If you’re still working on your Christmas morning menu, this recipe for Cranberry Streusel Cake would be a good one to consider. The moist, festive cake is both easy to make and delicious. The sweet, brown sugar streusel is a nice balance to the tart cranberries.

To simplify things the morning of, have your cranberries chopped and measured, and your dry ingredients measured and combined. Now all you have to do Christmas morning is mix the  cake (wet and dry ingredients) and bake it.

I didn’t have plain yogurt so I used a combination of sour cream and buttermilk. The cake turned out great and several people asked me for the recipe. Enjoy!

Cranberry Streusel Cake
-recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine

Add the topping 40 minutes into baking rather than at the beginning, when it would sink too far into the cake, or at the end, when it wouldn’t sink in at all. Serves nine.
 
9 oz. (2 cups) all-purpose flour; more for the pan
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. table salt
4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, well softened at room temperature; more for the pan
1-1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup plain, low-fat yogurt (or sour cream)
1/2 cup fresh cranberries, chopped

For the streusel:
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup fresh cranberries, chopped

Make the cake:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. Lightly butter and flour a 9-inch-square baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt until blended. With an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until well blended, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing until just incorporated. Using a wide rubber spatula, alternately fold the flour mixture and the yogurt into the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Add the chopped cranberries with the last addition of flour. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Tap the pan gently on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake for 40 min.

Make the streusel:
While the cake is baking, combine the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the butter and mix, using a fork, until the ingredients are well blended and form small crumbs. Stir in the walnuts and cranberries.

After the cake has baked for 40 min., sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top of the cake. Continue baking until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean, another 10 to 15 min. Cool in the pan on a wire rack until warm or room temperature. Cut into squares and serve.

Tags: Breakfast, brunch, cake, Christmas, Christmas baking, cranberries, cranberry, cranberry coffee cake, Dessert, holiday baking, holiday breakfast, holiday brunch, holidays

Bacon lovers will devour this delicious hash loaded with potatoes, mushrooms, onions and, of course, bacon! For hearty appetites, you’ll want to double the recipe.

Don’t skimp on the bacon here…buy a good quality, thick-sliced bacon. Also, to speed up the morining cooking process, prep the onions and mushrooms and cook the potatoes the night before; just refrigerate everything until you’re ready to start cooking in the morning. Enjoy!

P.S. this would make a fantastic camping breakfast! 

P.S.S. I’m linked to Foodie Friday.

Morning Eggs on Mushroom-Bacon Hash
-recipe from  Chicken and Egg: A Memoir of Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes by Janice Cole

If breakfast hash brings to mind memories of something unrecognizable out of a can, this recipe will redefine this quintessential American food for you. Fried eggs top a jumble of crisp bacon, fried potatoes, and mushrooms, creating the perfect breakfast for a crisp fall morning. You may want to start the potatoes the night before, for less prep time in the morning. Serves 4.

8 slices bacon ( about 6 ounces), coarsely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups cooked peeled russet potatoes cut into 1/2 inch dice (see Note)
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces cremini (baby bella) mushrooms, sliced (2 cups)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 eggs

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the bacon and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Stir in the onion and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the bacon is brown and crisp and the onion is lightly browned, reducing the heat to medium if the mixture is cooking too fast. Remove the bacon and onion with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Leave the bacon drippings in the skillet (there should be about 2 tablespoons).

Add the potatoes to the skillet and spread out in a single layer if possible. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook over medium to medium-high heat for 5 to 8 minutes, carefully stirring and turning the potatoes occasionally until lightly browned. Put the potatoes in a medium bowl, top with teh bacon and onion, and keep warm.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet and add the mushrooms. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes over medium-high heat, until the mushrooms are lightly browned and tender. Stir the mushrooms into the potato mixture.

While the mushrooms are cooking, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in another large nonstick skillet. Add the eggs and lightly season with salt and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon of pepper. Cover and cook over medium to medium-low heat for 3 minutes, or until the whites are set but the yolks are soft. To use the same skillet, put the potato and mushroom mixture in a shallow baking dish and keep warm in a 300°F oven. Serve the eggs over the hash.

Note: To cook potatoes, gently boil 1 pound of diced potatoes in a medium saucepan of salted water over medium heat until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain, cool under cold running water, and pat dry.

Tags: Breakfast, brunch, camping breakfast, Chicken & Egg by Janice Cole, Eggs, mushroom-bacon hash, potatoes

Here’s a simple recipe featuring my favorite summer fruit: peaches. The coffee cake is easy to make, delicious, moist and lightly spiced…and perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.

I added an 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg to the batter, and omitted the pecans. The cake is best served the day it’s made, but leftovers are still tasty the next day. Enjoy!

Fresh Peach Cake
-Recipe from Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips (Fabulous Recipes and Easy Tips) by Ina Garten

Level: Easy
Makes 8 servings

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch-square baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar for 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon.

Spread half of the batter evenly in the pan. Top with half of the peaches, then sprinkle with two-thirds of the sugar mixture. Spread the remaining batter on top, arrange the remaining peaches on top and sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture and the pecans.

Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tags: Barefoot Contessa, Breakfast, brunch, coffee cake, Ina Garten, peach cake, peaches

This recipe for Mother’s Crunchy French Toast is, without a doubt, the best French toast I’ve ever made. Period. I’ve also ordered it at the source, Mother’s Bistro in downtown Portland, and this recipe produces a restaurant-worthy breakfast dish! It’s easy, extremely delicious and would make a great start to the day for mom (or anyone else for that matter!). Because of how rich this dish is, it’s definitely a special occasion meal and not something you would make every morning.

I used a loaf of brioche that I got at Trader Joe’s (I couldn’t find challah) and cut it into thick slices. Both challah and brioche are eggy breads that are perfect for this recipe. If you can’t find challah or brioche, Hawaiian bread would be a good substitute. I tried a few slices of regular sliced white bread and it didn’t work nearly as well as the thick-sliced brioche (the texture and flavor were lacking). Whatever bread you choose, use thick slices.

After a quick dip in the rich, vanilla-scented custard and crushed corn flakes, the pieces of bread are ready to brown in butter in the skillet. What you end up with is French toast that is crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and lightly spiced with cinnamon. OH MY GOODNESS…IT’S AMAZING! We were licking our plates.

I ended up with leftover custard so I made extra pieces of French toast. Serve the french toast with real maple syrup and fresh berries. Enjoy!

Mother’s Crunchy French Toast
-recipe from Mother’s Best: Comfort Food That Takes You Home Again by Lisa Schroeder, Danielle Centoni 

If I had to pick our one signature breakfast dish, this would be it. French toast goes by the name pain perdu in France, which translates as “lost bread.” It’s a recipe created to save stale bread from being “lost” to the garbage by soaking it in eggs and milk to get it moist and tender again and then frying it up. Although you can certainly use whatever stale bread slices you have lingering in the fridge (except something strong-flavored like rye), fresh challah provides a wonderful richness. A roll in cornflakes adds a wonderful, addictive crunch. Serves 4.
 
4 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbs. granulated sugar
Pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 cups cornflakes
1 loaf egg (challah) bread, sliced into six 1-inch-thick slices
9 Tbs. (1 stick plus 1 Tbs.) unsalted butter (divided), preferably clarified
Confectioners’ sugar, for serving (optional)
Softened butter, for serving
Maple syrup, for serving

If your pan isn’t big enough to cook all the French toast at the same time, heat the oven to 200°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, half-and-half, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, and vanilla.

Place the cornflakes in another large bowl and crush with your hands until the pieces are small (but not like breadcrumbs) and somewhat uniform in size. Place a rimmed baking sheet nearby to hold the prepared bread.

Dip a slice of bread into the cream mixture, immersing both sides (saturate it, but do not let it fall apart).

Dip the slice into the cornflakes on both sides, pressing to adhere the flakes; set aside on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining slices.

Place a griddle or wide (preferably 14-inch) sauté pan over medium heat for several minutes. If using an electric griddle, set the heat to 350°F.

Sprinkle the griddle with a few drops of water; they should bounce around before evaporating. If they sizzle away quickly, the heat is too high. If they just sit there and slowly steam, the heat is too low. When the griddle is properly heated, add 1 Tbs. clarified butter for each piece of French toast and tilt to coat the pan.

Add the prepared bread in an even layer. Cook until golden on one side, about 4 minutes. Lift each piece with a spatula and put 1/2 Tbs. butter in its spot. Flip the toast onto the butter to cook the other side, about 4 minutes more. Repeat with the remaining slices of bread. Serve immediately or keep warm in the oven until all the French toast is cooked.

Cut each piece of bread in half diagonally to make triangles. Arrange 3 triangles like shingles on serving plates, sprinkle with confectioners’  sugar, if desired, and serve with softened butter and maple syrup.

Note: Challah (pronounced HALL-uh) is a slightly sweet, eggy Jewish bread that’s becoming increasingly common at gourmet grocery stores and bakeries. Many bakeries often carry it on Fridays, for the Jewish Sabbath. If you can’t find it, substitute any soft, sweet bread, such as brioche, Hawaiian bread, or thick slices of Texas toast.

Clarified butter is important for this recipe because it allows you to cook the French toast at a high enough heat to get a proper sizzle going, ensuring that the toasts stay crunchy. If the butter isn’t clarified, the milk solids will melt and impart moisture, which can impede crunchiness. And when the solids inevitably burn, they’ll give a burnt flavor to the food.

I’m linked to:
Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tasty Tuesdays at 33 Shades of Green

Tags: Breakfast, breakfast for mom, brioche, brunch, challah, Comfort Food, cornflakes, Lisa Schroeder, Mother's Best Cookbook by Lisa Schroeder, Mother's Bistro and Bar, Mother's Crunchy French Toast, Mother's Day breakfast, Mother's Restaurant

My mom has me hooked on the combination of scrambled eggs with green chilies! Sometimes I crave it, which is what led me to this recipe for Tortillas with Eggs. It’s a great breakfast or brunch dish and can easily be doubled or tripled to feed more people. You can also get creative and add other ingredients to the scramble: diced tomatoes, cooked chorizo, cheese, etc. Yumm!  

Tortillas with Eggs
-recipe from Bon Appétit Magazine

This dish is a twist on chilaquiles, a tortilla-based hash. It’s great served with salsa for breakfast. Serves 2.

1 tablespoon corn oil
3 5- to 6-inch tortillas, halved, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips
4 eggs, beaten to blend
1/4 cup canned diced green chilies
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

Heat oil in heavy medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add tortillas and stir until softened, about 1 minute. Add eggs, chilies, and cilantro. Stir until eggs are softly set, about 3 minutes. Season with hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper.

I’m linked to:
Foodie Friday
It’s a Hodgepodge Friday
I’m Lovin’ It

Tags: Breakfast, brunch, cilantro, corn tortillas, diced green chilies, Eggs, hash, scramble

Who said real men don’t eat quiche? Husband can inhale 2 manly-sized pieces of this delicious Bacon and Green Chili Quiche in one sitting. The combination of bacon, green chiles and cheese is a definite winner! It’s also great for brunch or lunch entertaining because it can be made ahead and cooled (completely), then wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated. To serve, simply remove the plastic wrap and reheat the quiche in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes or until it’s heated through. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I followed the recipe except for substituting  pepperjack cheese for regular jack cheese. I forgot to drain the green chiles so the custard wasn’t quite as firm as I would’ve liked but it was still very, very tasty. Next time, I’ll try using only 1 cup of half & half to see if that makes for a firmer quiche, too (if reducing liquid, reduce the salt). After baking, let the quiche rest for 20 minutes or so (5 minutes wasn’t quite long enough).  Enjoy!

I’m linking this recipe to these blog parties: Finer Things Friday, Foodie Friday

Bacon and Green Chile Quiche
-recipe from Bon Appétit Magazine

1 refrigerated pie crust (half of 15-ounce package), room temperature

8 strips bacon
1 4-ounce can diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, chopped
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (about 4 ounces)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
1 1/4 cups half and half
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425°F. Unfold crust. Using wet fingertips, press together any tears. Press crust into 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Press foil over crust to hold shape. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven; remove foil. Reduce temperature to 400°F.

Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until brown and crisp. Transfer to paper towels and drain. Crumble bacon. Sprinkle bacon, then chilies and green onion over crust. Combine Monterey Jack cheese and cheddar cheese and sprinkle over. Beat half and half, eggs and salt in medium bowl to blend. Pour half and half mixture into crust.

Bake quiche until knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let quiche stand 5 minutes. Cut quiche into wedges and serve.

Tags: bacon, brunch, cheddar cheese, Eggs, green chiles, jack cheese, pie crust, quiche

I love pancakes and am always looking for new and interesting ways to make them. I ran across this recipe for Eggnog Pancakes recently and knew I had to try them. Boy, am I glad I did! They are perfect for breakfast during the Christmas season.

The pancakes have a light eggnog flavor and are a cinch to whip up. The pancake batter is very thick so add more eggnog if you need to. I also added a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil to the batter to make them easier to flip in the nonstick pan I was using. I served them with real maple syrup (my favorite)…yumm!

Eggnog Pancakes
-recipe from Taste of Home Magazine

4 Servings.

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups eggnog
2 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg if desired. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, eggnog and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until second side is golden brown. Makes 1 dozen pancakes.

Tags: brunch, Christmas, eggnog, holidays, morning, pancakes