apple cinnamon biscuits

Wake up to these babies. They are light, fluffy and perfect - and chock full of apples and spice. They taste like autumn, especially when eaten with an apple-cranberry-rosemary sauce. Or apple butter. Or smeared with cherry jam. Even plain, these biscuits are the bomb. Get the hot little recipe over at Poppytalk.

pumpkin apple crumb cake

I had mentioned that this Thanksgiving I took it easy in the kitchen. There was no time to fuss about with turkeys, sides or complicated dishes. I took the simple route and made only two things: the sweet potato, corn & jalapeño bisque and this crumb cake. It worked out perfectly because both the soup and this cake tasted deeply like autumn. And they were so easy to prepare that I could enjoy time with my guests and let the evening roll out easily. Simple pleasures, indeed.

Made with lightly sauteed apples and bursting with cinnamon and spice, this cake is kept moist with the addition of pumpkin puree. The original recipe calls for 4 cups of apples and a 9 inch round pan. I made this in an 8 inch cake pan and was able to only add in half the amount of apples. Worried that my cake would spill over, I took the extra precaution of putting a baking sheet underneath, but everything worked out perfectly. No spills! The batter rose up high in the oven and fell quickly when I took out the cake to cool. It was dense and delicious and perfectly unfussy....and I'm sure if you were short on time & didn't want to saute the apples, you'd still find yourself with a cake to be thankful for.

pumpkin apple crumb cake
(adapted from Bon Appetit)
2 large apples, diced (about 2 cups worth)
2 T demera sugar
1 T salted butter
1 t cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 c brown sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t cardamom
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t allspice
1/2 t salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3/4 c canned pure pumpkin
1/3 c plain yogurt
2 T sugar
1 t baking soda
2 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350F and butter up an 8 or 9 inch cake pan. Set aside. In a large skillet, heat butter and stir apples, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Saute lightly for a few minutes until fragrant and the mixture starts to caramelize. Remove from heat.

2. Mix together the flour, salt, brown sugar, and spices. Cut in butter and use your hands to break up the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 2/3 of a cup to use as crumble topping.

3. In another bowl, combine pumpkin, yogurt, sugar, baking soda and eggs. Stir in the flour mixture and beat until smooth. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Spread diced apples over top and then sprinkle with reserved crumb topping. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until cake is golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack and serve with generous dollops of floppy maple whipped cream.

red hot! cinnamon heart quick pickles

I've always been a fan of Valentine's Day. I don't care that it's some made up holiday geared to sell cards, roses and chocolates. I'm a fan of hearts, sprinkles, cupcakes, the colour pink....and I especially can't wait until those tiny cinnamon hearts to appear in corner drug stores. If crack was a candy, those tiny red spicy hearts would be it. But besides snacking on them by the handful, I wanted to find out what else I could do with these holiday candies. And I stumbled upon pickles. The unfortunate thing is all the recipes I found required actual pickling and canning and a whole lot of waiting around. I wanted instant results, so I decided to come up with my own brand of quick pickles.

I know, I know, for most of you, mixing up candy and condiments probably won't float yer boat. But for those of you who love their sweet with sour, this is the shizznit. It's sweet, it's spicy and the pickle packs a whole lot of zing. And I certainly wouldn't hold it against you if you drank the leftover red brine out of the jar in a moment of midnight weakness. Nope, not at all.

The recipe is pretty flexible when it comes to measurements....just make sure you have enough liquid to cover up your pickles and you'll do fine. I think next time I make these I'll increase the candy portion for an even sweeter bite.

red hot cinnamon heart quick pickles
4-5 large dill pickles, cut into thin rounds
1/2 c cinnamon red hots (cinnamon heart candy)
1/2 c dill pickle brine
1/4 c water

Add cut up pickles into a small jar. In a small pot, heat up the red hots, pickle brine and water together over medium-high heat until the candy melts, stirring often. Pour liquid into jar, covering pickles. Wait a while and eat. Lasts for a few weeks or just an hour or so. How many pickles can you eat in one sitting?

fill'er up: cinnamon oatmeal waffles

I can't believe it's been over a year since I've posted a waffle recipe. Believe me, this is the perfect waffle recipe after a long waffle-absence because it will only take one to fill you up. Really. This waffle is hearty. I spied the recipe on the very lovely Shutterbean's site (who originally found the recipe in Sunset magazine) and knew that this would be the waffle recipe to get me back on the waffle train. Enjoy!

The Bloggies!! As I mentioned on my previous post, I've been nominated for a 2009 Bloggie Award as Best Canadian Weblog! I'm thrilled, flattered and oh so excited!! You can vote for me along with a fine group of other bloggers at 2009.Bloggies.com until Monday, February 2nd.

cinnamon oatmeal waffles
(adapted from Shutterbean)
1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
1/4 t salt
1 T baking powder
2 c rolled oats
3 T flaxmeal
2 T ground cinnamon
1 T brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 c yogurt
3/4 c skim milk
1/4 c butter, melted
1 T vegetable oil (for waffle iron)

1. Preheat the waffle iron to medium-high. In a large bowl, mix together the first seven ingredients (flour to sugar). In a small bowl, combine the eggs, yogurt and milk and whisk to combine. Add in the melted butter. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix gently.

2. Using a pastry brush, coat the griddle with oil. Pour 3/4 c or so of the batter into the middle of the waffle iron. Bake until golden brown and serve with maple syrup and thick yogurt.

winter warmth: hot spiced tea

It's finally starting to feel like winter here which is rather lovely. All we need is snow and I'll be running about throwing snowballs with glee. Snow is pretty rare here and the fact that forecasters are predicting the white stuff has me all excited and is definitely helping things feel more like the holidays.

The other night we put up our tree and listened to a few of our favorite Christmas records on the hi-fi. To help us get a little more festive, I decided to make a nice hot chai to warm us up and get us in the holiday spirit. Since it was well into the evening and the lighting in our apartment is in a sorry state, I couldn't get a good photo, so a quick drawing will have to do. Pretend it's scratch n' sniff.

I made a very similar tea a couple ago but consider this a tweaked version (although both versions are rad). Instead of using honey, I used piloncillo, which is a Mexican unrefined brown sugar made from sugar cane and shaped into a cone. This is a lovely spicy warm drink that tastes as cozy and sweet as we all should be. Let the holidays begin!

Want other holiday beverages? Try these winter warmers from my archives.
Chai Tea
Hot Buttered Rum
Vegan Peppermint Hot Chocolate

hot spiced tea
3 c water
1 3" piece of ginger, cut into large discs
4 black tea bags
2 cinnamon sticks
10 whole cloves
5 green cardamom pods, slightly crushed
1/2 t black peppercorns
2 c milk
2-3" chunk of piloncillo, chopped (or a 2 T honey)

In a large covered saucepan, bring the water and ginger to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add in tea bags, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, cardamom pods, and milk and continue to simmer on low heat for 20 minutes until fragrant and dark. Taste. If not strong enough for your liking, let simmer longer. Strain to remove solids and whisk in piloncillo or honey and return to heat so that the sugar melts into the tea. Divide into mugs and serve hot.

build me up, buttercup: the best french toast ever

It's been one of those crazy weeks. Work has pretty much swallowed me up whole and there's not much left of me for anything else. Not that I'm complaining because the work I'm doing is fun and exciting and I'm using all my skills and honing them into lean, mean machines. Which brings me to this post. French toast. I've been making it for years. As a kid, I would help my mom make it and when I got a little older, I took over the task. It's simple breakfast that almost seems too simple (which is probably why I've never posted a recipe for it here on this blog). I didn't think I had anything to learn about french toast.

I was wrong.


This Saturday morning french toast was on the agenda*, but I decided to go about things a bit differently. First off, I had some really, really wonderful day-old sourdough bread that I purchased from a little shop 3 blocks away. A sliced it up thick but instead of doing the same ol' dip and dunk into the egg mixture, I decided that this thick bread really deserved a good soaking. Once it had it's luxurious egg bath, I fried it up as usual, but decided to take extra care that it was cooked through by plopping the whole shebang onto a cookie tray and into the oven for a bit of solid heating. Little did I know that baking had the effect of puffing up the toast into wondrous bites of deliciousness hereby unknown to me! How could french toast — which has long been a breakfast staple, suddenly blossom into this sophisticated dish? Whatever happened, I can now call this the best french toast I have ever had the pleasure of eating. It's sweet and fragrant with cinnamon and vanilla and the smells coming from your oven will rouse the most sleepiest head. Divine!


thick cinnamon french toast (aka the best french toast ever)
1 small day-old sourdough loaf , sliced 1" thick
5 eggs
2 c skim milk
1 T vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1/4 c brown sugar
unsalted butter

Place sliced bread in a large baking tray. In a large bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients (not the butter!) until foamy. Gently pour egg mixture over the bread and let sit for 15 minutes. Turn bread over and let sit for another 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet, melt 2 T of butter. Working in batches, add bread to skillet and cook until golden on both sides — about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to baking sheet and bake until french toast is slightly puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Serve with maple syrup or fresh berries.

* Uh, I don't have a breakfast agenda...but wouldn't it be wonderful if I did? Mmmmm.

happy easter: hot cross buns with cinnamon icing

I grew up eating hot cross buns at Easter. My mom would come back from the grocery store with a bag filled with a double layer of 8 hot crossed buns. We'd heat them up in the oven for a few minutes and then eat the warm buns for breakfast. The only thing I hated about the buns was that they were always studded with candied fruit, which I'd pick out and leave on my plate in a little heinous pile. Candied fruits are the roots of all evil and I had no idea why someone would sully a perfectly good treat with those little bites of raunch.


I haven't had a hot cross bun in years and while strumming through an old Betty Crocker kid's cookbook that I had thrifted ages ago, I came across a perfect recipe. Why was it so perfect? Well, truth is, I'm intimidated by baking with yeast. I don't know why, but somehow I associate baking bread with serious devotion....an undertaking I didn't feel quite ready to tackle. Until now. I mean, this recipe is meant to be made by children, so really, how hard can it be? I felt perfectly at home trying this recipe instead of one I had been eying for years which seemed too complex and frightening for a newbie like me.

For a greenhorn, I chose right. It may not be as authentic as Delia's, but my hot cross buns were delicious (my husband called them delectable) and I was able to get over my fear of baking with yeast in one fell swoop. They were light and crispy on the outsides just out of the oven and the icing I doctored with vanilla and cinnamon was the perfect accompaniment. Plus, the best part was that I subbed out those nasty candied fruits with fresh orange zest to wonderful effect! The fruity orange essence was present without those god-awful bitter vile beasties. Oh yah, let my bread baking adventures begin! It's on, bitches.


hot cross buns with cinnamon icing
1 c warm water (not too hot)
1 pkg. active dry yeast
2 T sugar
2 1/4 c flour
1 t salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon
2 pinches nutmeg
1 egg
2 T butter, softened
1/2 c raisins
zest from 1 orange

icing:
2 heaping T icing sugar (powdered sugar)
a drop or two of milk
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t cinnamon

1. In a mixing bowl, disolve yeast into water and stir in sugar. Wait until the yeast doubles in volume (this is called proofing the yeast - if it doesn't, you've got bum yeast. Try again with another packet). Stir in half of the flour, salt and spices. Add in egg and butter and mix well. Add in rest of the flour along with the raisins and zest and beat until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover the bowl with a cloth, letting rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

2. Oil up a large muffin tin and set aside. Stir down the batter and spoon dough into prepared muffin cups filling half full. Cover tin with cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, another 30 minutes. Heat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 15 minutes or so until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

3. Prepare frosting by mixing together icing sugar with a few drops of milk and vanilla. Stir in cinnamon, adding another droplet of milk if necessary to get a smooth, creamy consistency. When buns have cooled, use a spoon to drizzle icing over the buns forming a cross. Place on a plate to catch any drippings.

breakfast can be this good.

I love weekend mornings. They can be leisurely and relaxing and everything just seems better with a second cup of strong coffee. A short stack of pancakes also keeps that smile on your face just a bit longer too. A fluffy & almost ethereal short stack of spicy chocolate pancakes? Well, I think you've got the makings for a perfect day!

Don't worry, these aren't sweet pancakes, so feel free to add liberal amounts of maple syrup to your pancakes! A touch of sweetened whipped cream certainly wouldn't be out of line, either.

cinnamon chocolate pancakes
1 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 T sugar
1/4 t salt
3 T cocoa
1 t cinnamon
1/2 c milk
1/2 c vanilla yogurt
1 egg
1 T melted butter

1. In a large batter bowl, mix together the first six ingredients until well incorporated.

2. In a large measuring cup, mix together the last 4 ingredients. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and lightly mix together with a fork. The batter should still be a bit lumpy and you don't want to over mix.

3. Cook on a hot, lightly oiled griddle, using about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until bubbles begin to form and the pancake is slightly brown on one side and around the edges; flip.

Makes about 4 fluffy pancakes. Serve with maple syrup.

the sweetest sunday

Last weekend, we went on a short bike ride and stopped for breakfast at the midway point. I took the unconventional route and ordered a burger, but Cornelius loves tradition and ordered the HUGE breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, fruit salad, home fries and the best fluffy, apple-cinnamon pancakes. He couldn't stop raving about them and so I had a bite and was instantly won-over. They had such a great apple-cinnamon flavour that it became doubtful whether I could recreate them at home. This weekend, however, I was up for the challenge. The end result was delicious! The apple cinnamon flavour was pronounced and the apples still retained a softly-crisp texture. No mushy apples here!

I've always stuck to my mom's pancake recipe and though they are delicious, they just aren't fluffy. Next time, I'll have to do a bit of digging around...maybe adding baking powder to the mix? Any tips for fluffy pancakes would be appreciated!

apple-cinnamon pancakes
1 c ap flour
1 c whole wheat flour
pinch of salt
3 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 c milk
1 small apple, finely diced
1 T white sugar
1 T cinnamon
3 T walnuts, chopped

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour & the salt. Wisk in the eggs and half of the milk until smooth. Gradually add the rest of the milk, whisking away until you have the consistency of cream.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the apples, walnuts, sugar and cinnamon. Add this mixture to the pancake batter and let stand for 20 minutes.

3. Lightly oil a frying pan and put pan over medium heat. Ladle out the batter, making sure to get a nice apple/batter ratio and cook until the edges appear dry. Flip and cook the remaining side for about 30 seconds or until golden. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve with pure maple syrup.