golden raisins
2 eggs
3 t sugar
1/8 t ground nutmeg
3 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 - Heat oven to 400 F. Grease cookie sheet (I used parchment paper instead). In large bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and 1/4 t nutmeg. With pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.

2 - In small bowl, mix 1/2 C of the yogurt, the raisins (which, I omitted) and eggs. Add to dry ingredients all at once; stir until dry ingredients are just moistened (dough will be sticky) On floured surface, shape dough into a ball. On greased cookie sheet, press dough into 8-inch circle, about 3/4 inch thick.

3 - In small bowl, mix sugar and 1/8 t nutmeg; sprinkle over top of dough. Cut into 8 wedges; separate so wedges are 1 inch apart. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until very light golden brown.

4 - Meanwhile, in small bowl mix remaining yogurt and cream cheese. Beat until well-blended. Serve with warm scones.


Enjoy!
-Erica