Whipped Cream Swirls

I LOVE coffee. I'm not a five-cups-a-day coffee drinker, but I absolutely need a cup in the morning to start my day. A friend shared with me this little trick to give a cup of coffee a quick (and pretty) dollop of cream! Takes a little prep work, but it's quick in the morning!

You'll need:
1 pint heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp. powderd sugar (more or less to taste)
1 tsp. vanilla

Just blend all the ingredients together in a large bowl until soft peaks begin to form. I like to place the bowl in the sink while I blend so the cream doesn't splash everywhere.

Spoon the whipped cream into a pastry bag and pipe into little swirls onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Place the baking sheets in the freezer for at least an hour.

Once the swirls are frozen, you can layer them in a container to take up less space in the freezer.

Just place one in your cup of coffee in the morning!

 Or two...

And I like to sprinkle on some cinnamon-sugar, too.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Walnut & Chocolate Chip Pancakes

These were supposed to be Whole Wheat Walnut Pancakes.... The row of pancakes on the right above are with walnuts only, but somehow chocolate chips found their way into the rest of the batter! Delicious!!

Let me preface by saying that pancakes are usually a flop for me. I try a different recipe every time, hoping to find one worth repeating. This one's a keeper!!! Next time I'm throwing in blueberries instead of walnuts/chocolate!

*Recipe makes 8 pancakes!

You'll need:
1 cup + 3 Tbsp milk
1 egg
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt 
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chocolate chips
butter and/or olive oil spray for greasing pan

Start by setting your griddle or pan to medium-low heat.

Whisk together milk, whole egg, and oil in a medium bowl until combined. (I used 1% milk.)

In a smaller bowl, combined the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. (If you're not a fan of the whole wheat, just use all-purpose flour instead.) Add to wet ingredients and fold together a few times.

Add walnuts and chocolate chips. Don't over-mix! The flour shouldn't be too visible, but lumps are good!

My chocolate chips were a little late to this party. You'll see them soon.

Put a little butter on your griddle and spread it around as it melts. I used a mixture of butter and olive oil. (Be sure to grease the pan between each round of pancakes.)

Use a 1/4 cup measuring spoon to scoop batter onto the griddle.

Usually pancakes will start to form tiny bubbles on top when they're ready to flip. Mine weren't as obvious. Just keep an eye on the bottoms and flip when they start to brown - about 3-5 minutes on each side, depending on your heat setting.

Drizzle with syrup, and serve!

Yum. :)

Pumpkin Spice Muffins w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

A cold front came in last week, and it actually feels like fall outside now. And these little muffins taste like fall! My first pumpkin recipe of the season - I'm sure there will be more to come! Recipe is courtesy of The Pioneer Woman - amazing. Check it out HERE.

You'll need:

Muffins

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1.5 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

4 Tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces and put in freezer for 30 minutes

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Topping

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Frosting

1/4 cup butter, softened

4 oz. cream cheese (1/2 an 8 oz. block)

1/2 pound powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Sift all the dry muffin ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.

Take out the butter that you cut up and froze.

Add it to the flour mixture, and use a pastry blender (or two knives) to break down the butter.

The butter will still be visible but combined well within the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla

Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients.

Fold together until JUST combined. Some of the dry ingredients should still be visible.

 

Now make the topping by combining the cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg.

Divide the batter among 12 muffin cups (that were just greased with Baker's Joy - mixture of flour and oil) and sprinkle with topping. I still had about half my topping leftover, so next time I'll cut those ingredients in half before combining.

Bake for 25 minutes on 400 degrees. Don't mind by worn cupcake pan - it's been through a lot.

Let the muffins cool at least 10 minutes before transferring.

When they've cooled completely, you can start the frosting. First blend together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla. Then add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, blending after each addition.

I transferred my icing to a 12-inch disposable decorating bag and used a star tip to swirl it on. Does adding frosting turn a muffin into a cupcake? Oh well...

If you're feeling extra crafty (a rare feeling for me), sprinkle on more cinnamon. I put 1/2 tsp of cinnamon in a sifter and gently tapped it to get the "dusted" look.

Enjoy!

Nutella French Toast

Continuing with the Nutella recipes! Are you obsessed yet?

You'll need:

1 Tbsp. butter
2 slices bread
2 Tbsp. Nutella
1 egg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. honey
1/4 cup milk
1/8 tsp. vanilla
*French toast batter makes enough for 2 servings!

Melt the butter in a small sauté pan on medium heat.

While the butter is melting, spread a thick layer of Nutella on a slice of bread.

Mix the rest of the ingredients (egg, cinnamon, honey, milk, and vanilla) with a fork until well combined.

Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl because that honey is sticky.

Dip each side of the bread in the bowl only for about 3 seconds. You don't want it to get too soggy.

Place in the hot pan, and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Keep an eye on it, and when it's a pretty golden brown (like this), flip it!

Once both sides are cooked to your liking, break out the good stuff...

But don't add too much, just a drizzle... Remember, you already added honey to the french toast batter. I couldn't resist adding some dollops of Nutella on the side. And the raspberries are just to make me feel healthier.

Dig in!

And clean your plate.

Yum!!