warm mornings

I've said it before, I like to start the day off eating right, even if I'm ending it with a molten lava cake. This is my way of creating balance. This is my way of justifying a cookie. This is my way of getting some much needed nutrients. This is my way of a warm, healthy breakfast on a cold morning. It's pretty tasty having it my way.

Normally I'm not crazy about baked apple pies/desserts/oatmeal, but I thought if I shredded the apple it would just meld into the oatmeal. The additional crunch of the almonds also took away from the baked apple texture that I dislike, making this delicious and more like a treat. It doesn't feel healthy it just tastes amazing, especially with the cinnamon yogurt sauce.

I love baking this on the weekend and then reheating any leftovers throughout the week. I can't tell you how gratifying it is to have a warm, filling breakfast on a winter day... and then repeat it all over again the next day! Who needs cereal?

easy, breezy mornings

I've been wanting to make this recipe for a while now, so when my sister invited a friend and I over for brunch, I knew this would be the perfect accompaniment. First of all it's pumpkin flavored, and we all know how I feel about that. 

Secondly, it's a cinnamon French toast (which I love) but baked, so you're not laboring over a pan flipping a couple of pieces of bread at a time. Thirdly, this is better if you assemble it the night before baking, giving you the morning to leisurely toss this into the oven and do your nails or something. 

one giant pancake

When Kent and I were first married, I tore this recipe out of Gourmet Magazine because I liked the simplicity of it. It stated that it served 2, which is very hard to find when there really is just two of you eating (although it really serves 4). We both fell in love with the soft, eggy texture and crispy brown edges, and I (over)cooked the apples so they'd be soft too.

Sautéing the apples in butter gets this recipe off to a great start. Then the batter is blitzed in the blender and poured into the buttery apples and the whole pan is placed in the oven until the pancake is puffed and golden. Couldn't be easier or tastier.

Croissant + Donut= CRONUT!

Imagine this: croissant dough cut into the shape of a donut, fried, drenched in glaze, rolled in sugar and filled with vanilla pastry cream. This, my friends is a cronut. 

This is the hot new donut trend that started in this small bakery in NYC. It’s reached National attention because people go crazy for these cronuts. The bakery only sells about 300 a day, with huge lines of people waiting hours to get one. Since I don’t live in NYC and am unable to get the real-deal, I have no idea how these compare. But who are we kidding? They are amazing on their own!

I was hosting a birthday dinner a few weeks ago and the birthday girl requested breakfast for dinner. I made all the traditional stuff: scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, toast, a homemade granola with fresh berry compote over yogurt…but I needed a dessert. I wanted it to be in the breakfast theme and toyed with a few different donut ideas but was undecided.  My husband, Kent, had heard about cronuts on the radio and we both agreed they sounded pretty amazing, except for one problem- we don’t live in NYC. So when I stumbled across this video my interest was piqued.

When I told him I was going to surprise the birthday girl with a plate of cronuts he begged me to save him one (this is only worth mentioning because my husband isn’t crazy about sweets the way I am, so for him to be excited about this made me even more excited to make them).

After I watched the video I was hooked. The video made it look so easy, but they also left a lot out- like recipes for the pastry cream and glaze. So I’m going to break it down for you so you can make cronuts at home too! Kent told me he prefers the cronuts without the pastry cream, and this would save you a step; meaning you can have cronuts in your mouth even faster! But I disagree. I think the pastry cream is what sets them apart and really makes cronuts unique and special.

Now I see cronut knock-offs everywhere!
(recipe after the jump)