Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Kathy over at Your Gluten Free Kitchen. com posted this recipe for a gluten free cinnamon coffee cake. (Not going gluten free? Just use your favorite all purpose flour in the recipe.) We had it for breakfast this morning, and decided it's a keeper! Our kitchen smelled wonderful! I am so glad I came across this recipe on Pinterest!

Source.

1 1/2 cups gluten free flour; with xanthan gum in it, like my GF flour blend. (See right side bar.)
4 1/2 tsp. Saf instant yeast or a rapid rise yeast (equals two envelopes)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup milk – warm to 120 degrees (use your microwave)
1 egg

For the cinnamon goodness:
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Sugar glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 4 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla

"Whisk all the dry coffee cake ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the egg and milk. Beat with hand mixer. Should look like thick pound cake batter. Pour into an 8×8 baking pan or a 9" pie plate sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, let's make the cinnamon goodness.

Mix together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a large cereal bowl or 4 cup measuring cup. You can use a fork to squish the butter into the brown sugar until it forms clumps. After the 10 minute rest is up, sprinkle the top with the cinnamon butter clumps. Push a few down with your fingers into the dough.

Now, place the baking pan or pie dish in a COLD OVEN (no preheating here!). Set it for 350 degrees and bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Remember, NO preheating. Placing this is in a cold oven allows it to rise with the increase in heat in the oven. It really does work. Not only does it save you time, it saves energy too. No wasting 10 minutes worth of energy to get the oven up to temp. Nifty huh?

When your coffee cake is done, let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Cover with the sugar glaze. Combine all the glaze ingredients and beat with a hand mixer until smooth and yummy. Pour over your coffee cake, slice and eat right away.

To make dairy free: just replace the butter with either dairy free margarine or use butter flavored shortening like Spectrum Naturals. Use dairy free milk (like coconut milk or rice milk or almond milk or a dairy free coffee creamer would be good here!)

Makes 8 to 9 servings depending on how big they are and who gets to them first!" -Kathy

Chocolate Oat Muffins

Pinterest recipe review: * * * * * (5/5 stars)

The "Healthy is Always Better" blogger posted the following recipe. I was intrigued because the lack of flour made them easily gluten free! I didn't have greek yogurt so I used the plain non fat yogurt that I did have instead. I also used regular sugar instead of a sugar alternative. I made half the batch as she suggests, pulling them out to top with chocolate chips, and then returning them to the oven for a few more minutes. I found that, while they tasted good, those muffins sank and lost their beautiful, poofy, muffin top. The other half of the batch I left alone for the full fifteen minutes and topped them with chocolate chips when they came out of the oven fully cooked. I much prefer this method since they both tasted good and looked beautiful!

Picture courtesy of Healthy is Always Better

Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffin 
(Knock-Offs of Whole Food’s 6 Dollar per 4 Chocolate Chunk VitaTop Muffins)

• 1 3/4 c oats
•  3 egg whites
•  3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt)
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. vinegar)
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup sugar substitute (like Splenda granular) OR 1/4 cup + 2 tbs stevia
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or use white chocolate or peanut butter chips!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with foil cupcake liners, or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a blender, (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth.

Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in 1/2 of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Scoop mixture into prepared muffin pans.

Place muffins tins in the oven for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but don’t shut oven off), and distribute the other half of the chocolate chips on top of each muffin.
Place  the muffins back into the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Note, you could skip this step by putting all of the chips in the batter, and baking the muffins for 12-15 min straight, but this method gives the muffins the traditional ‘VitaTop Muffin’ look with the chocolate chips on top!
Cool muffins before removing from pan. ENJOY!!!

Servings: 12 Big Muffins or 24 Smaller Muffins
Calories: 116 Calories Per Muffin or 58 Calories Per Muffin

*drooling*

Turkish Zucchini Slippers

2 zucchini
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup meat (Great with Italian sausage, but you can use left overs too.)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil; cook whole zucchini for ten minutes just to soften. Remove them from the water. Cut off ends and slice lengthwise. Use a spoon to hallow out the seeds.

Mix together other ingredients and spoon mixture into zucchinis. Bake until set and then broil to brown.

Grandma Debs Pancakes

1 1/3 Cup Gluten free Flour*                                              

1/3 Cup Cornmeal                           

 1/3 Cup Quick Oats

2 t Baking Powder**                          

2 T Honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1 3/4 cup soy milk (or regular milk; may need an extra 1/4 cup depending on how thick/ thin you want your pancakes)                              

* The original recipe called for 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/3 cup flour.
** Since the gluten free flour I use includes xanthum gum, I use less baking powder. Maybe 1 or 1 1/2 tsp.
Variations: 

1. Dinner roll pancakes. Add two tablespoons of sugar instead of two teaspoons. Serve with butter, honey butter, or jam with any dinner. 

2. Italian bread sticks pancakes. Leave out the honey. Add Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Serve with any pasta dinner.

Buttermilk Caramel Syrup

1 ½ Cup Sugar

¾ Cup Buttermilk

½ Cup butter

2 T Corn Syrup

1 t Baking Soda

Combine and stir while heating; boil for 7 minutes. (If you boil longer it will thicken and make a caramel good for dipping fruit.)  Remove from heat. Then, add 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Austin Family White Breakfast

Here's what we ate as kids when dad got to cooking! 

3 Cup Milk, Bring to boil slowly

In a seperate bowl, mix together:

¼ Cup Flour

¼ Cup Sugar

2 Pinches Salt

1 Egg

May need to add a little milk to thin. Add to warming milk. Stir constantly until it boils.

Serve hot over buttered bread.

*Can add vanilla and refrigerate leftovers for next day pudding

German Pancakes

6 eggs                  

1 Cup Milk    

1 Cup Flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

*In Blender*

Blend ingredients until smoothe. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake uncovered at 400° for 20min. Serve warm with syrup and powdered sugar.

Sweet Muffins

1 egg
2 cup bisquick
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
Jelly

Grease muffin tin. Beat egg in a bowl, stir in other ingredients. Fill each muffin cup 1/3 way full, drop spoonful of jelly in the middle and add more batter until tin in 2/3 full. Bake at 400 for 15 to 18 minutes.