Honey Whole Wheat Pancakes

My mornings go like this: 

"Mom, I'm hungry will you get up now?"

"Okay, I will in just a minute . . ."

15-30 minutes later, "Mom, Arden's awake will you get up now?"

" Okay."  And this time is for reals.

"Yah!  I'm hungry can we have pancakes with seery-up? ( that's how Logan pronounces syrup, kind of like giddy-up)

Every morning, without fail, she wants pancakes and syrup.  And because I don't like to have to start my first moments of the day picking a battle, that's what they usually get-frozen walmart mini pancakes. And then Jude chimes in with "And, can I have caramel milk!?!"  Logan, "And, can I have chocolate milk!?!" I've never felt good about this "most important meal of the day" routine, so I finally did what I'd always planned to do and together we made homemade whole wheat pancakes, fishing the whole wheat flour I had bought months ago from the back of the pantry.  I doubled the recipe, as it is here, and it made ~ 40 mini pancakes to pop in the freezer and pull out a few in the mornings.  I liked them, the kids liked them and now i don't feel so bad about the chocolate milk!  I also loved that these had a light and fluffy texture, since sometimes recipes with wheat flour can end up too dense.

Honey Whole Wheat Pancakes
Food.com by WJKing
makes 40 mini pancakes, ~ 20 regular size

Ingredients

• 2 cup whole wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoon honey
• 6 tablespoons oil
• 2 cup buttermilk * OR 2 cups regular milk+2Tbs lemon juice
• 4 large eggs

Directions

1. Stir honey& oil together in a bowl.
2. Add milk& eggs& beat well.
3. Mix dry ingredients into the liquids until flour is moistened.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

We made this for a women's activity at church and even though I hadn't tried it out before hand I can always trust a recipe from the Pioneer Woman's blog.  Five different women made this cake and though each cake looked a little different every single one was delicious, so this is truly a universal no fail recipe. So good and a perfect spring and summer dessert or breakfast or brunch.

Blueberry Crumb Cake
Pioneer Woman  Serves 12-16

• ½ sticks Butter
• 1 Tablespoon (additional) Butter
• ¾ cups Sugar
• 1 whole Egg
• ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 2-¼ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ¾ cups Whole Milk
• 2 cups Fresh Blueberries
• _____
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• ¾ sticks Butter
• ½ cups Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Cinnamon
• ½ cups Flour
• ¼ teaspoons Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, and a salt. Stir and set aside.

Cream 1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter with sugar. Add egg and mix until combined. Add vanilla and mix. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until totally incorporated. Do not overbeat. Stir in blueberries until evenly distributed.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Pour in batter.

In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients and cut together using two knives or a pastry cutter. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.

Bake cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut into squares.

German Pancakes

Such a fun meal.  And easy too.  I used to have these at a babysitters house when we were little, but had never made them myself.  This recipe was so good, though different from the ones I had had before, which were about one inch thick and had kind of a rubbery consistency.  Though that version was still good as I remember it, but then what isn't good when drenched in syrup? This version is light and moist with a wonderful flaky exterior and I much prefer it.  But, since it is less dense, you may want to make two batches and bake them simultaneously if serving a large family.  You can top these with whatever you might put on a crepe or pancake.  So many things would be delicious: applesauce, choc chips, fresh fruit & cream, powdered sugar and lemon . . .  For us, they make a fun breakfast for dinner meal and be sure to let he kids take a peek while they're rising in the oven.  Enjoy!

German Pancakes
Two Peas and Their Pod     Serves 4-6

1 cup all-purpose flour
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
6 Tbs melted butter
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9x13 dish.
Gradually add flour to beaten eggs, mix with a fork or whisk.  Stir in milk, vanilla, butter and salt.  Pour batter into prepared dish.
Remove top rack from oven , as they will rise quit hight and ake at 350 on center rack for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.  Cut into wedges and serve warm with toppings of choice.

Baked Cinnamon French Toast

I made this for our Christmas morning breakfast.  It was dense and yummy all on its own or smothered in  cream cheese icing!  You make it ahead the night before, refrigerate and then put it in the oven the next morning.  It baked while we opened gifts and was ready when we were done!

Baked Cinnamon French Toast

The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• FRENCH TOAST
• 1 loaf Crusty Sourdough Or French Bread
• 8 whole Eggs
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• ½ cups Whipping (heavy) Cream
• ¾ cups Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
• Topping
• ½ cups All-purpose Flour
• ½ cups Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces
• Fresh Fruit (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Grease 9 x 13-inch baking pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.

Mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and but into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a Ziploc in the fridge.

When you’re ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from oven and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. (If you’re using fruit, sprinkle on before the crumb mixture.) Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture.

Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with maple syrup.

Apple Spice Pancakes

Jon was actually home for breakfast on a week day, so to celebrate that occasion I got up early (for me) and made these yummy pancakes.  I thought my kids would love the concept of apples in their pancakes and be as excited about it as i was- they were not.  Which was really weird because, usually they aren't very picky eaters.  So, though they loved the pancake part, there were piles of uneaten apples leftover on their plates, which was fine since I just dumped them on top of my pancakes making them all the yummier.

Apple Spice Panckes

adapted from Food.com #23219

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 dash nutmeg
• 2 cups milk
• 6 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 cup finely chopped unpeeled apples (or peeled if you have picky eaters)

Directions

1. Sift dry ingredients.
2. Add milk, oil and dry ingredients to eggs and mix well.
3. Fold in apples.
4. Preheat lightly coated griddle or skillet over medium heat ( I use Pam or small amount of vegetable oil) -- Test by adding a few drops of water on hot pan -- When the drops start to "dance" on the griddle it is time to cook.
5. For each pancake pour about a 1/4 cup of batter onto a hot griddle and Cook on first side until bubbles that form begin to pop and edges look dry.
6. With a spatula, turn and cook until second side is rich golden brown.