Citrus French Toast

Brunch is the perfect way to start your day. And whether I am cooking for myself or for a crowd, French toast is one of my favorite go-to recipes. Prep is quick and easy enough that you can chat with your guests and be eating in no time. This morning I decided to change it up and added a hint of citrus to my favorite recipe.

Ingredients
4 slices french bread, sliced thick
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 tbsp agave syrup
3 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp orange peel
Powdered Sugar

Steps
1. Whisk milk, eggs, agave syrup, orange juice and vanilla extract together.
2. Add cinnamon and orange peel. Mix until evenly distributed in batter.
3. Soak french bread in mixture for 5 minutes, or overnight.
4. Preheat a griddle to medium-high heat.
5. Place French toast on griddle for 2-3 minutes. Flip and continue for 2-3 minutes until both sides are golden.
6. Serve with a drizzle of agave syrup and dusting of powdered sugar.

Serves 2

Apple Cinnamon Buttermilk Scones

I can't usually go a weekend without baking something, and this weekend was no exception. The weather has finally cooled down a bit in Phoenix, I woke up to temperatures in the 70s! So this morning I decided to incorporate one of my favorite flavors of fall, cinnamon apples, into scones. I remember eagerly watching my mom prepare scones when I was growing up, but I never really paid close enough attention to make them myself. When I first tried making scones myself a few years ago, I realized they are quite easy to prepare and take relatively little time to bake. And scones are like biscuits in that you can easily transform them from a morning pastry to a savory side dish, simply by changing up the mix-ins to your batter.

Ingredients

1 granny smith apple

1 tbsp brown sugar

Cinnamon

1 tbsp butter

2 cups flour

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a small sauce pan, melt 1 tbsp butter. 

3. Dice apple into small chunks, about the width of your thumb. (You want them large enough to maintain a slight crunch after baking the scones)

4. Add apples, brown sugar and cinnamon to the melted butter. Stir so that apples are fully coated. Let simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

5. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl.

6. Cut in butter, until flour mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

7. In a small bowl, beat eggs and whisk in buttermilk, milk and cinnamon apples. 

8. Add all at once to flour mixture, and stir with a fork until batter is just moistened. 

9. Turn out dough onto a flour surface and form into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Cut dough into triangles.

10. Arrange scones on a lined baking sheet so they are not touching.

11. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden brown.  

Makes 16 small or 8 large scones

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Lemon poppyseed muffins are one of my favorite treats. I found that many of the recipes I tried from cookbooks resulted in a heavier or cake-like muffin. After a bit of experimentation, I developed this recipe that I'm really happy with. The results are airy muffins with great lemon flavor. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp poppy seeds

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

zest from 1 lemon

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon extract

1/4 cup oil

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.

3. In a medium bowl, beat eggs. 

4. To the eggs, add milk, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract and oil. Mix well.

5. All at once, fold egg mixture into dry ingredients. Stir until just combined, but do not overmix.

6. Scoop 1/4 of muffin dough into lined muffin tins.

7. Bake muffins for 12-14 minutes until golden on top. 

Makes 15 muffins

French Toast Casserole

Thanks to my loyal readers, I know it's been a while. I've been busy traveling and working, but my recent adventures have given me some new restaurants and ideas. Stay tuned! 

Recently I've been fascinated with finding new ways to re-purpose my leftovers. Working a night shift, I tend to make a few meals on my weekend that I can eat throughout the week. But who wants to eat the same thing twice in one week if you don't have to. I've had great luck turning my pulled pork into a sweet potato and pulled pork hash for breakfast. But today, I've got something really simple for my favorite meal of the day -- brunch! I took my tried and true mix for my french toast, and combined it with some leftover baguette overnight. All in all it takes about 10-15 minutes the night before and 25-30 minutes in the morning, while you're getting ready for your day. 

Ingredients

1/2 leftover baguette (or a fresh demi baguette)

1 1/2 cups milk

4 eggs

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 stick butter

Steps

1. Cut or break leftover baguette into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces.

2. Grease a baking dish and arrange baguette pieces in an even layer.

3. Combine milk, eggs, honey, vanilla and cinnamon and beat well. 

4. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover and let rest in the fridge overnight. 

5. In the morning, heat oven to 350 degrees. 

6. Melt butter. Add brown sugar and mix well. Spread over the top of the french toast mixture.

7. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. 

8. Serve with fresh fruit, syrup or powdered sugar.

Serves 3-4

Oatmeal Raisin Scones

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup butter, softened and cut into pieces

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

1/3 cup oats

3/4 cup milk

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Butter or line baking sheet.

3. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking sodad and cinnamon.

4. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

5. Add raisins and oats and mix well.

6. Combine milk with dry mixture, mixing until dough begins to come together. Do not overknead.

7. On a floured surface, form dough into 1/3 inch rectangle and cut into triangles.

8. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden.

Serves 4-6

Bourbon Buttermilk French Toast with Blackberries

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp honey
1/3 cup bourbon
4 slices thick cut Italian bread or brioche
Blackberries
Powdered Sugar

Steps:
1. Mix eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, honey and bourbon. Beat well.
2. Soak bread in egg mixture overnight.
3. On a medium hot griddle, cook french toast for 2-4 minutes per side until golden brown.
4. Top with fresh blackberries and powdered sugar.

Serves 2

Blackberry Cream French Toast

Ingredients

4 slices bread

2 eggs

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp cinnamon

4 oz. cream cheese

3 tbsp blackberry jam

Steps

1. In a shallow bowl or pan, beat eggs. Add milk, vanilla and cinnamon and mix well.
2. Soak bread through, on both sides.
3. On medium high heat, brown and turn over. 
4. In a small bowl, heat cream cheese in microwave for 25 seconds.
5. Add jam to cream cheese and mix until well combined.
6. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
7. Spread mixture over two slices of bread, then top with remaining two slices of bread to form two sandwiches. 
8. Place french toast into baking pan and bake for 8 minutes.

Serves 2

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

1 french bread baguette

1 1/3 cups chocolate chips

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups half and half

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

Steps:

1. In a sauce pan combine milk, half and half and sugar on medium heat. Make sure to keep milk from boiling. Mix until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.

2. Cut baguette into bite size pieces.

3. In 6 individual ramekins, place a layer of baguette. Then layer chocolate chips, another layer of baguette and top with more chocolate chips.

4. When completely cooled, combine milk mixture with eggs and beat well.

5. Pour milk/egg mixture into ramekins, dividing equally amongst all six. Let sit for 15 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

7. Place ramekins in a large baking dish, and fill dish 1/3 full with hot water.

8. Cook bread pudding for 35 minutes, or until knife comes out clean.

Serves 6

Blackberry Strata

Ingredients:
2 cups Bread
1 cup Blackberries (**Cinnamon Apples cooked until soft would be good as well)
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Sugar
1 cup Milk
1/4 cup Cream Cheese
1 tbsp Vanilla
1 tbsp Cinnamon
2 tbsp Honey

Steps:1. Beat eggs, cream cheese, sugar and milk together.
2. Mix in vanilla, honey and cinnamon to the egg mixture.
3. Chop bread into small pieces and place in baking dish.
4. Pour egg mixture over bread and add berries. Mix together so all berries and bread are coated.
5. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Serves 6-8