Bacon, Egg, and Toast Cups, revisited

This is a recipe I've made and posted in the past, but I wanted to revisit it. It deserves a much needed revamped picture and is so delicious and easy that it needs to be known. I love these little cups because they have all of your breakfast necessities in one: dairy, protein, and bacon. (All of the important food groups.) Haha. But seriously, they are so delicious you will want to make more than 6 if you plan on sharing. They tend to go fast and are very addicting!

Bacon, Egg and Toast Cups

Adapted from: Annie's Eats, originally The Noshery

6 pieces of bread

6 bacon slices

4-5 eggs (beaten if you like scrambled eggs)

shredded cheese

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Meanwhile, cook bacon on medium-high heat for about 6-8 minutes on each side to slightly cook (you still want them to be flexible). Place bacon on plate with paper towels to cool. While the bacon is cooling, cut out a 3-inch round out of the bread slices.

Take the bacon pieces and wrap them around the edges of the bread. Then, place the round bread pieces in each of 6 greased muffin cups so that it forms a little bowl. Note: The bread WILL stay in the muffin cups since it's not toasted yet. I was somewhat skeptical of that. Next, pour the egg into it until it almost fills up and sprinkle with cheese on top. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the egg is done (will not be liquid anymore).

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve immediately!

Strawberry Banana Muffins

For the past few summers (and since starting this blog), I've always wanted to go strawberry picking. This was my first summer doing so and I absolutely loved it! My 11-month-old had a blast (eating too many, probably) and we are all enjoying having all of the strawberries around! These muffins were the first recipe I tried with our strawberries from Spencer's Farm. It was an older recipe from Annie's website but nonetheless I knew it wouldn't disappoint.

Normally I have a pretty big sweet tooth so these muffins, at first bite, were a little on the dry side. I think next time I might add a tiny bit of cinnamon sugar to the top before baking. Or I'm sure more strawberries couldn't hurt. Nobody ever complained about too many strawberries. None of my friends anyways. ;) These are a great breakfast and my son really enjoyed them as well!

Strawberry Banana Muffins

Adapted from: Annie's Eats

Yields: 12-14 muffins

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large, ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease a muffin tray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and banana's. Add the melted butter and mix to combine.

In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Fold in the strawberries and toss to coat them well. (This prevents the strawberries from sinking during the baking process.)

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, just until combined. Do not over-mix.

Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full of batter and bake for 20-25 minutes,  until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool slightly and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Butterscotch Scones

It's starting to feel more like fall and you all know what that brings; cooler weather and pumpkin, well, everything! I am so excited this year to be spending Camden's first Halloween as a family. I remember last Halloween I had just found out that I was pregnant with him and here he is a year later, cute as ever! I'm not getting him a costume since he will only be 3 months old, but he does have a "My First Halloween" onesie for the day time and a cute sleeper for the evening. I swear this kid is so stylish. Anyways, in the fall I usually like to bake everything pumpkin and butterscotch. It's the time for chili's and stews. I LOVE this time of year!!!

This recipe is just the same as my chocolate chip scones, but they taste even better with butterscotch! I have also tried white chocolate which are to-die-for good as well. These definitely will get you and your family into the fall mood and won't disappoint! I would venture to say that 90% of the time, we have a bag of these in the freezer. Yup, they're that good!

Chocolate Chip Scones
Adapted from: Annie's Eats, originally Hershey's
Makes: 6 scones

1½ cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup butterscotch chips (6 oz)
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp butter, melted
additional sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with grease or a silicone mat. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and stir to mix well. Add in the chocolate chips and fully incorporate them into the mixture. Add the heavy cream to the mixture and mix until dough forms and the dry ingredients are just incorporated. I did this by hand instead of my stand mixer and it turned out phenomenal.

Knead dough very briefly with well floured hands on a clean surface. Scoop rounds onto baking sheet or roll a circle out of the dough about 1/2-inch thick. Cut into triangles (like you are cutting a pizza) and place dough pieces on the baking sheet. Brush lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake 18-22 minutes, until edges are slightly browned and center is cooked (using toothpick method).

Note about freezing: Only bake the scones you wish to eat right away. The best way to enjoy these scones throughout the week is to freeze them. Once you have shaped the dough pieces, wrap them in plastic wrap and place in the freezer in a ziploc bag.

The morning you wish to have a scone for breakfast, preheat the oven to 375°F and cook on the baking sheet and silicone mat for 20-23 minutes. No need to brush the butter and sugar on top. The frozen ones actually tasted better than the fresh so doing this will ensure a warm, fresh breakfast.

Chocolate Chip Scones

My husband said, "These taste like cookies!" which is always code for yummy. I was pleasantly pleased with this scone recipe. I have had scones at deli's and Starbucks before, but they are never this amazing! My husband and his mom (who was visiting a few weeks ago) absolutely loved these scones. His mom even asked for a few to take home with her!! I now want to make them with all different kinds of chips: white chocolate, peanut butter-chocolate, butterscotch. Although I don't like chocolate, I could have eaten the entire batch of these by myself. That is how delicious they really were. Just go make them .. asap. Don't forget that glass of milk, though. These go perfect with a nice, big glass of milk.

Chocolate Chip Scones

Adapted from: Annie's Eats, originally Hershey's

Makes: 6 scones

1½ cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup chocolate chips (6 oz)
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp butter, melted
additional sugar for sprinkling (optional)
 
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with grease or a silicone mat (highly recommend the silicone mat). In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and stir to mix well. Add in the chocolate chips and fully incorporate them into the mixture. Add the heavy cream to the mixture and mix until dough forms and the dry ingredients are just incorporated. I did this by hand instead of my stand mixer and it turned out phenomenal.
 
Knead dough very briefly with well floured hands on a clean surface. Scoop rounds onto baking sheet or roll a circle out of the dough about 1/2-inch thick. Cut into triangles (like you are cutting a pizza) and place dough pieces on the baking sheet. Brush lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake 15-20 minutes, until edges are slightly browned and center is cooked (using toothpick method).
 
Note about freezing: Only bake the scones you wish to eat right away. The best way to enjoy these scones throughout the week is to freeze them. Once you have shaped the dough pieces, wrap them in plastic wrap and place in the freezer.
 
The morning you wish to have a scone for breakfast, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and cook on the baking sheet and silicone mat for 20-23 minutes. No need to brush the butter and sugar on top. The frozen ones actually tasted better than the fresh so doing this will ensure a warm, fresh breakfast.

Rasberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Good news! I found my camera. Even better news: this recipe! If you love cheesecake then be careful to not eat all of these. I had to make my husband take the cheesecakes to work so that I didn't inhale them all before he even got home that night. This was a fantastic idea and they turned out tasty. Not the prettiest cheesecake/cupcakes but definitely the best flavor ever!! I know on Annie's website she says that the water bath is not needed but if you want taste and presentation, I think it very much IS needed. Mine became concave after cooling and did crack on most of them. It wasn't too noticeable and they still tasted wonderful so it's totally up to the chef's preferences.

Rasberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Adapted from: Annie's Eats, originally Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

For the crust

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
4½ Tbsp butter, melted
3 Tbsp sugar

For the topping
6 oz fresh raspberries
2 Tbsp sugar

For the filling
2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature (32 oz)
1½ cups sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place cupcake liners in muffin pan and lightly grease. Mix all ingredients well for the crust. Place 1 Tbsp of crust mixture in each paper liner. Press with cup (or I used my 1/4 cup measurer and that worked perfect) to press graham cracker crust into cup. Bake until crust is set, about 5 minutes, and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, mix cream cheese in stand mixer on medium-high until fluffy. Add in the sugar until fully incorporated. Repeat with salt and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Be sure the mixture doesn't have any cream cheese chunks. This may require you to continue to mix and scrape the sides of the mixing bowl.

While mixer is blending, place rasberries and sugar in food processor and blend until it becomes a liquid consistency. Place a bowl under a mesh sieve and press liquid through to remove all the seeds. Set aside.

Place 1/4 cup of cheesecake mixture into muffin cups on top of crust. Drop a small amount of rasberry liquid on top (about 1/4-1/2 tsp) and swirl with a toothpick. Bake until cheescake is set, about 22 minutes, rotating halfway into the baking time. Cupcakes will be convex when removed from the oven but once they cool, they will go down. Leave in muffin pan for at least 5 minutes to cool then transfer to cooling rack. Note: I tried to remove them before the 5 minutes and they totally fell apart and were not "set" yet so I highly recommend waiting. Place in the fridge for at least 4 hours and enjoy!

Cran-Apple Muffins

Whenever my husband is gone out late (work or baseball game) or out on one of his fishing tournaments on the weekends, I get really bored. When I get bored, I love to bake since it usually involves lots of prep time and baking and cooling, etc. Brad is my best friend and when he is gone I sometimes don't know what to do with myself.

I wanted to bake something we could eat for breakfast. See, I am not a picky breakfast eater: cereal, oatmeal, bagels, pop-tarts, anything. My husband on the other hand really has tried to give cereal a chance but he just likes a nice, warm breakfast. Well I thought that I could bake something for the week ahead and he can just nuke them for 10 seconds and be on his way to work (he likes to wake up late .. like me). He absolutely loved .. and devoured these muffins!! I have no doubt in my mind that he will be asking for these when he gets back from fishing this weekend.

Cran-Apple Muffins

Adapted from: Annie's Eats

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ cup + 2 tsp milk
1 egg, large
8 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
¾ cup dried cranberries
¾ cup apple, peeled and chopped
½ cup almond slivers (or raisins)
6 Tbsp brown sugar
6 Tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare muffin cups by placing a paper liner in them and spraying lightly with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Create a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour in the milk, egg and butter. Mix together quickly until just incorporated. Add remaining ingredients and mix just enough that mixture is evenly distributed.

Pour ¼ cup of the mixture in each of 12 muffin cups and sprinkle with sugar on the top (optional). Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the muffin pan for about 3-5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Keep stored in airtight container at room temperature if planning on eating throughout the week.

Banana Berry Muffins

I saw these muffins and just absolutely had to make them! They have berries in them (my favorite thing to eat in this entire world) and something I had always been afraid to use: bran. Oh yes, wheat bran. Trust me, these muffins are even more delicious than anything from a box and double coated in sugar topping. I used a variety of strawberries, blueberries, rasberries and blackberries. Let me just say ... the blackberries and rasberries provided the most flavor and juiciness by far! I am sure you could use your own variety but the different flavors were just amazing. Plus as a bonus, they were the quickest and easiest breakfast for my husband who notoriously wakes up late and skips breakfast. I finally have found a healthy, delicious, quick breakfast for him to grab while running out the door for work! Also the original recipe called for oat bran but per the usual my grocery store ex grocery store didn't carry it.

Banana Berry Muffins

Adapted from: Annie's Eats, originally Cooking on the Side

Yields 8-10 small/medium muffins

1.25 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup wheat bran

dash salt

2.5 tbsp nonfat dry milk powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 medium bananas

1 egg white

1/4 cup honey

1 tbsp butter, softened or melted

1/2 cup orange juice

1.5 cups fresh or frozen berries (if frozen no need to defrost)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line muffin pan with liners or spray with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine flour, bran, salt, milk powder, baking powder and soda. Stir well with a fork and set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, gently mash the bananans and egg whites until blended well and frothy. I would highly suggest using the splash guard for this step because it does get messy and I almost had banana covered cabinets! Stir in the honey, butter, orange juice and blend well. Mix in the dry ingredients a little at a time until well blended. Grently fold in the berries. Scoop into muffin trays or cups until they are just below the top of the rim. These will make medium sized (and perfect for snacking or breakfast) muffins. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool 5 minutes in pan and transfer to wire rack to cool another 5-10 minutes. Enjoy fresh from the oven or store in airtight container. If you would like warm muffins in the morning, microwave for 10-15 seconds depending on how hot you would like it. A little goes a long way in there.  ;)

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

I went to the store today to get some white chocolate chips to make some white chocolate macadamia nut cookies later. While there, I happen to look over at the canned pumpkin area and noticed the big empty shelf with canned pumpkin puree was not empty. I got curious and walked over to see what the big difference was between the pumpkin pie mix and the canned pumpkin. I have heard so much about this and how there is a huge shortage of the puree. Yeah, I snagged 4 cans. Might go back later to get 4 more.

So when I got home, I wanted to find the perfect recipe. I had just purchased two huge bags of apples planning on doing several different kinds of recipes. I found an amazing muffin recipe online and just had to make it. I miffed it a bit but it still turned out amazing! So here is "my" version of the muffins.

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
1 can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups apples, peeled, cored and chopped

2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3-4 tsp butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease muffin tray.

In a large bowl, sift together 2 1/2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, pumpkin pie spice and baking soda. In separate bowl, mix together eggs, pumpkin and oil. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture until moist and fold in apples. Spoon batter into muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together last 4 ingredients, adding butter 1 tsp at a time. Spread over Muffins before baking.

Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.