Breakfast

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Orange-Chocolate Soda Bread

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This one-bowl breakfast-bread is quick to assemble. Serve it on a fancy plate to add some “wow” to your breakfast table.

The rosemary-cheese soda bread was a hit, but I wanted something sweeter this morning. This adaptation of the savory recipe adds some sugar, a touch of cinnamon, a hint of orange, and plenty of chocolate chips. The result is similar to scones, but a little more “cakey” in texture.

Ingredients

  • 2 c. flour.
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2-1/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2-1/2 Tbs. sugar
  • zest of one orange
  • 3 Tbs. butter
  • 3/4 c. sour milk or buttermilk*
  • 3/4 c. chocolate chips (mini-chips are best)

*To make sour milk: put a scant tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup, then add milk to get to the 3/4 cup mark.

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

  1. Mix together flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar, and orange zest.
  2. Cut in butter.
  3. Stir in milk.
  4. Mix until just incorporated–don’t over mix.
  5. Shape dough into a ball, using a little flour to prevent sticking.
  6. Place onto a prepared baking sheet (greased, or lined with parchment), then flatten until about 2″ thick.
  7. Slit the dough into eighths, cutting almost—but not quite—through the depth.
  8. Bake for 20–25 mins.

 

Find more of my recipes in the cookbook: You Can’t Have Dry Coffee: Papa’s Excuse to Have a Nosh And Nana’s Perfect Pastries

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Cheddar and Rosemary Soda Bread

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This is delicious with soup for supper, or to accompany your eggs for breakfast. Serve it hot out of the oven.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 c. flour. We use all “white whole wheat,” or half white flour, half whole wheat flour. [for gluten-free, substitute in your favorite all-purpose, gluten-free flour]
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2-1/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 3 Tbs. butter
  • 3 Tbs. grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • 2 Tbs. fresh rosemary: chop 1 Tbs.; reserve 1 tbs. for topping
  • 3/4 c. sour milk or buttermilk  (To make sour milk: put a scant tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup, then add milk to get to the 3/4 cup mark.) [for gluten-free, decrease milk to 2/3 c.]

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

  1. Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder.
  2. Cut in butter.
  3. Mix in the cheese and 1 Tbs. chopped rosemary.
  4. Stir in milk.
  5. Mix until just incorporated–don’t over mix.
  6. Shape dough into a ball, using a little flour to prevent sticking.
  7. Place onto a prepared baking sheet (greased, or lined with parchment), then flatten until about 2″ thick.
  8. Dust top lightly with flour, then slit a deep cross into the dough, cutting almost (but not quite) through the depth. Decorate top with remaining rosemary.
  9. Bake for 20–25 mins.

cheese and rosemary soda bread photo1

 

Make it Gluten Free! Substitute in your favorite all-purpose gluten-free flour blend, and decrease the amount of milk to 2/3 cup. Here’s the result (below).

sm gluten free soda bread IMG_0554

 

For other tasty bakes: You Can’t Have Dry Coffee: Papa’s Excuse to Have a Nosh And Nana’s Perfect Pastries

Dry Coffee promo

 

 

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Whole Wheat Carrot-Apple Muffins

For more tasty bakes, see my collection of family specialties:

You Can’t Have Dry Coffee: Papa’s Excuse to Have a Nosh And Nana’s Perfect Pastries

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084WLZ1R7/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Carrot Apple muffins

Grab one of these on your way out the door!

When enjoying a breakfast muffin, our family likes to feel like we are eating more than white fluff with a streusel topping. These muffins have carrots, apples, nuts and raisins. Made with whole wheat pastry flour, they are still light, but with a complex flavor. Pair one of these beauties with a glass of milk or a piece of cheese and you’ve got a neat little breakfast for your sprint out the door.

Whole Wheat Carrot-Apple Muffins (makes 16)

In a large bowl, mix together:

  • 2 c. whole wheat pastry flour (or 1 c. white; 1 c. whole wheat)
  • 3/4 c. sugar
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 tsp. baking soda

Fold in:

  • 3 large carrots (grated) — about 1-1/2 c.
  • 2 large apples (peeled and grated ) — about 1-1/2 c.
  • 1/2 c. unsweetened coconut
  • 1/2 c. raisins, dates or a mixture
  • 1/2 c. chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds

Stir in:

  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 c. canola oil
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp. salt

Spoon into greased or papered muffin tins. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes

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A Weekday Treat—Overnight French Toast

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Number 2 pencil, nerdy t-shirt and a plate of French Toast—Max is ready for his test.

 

I haven’t made this recipe in years, and then two things happened that brought it to mind.

1. Molly came home from her math tutor’s house with three large loaves of day-old bread. There was no explaination as to why she was given the bread, nor where it came from. We hypothesize that the tutor thinks we are a pauper family with 8 kids—a least that was Molly’s first thought and she right away informed the tutor that there are only three kids in the family. 2. Tomorrow is the beginning of AP test week—no wait it’s only the first of two AP test weeks—at our over-achieving, why bother with college when you can take 2 dozen AP classes in high school high school. (I know that my editor friends will be all over that sentence, but that’s what you get from a designer.) Anyway, nothing like a good breakfast before an AP Computer Science test, right? A great use for old bread, and what a wonderful treat for a weekday breafast.

Overnight French Toast

  • 1 loaf french or Italian bread, sliced thick

The night before: Mix the following together in a 9″ x 13″ baking dish:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1-1/2 c. milk
  • 1 tsp. grated orange or lemon rind
  • 2 Tbs. brown sugar (I used white)
  • 1 or 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract

Arrange the bread slices in the pan, on top of the egg/milk mixture. Wait a minute and then turn them over. Cover and place in refrigerator over night.

In the morning: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place bread onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes on a side.

Here is the bread, ready to be tucked in for the night:

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Granola

If, like me, you’re tired of paying $4.50 for a box of cereal, spend the five minutes it takes to make your own. Instead of shopping for prepared dry cereal, pick up some old fashioned oats, wheat germ, unsweetened coconut, some nuts and dried fruit.

This really does only take five minutes to mix up, then sit down with your morning newspaper and a good cup of coffee, while it bakes for 30 minutes.

Granola

  • 2 c. old fashioned oats (not quick oats)
  • 1/3 c. wheat germ*
  • 1/3 c. wheat bran*
  • 1/2 c. unsweetened flaked coconut
  • 1/4 c. brown sugar
  • 1/4 c. vegetable oil
  • 1/3 c. each of any or all of the following: almonds, pecans, dried fruit (currants, raisins, cherries), sunflower seeds

Put aside the dried fruit, mix the rest together, spread onto a cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring every 8 minutes or so. Allow to cool completely, stir in the dried fruit, and store in an air-tight container.

For an elegant breakfast, try a breakfast parfait.

*To make this a gluten-free granola, substitute oat bran for the wheat bran and wheat germ.

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Breakfast Parfaits

Use any of your favorite fruits. Berries are especially good. These have sliced clementines and bananas with blueberry yogurt.

Here’s something different for breakfast, loaded with delicious nutrition, and the kids will love it. You can use any kind of clear glass—it doesn’t have to be as fancy as my mother’s crystal parfait glasses. When the kids were little I’d use a plain drinking glass.

For the yogurt I blended some blueberry sauce that I had made* with some plain yogurt. Choose any fruits that your family enjoys, and add raisins and nuts if you like.

Breakfast Parfait

  • yogurt
  • granola
  • fresh fruit

Layer the ingredients into a clear glass. Serve with a long spoon, if you have one.

Click here for an easy granola recipe.

*The blueberry sauce began as an attempt to make blueberry syrup. I cooked up blueberries with a little sugar, but then make the “mistake” of putting it all through a Foley food mill, which turned it all into a thick sauce. I canned it all, but didn’t know what to do with it until my friend Ann said that yogurt was the place for it. The blueberry sauce turns plain yogurt into superb fruit yogurt.