Lemon Orange Poppyseed Muffins

As I’ve mentioned before, Sunday mornings in our house are often for leisurely breakfasts, usually involving a baking project of some kind. This past weekend I really wanted to make some buttermilk muffins as a way to use up some of the buttermilk in my fridge.

I found myself lacking all of things I usually put into muffins: blueberries (frozen or fresh), other berries, dried fruits, etc. It must be time to go shopping!

What we did have is a nice supply of meyer lemons and oranges, and some poppyseeds from the spice cupboard. These muffins ended up being so deliciously fresh, with a nice tartness from the citrus and buttermilk. I’m sure I will make these again, more intentionally this time!

These muffins ended up being a perfect vehicle for our Orange Vanilla Marmalade.

• Servings: 12
• Time: 15 min prep, 15-18 min bake
• Difficulty: Medium
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Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

INGREDIENTS

2 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 Tablespoons poppy seeds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
juice and zest of 2 medium lemons
juice and zest of 1 orange
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, orange juice, and orange zest together until combined. (Our citrus was very juicy, so we only used the juice of 1 lemon and 1/2 orange) Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition. Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix together until no pockets of flour remain. Do not overmix. The batter is extremely thick.
Spoon the thick batter into the muffin tins, filling them all the way to the top, about 1/4 cup of batter in each. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F. Keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce oven temperature to 375°F  and continue to bake for 10-13 minutes longer until tops are lightly golden. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Belgian Waffles

One of our favorite weekend traditions is to have one sleep in day, with a fancy breakfast, home made lattes, and lounge on the couch for an episode of Scandal while we enjoy. A top contender for lazy Sunday breakfast is Belgian Waffles. Our favorite recipe is actually a make ahead yeasted waffle recipe from Ina Garten that I hope to share later, but alas we aren’t always that prepared. This past weekend we tried Emeril Lagasse’s recipe for Belgian Waffles and loved it. You separate the eggs and beat the whites, which really helps to make the batter light and fluffy. A few tips: melt your butter ahead of time and let it cool, and let the eggs and milk come to room temperature. This will help when adding the butter to your liquids if everything is closer to the same temperature.

What are some of your favorite lazy, loungey weekend breakfast recipes?

• Servings: 4
• Time: 20 min
• Difficulty: Medium
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Recipe from Emeril Lagasse

INGREDIENTS
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups milk
non-stick cooking spray

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions. In 1 medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a second bowl use the wooden spoon to beat together the egg yolks and sugar until sugar is completely dissolved and eggs have turned a pale yellow. Add the vanilla extract, melted butter, and milk to the eggs and whisk to combine. Combine the liquid mixture with the flour mixture and whisk just until blended. Do not over mix. In third bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Using the rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the waffle batter. Do not overmix! Coat the waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray and pour enough batter in iron to just cover waffle grid. Close and cook as per manufacturer’s instructions until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Savory Bacon Cheddar Chive Scones

I have been in such a baking mood lately. I think it’s all of the rain we’ve been getting lately. Expecting more rain this weekend, I planned a baking day with a friend, pitting some sweet strawberry scones against savory bacon cheddar chive scones. I must say – savory scones for the win!We used a tip that I picked up from Kitchen Konfidence to grate the butter into the dough. This gave us the cold, small pieces of butter so essential for good pastries, and was so much easier than trying to cut a cold stick of butter in with a pastry cutter.A little crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, and chopped chives…Pat out a perfect little wheel of dough, and slice it up into wedges. Bake just 20 minutes, put on a fresh pot of coffee and enjoy!

• Servings: 8 large scones
• Time: 20 min
• Difficulty: Easy
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Recipe adapted from Annacia on Food.com

INGREDIENTS
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1⁄4 c cold butter (1 stick), grated
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1⁄3 cup snipped fresh chives
1⁄2 lb bacon (cooked, cooled, and crumbled about 1 cup)
1 cup half and half
Butter to brush the tops

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 425°F Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment or a silpat.
Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Grate the butter directly into the dry mixture. Mix in the cheese, chives, and bacon till evenly distributed. Add 1 cup of half and half, stirring to combine. Transfer the shaggy dough to a well-floured work surface. Pat the dough into a smooth 7″ disk about ¾” thick. Cut the disk into 8 wedges.
Bake the scones for 20 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Brush a bit of butter over the tops during the last two minutes of baking to get a nice golden crust.

Now, the strawberry scones weren’t bad, just didn’t have as much complexity. I’m thinking to add some rosemary and/or orange zest next time.They did end up being a perfect vehicle for more Orange Vanilla Marmalade. Happy Weekending!

Cranberry Orange Cardamom Scones

Recently my in-laws gifted us with more oranges than we could possibly eat before they go bad.

Since we actually had a Sunday with no morning plans, I decided to look to my favorite scone recipe and make use of some of this citrus. Tyler Florence’s recipe for Blueberry Scones has become my go to recipe for making light and flaky scones. I’ve tried a few different fruit varieties to great success. 

I ground whole cardamom pods because I had them in my pantry. You could also use pre-ground cardamom. Of course, fresh ground spices are always a little stronger.

The dough is pretty gooey, so be sure to flour your work station before you pat it out into a rectangle, 1-1/4 in high. You could also use biscuit cutters if you want round scones.Cut in half, half again, and into triangles. 8-16 depending on how big you want your scones. This time around I cut 16 so that I would have some leftovers to share with my coworkers. 

Orange Cranberry Cardamom Scones

• Servings: 8-16
• Time: 30 minutes
• Difficulty: Medium
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Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence’s Real Kitchen “Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze”

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting your work surface and your fruit
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold, grated
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup chopped fresh cranberries
• 2 Tbsp orange zest
• 1 Tbsp cardamom

Preheat the oven to 4oo degrees F. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom and sugar. Using a standard cheese grater, grate the very cold butter into the flour mixture. (Check out Kitchen Konfidence to see where I got this great idea). The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not over work the dough. Toss the chopped cranberries with some flour to help prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the scone when baked; then fold them into the batter.

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 x 3 x 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in half; then cut the pieces in half again, giving you four 3-inch squares. Cut the squares in half on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. You can also cut these in half again if you want smaller scones.

Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, until beautifully browned. Let the scones cool.

These are delicious served with a honey whipped butter or an orange marmalade, or a pomegranate jam. Make use of some seasonal citrus and enjoy these with a nice cup of coffee this weekend.

Blueberry Buckwheat Waffles

I made these for Randy for his birthday.  They were born out of a desire for something decadent and birthday-worthy, yet healthy in the post holidays mindset.  I started with Ellie Krieger’s recipe for Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes, and added some Carmelized Bananas from a new Brunch cookbook I received for Christmas.  It was also lucky that the week before, my mom gave me her “broken” waffle maker.  (It works just fine as long as you have a toothpick handy.)

Really yummy, and we were able to eat outside in the sun.  Yay January in San Diego!

Blueberry Buckwheat Waffles with Carmelized Bananas

Waffles

• 3/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup nonfat milk
• 1 tablespoon honey (heated slightly)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 cups blueberries, divided

In a large bowl whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, beat together the buttermilk, non-fat milk, honey, eggs, and oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to combine them. Stir in 1 cup of berries.

Preheat a large nonstick griddle or skillet over a medium flame. Ladle the batter onto the skillet with a 1/4-cup measure. Flip the pancake when it is golden brown on the bottom and bubbles are forming on top, about 1 1/2 minutes. Cook the other side until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes.

Bananas

• 3 Tb butter
• 3 Tb corn syrup
• 3 bananas, sliced

Melt the butter with the corn syrup and stir until combined. Let simmer until the caramel thickens and darkens slightly. Add the bananas and mix to coat.

**Personally, I thought the bananas were too buttery.  Next time I will grease a skillet with butter, and cook the bananas for longer, to let them carmelize their own sugars.

P.S. We made more waffles the next day with left over batter, and I topped mine with cottage cheese, honey, and more blueberries and it was fantastic!