Cheesy Biscuits

These cheesy biscuits are Asa's favorite. They come together super fast with just one bowl.  It's a perfect biscuit for everyday or special occasions (like Christmas brunch).

Cheesy Biscuits

recipe from King Arthur

makes 9

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups less 2 tablespoons OR  (tare your scale, then add baking powder and salt then flour to make 227g total) All Purpose Flour

113g or more cheddar cheese, freshly grated

1 cup (227g) heavy cream or a bit less milk

Preheat your oven to 425°F with a rack in the upper third.

Mix together baking powder, salt, and flour. Add in grated cheddar. 

Add the cream/milk, and mix until dough sticks together. Using your hands or spoons, make golf ball sized biscuits and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment or silpat, gently smushing them, and leaving a few inches of space in between each.

Bake the cheddar biscuits for 12-15 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and serve immediately.

Bagels (Pop Pop's recipe)

My Dad loved to bake breads, bagels, and biscotti (he died in December of 2020 from a brain tumor).  Thankfully, we have his recipes.  Delilah has been making bagels for us with this recipe and they are just amazing.  It's a very similar process to pretzel making.  Give it a try!  My cousin makes these with his kids in honor of my Dad and they call them "Jaygels" as my Dad's name is Jay.  It's pretty awesome to hear how many people loved my dad and how many are staying connected through baking his recipes.  I will definitely share more recipes soon.

Bagels

makes 10-12 medium sized bagels for a single recipe OR 14-16 medium sized bagels for a recipe and a half

(ingredients for a recipe and a half are in parentheses)

DOUGH

1/3 cup (1/2 cup) Pumpernickel, Rye, or Whole Wheat Flour

3 3/4 cups (5 1/2 cups) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

1 1/4 cups (generous 1 3/4 cups) warm water

2 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) salt

1 tablespoon (1 1/2 tablespoon) non-diastatic malt powder

1 tablespoon (1 1/2 tablespoon) instant yeast

WATER BATH

2 quarts/8 cups (12 cups) water

2 tablespoons (3 tablespoons) non-diastatic malt powder or brown sugar

1 tablespoon (1 1/2 Tablespoon) granulated sugar

TOPPINGS, optional

everything bagel seasoning

kosher salt

dried onions

dried garlic

poppy seeds

sesame seeds

Combine the dough ingredients in a stand mixer on medium-low speed for 10 minutes. The dough will be quite stiff.

Remove the dough from the bowl with one hand and grease the bowl with the other.  Place the dough back in the bowl.  Let it rise, covered, 60 to 90 minutes.

Divide the dough into pieces (10-12 for a single batch, 14-16 for a batch and a half). Roll one piece at a time into a smooth ball. Let the balls rest, covered, for 30 minutes; they'll puff slightly.

Bring the water, malt powder, and sugar to a very gentle boil in a wide-rimmed pot. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Cut or poke a hole through the center of each ball. Stretch the hole with your fingers until it's 2" in diameter. Place the bagels on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Transfer bagels, four at a time, to the simmering water. Cook for 2 minutes on one side, flip over gently, and cook for another minute.

Remove the bagels from the water and return to the baking sheet, immediately sprinkling optional toppings on one side and flipping to repeat on the other. Repeat with the remaining bagels.

Bake the bagels for 20-25 minutes, until they're set and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of one registers at least 190°F.

Remove the bagels from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Bagels are best eaten the day they are made but they are ok the next day.  If you know that you wont eat them fast enough then slice and freeze them.  They toast up perfectly directly out of the freezer.

My best brunch

I love brunch and I feel quite confident about my ability to pull together an amazing brunch that doesnt feel like I have been in the kitchen forever.  After an especially wonderful Mother's Day brunch this year, my mom suggested I share our menu.  So, here we are.  I'll start first with some basics.  You can skip to the bottom to find our menu from this year.

How to brunch

I like to think about brunch in terms of different categories:

carb
fruit
bacon
egg
green veggie
potato
dessert
drinks

You can combine categories, like making a quiche with spinach or a fruity dessert but I really think it works best to have one of each category for variety and for your brunch to feel extra special.  That said, pick a showstopper or two and keep the rest fairly simple.  Let's break them down a bit.

carb: this really wants to be bagels with cream cheese, lox, capers, red onion, but you could have biscuits or even pancakes.  The carb component is one that you can ask someone to bring or you can purchase it so you can focus on the rest.  You can plate this up in the morning, working with little chunks of time in between other tasks.

fruit: I love fruit salad.  Work with the best fruit you can find.  You can prep it in the morning, working with little chunks of time in between other tasks.  Save the banana and apples for last.  For a sweet touch, buy plain yogurt and strain it overnight for an extra thick greek style yogurt.  Mix it with a few slices of candied ginger.  Serve the fruit salad with a dollop of ginger yogurt (it's almost like whipped cream!).

bacon: I guess you could have sausage but if you're like us, we rarely ever have bacon so it has to be bacon.  Bake it in the oven for a super easy dish.  This is probably the dish that needs to go in the oven first in the morning.

egg: There are almost too many egg options.  A quiche is awesome since you can make it the day before (and make the quiche crust even a few days ahead).  We also have loved shakshuka but that is a hands on dish made best on the morning of (and you're going to want to limit those).

green veggie: asparagus is perfect and cooks quick and easy.  A spinach salad is also great and comes together super fast.

potato: This is a favorite category and another one with so many options, ranging from complex (twice baked potatoes with an egg cracked into each one) to simple home fries.

dessert: pick one that can be made ahead, 2 days ahead is best plus if you're choosing a fruit filled something (and you should) then it tastes even better if it sits for a day or two.

drinks: find a way to make it special.  This year for Mother's Day, I really wanted to infuse the orange juice for mimosas with thyme but my herb garden is a bit delayed so I made a rhubarb syrup instead.  You could also make a special coffee drink.

Here is my menu from Mother's Day 2020
(I woke up at 8:30 and had this brunch ready for 10)

Homemade bagels with cream cheese, lox, and capers
Fruit salad with ginger yogurt
Bacon
French Onion Tart (from Smitten)
Mushroom Crepe Cake (from Smitten)
Home Fries
Spinach and Orange Salad
Rhubarb Cake
Mimosas with OJ and Rhubarb syrup

Banana Bread, "free" style

This banana bread is dairy free, grain free, gluten free, sugar free... and delicious!  It's simple and amazing, plus it's quick!  It's really best made in a large loaf pan (I tried to make it into donuts but it's really too tender).

Banana Bread
makes one loaf

2 eggs
4 very ripe bananas (frozen work great!)
1 just ripe banana
1/4 cup date puree (or honey, if you're ok with honey)
splash of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 cups almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
a few shakes of cinnamon
1/2 cup walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan.

Put the 4 very ripe bananas in the microwave, covered in saran wrap (poke a few steam vent holes).  Microwave for 3-5 minutes till the juices are released.  Strain, reserving the juice.  Let cool the bananas cool a bit.  Reduce the banana juice by half (either in the microwave, it bubbles up, or on the stovetop).

Beat eggs in stand mixer with whisk attachment on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes, until thick and pale yellow. Reduce speed, add cooled bananas and mix until combined. Pour in date puree, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix until combined.  Add in slightly cooled banana juice and mix.

Add in dry ingredients.  Mix until combined then add in walnuts, if using.  Spoon batter into loaf pan and spread evenly.

Slice remaining banana, the just ripe one, into thin slices.  Lay them in 2 stripes on either side of the loaf pan, shingling them, so they overlap.  You want to leave the middle section uncovered so the loaf can expand a bit).

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.  Cool on wire rack.

Best served warm.

Apple Cake aka the one and only dish to make with apples in the Fall

This is the ONE, the only, THE dish to make with fresh Fall apples.  I think it might even work well with rhubarb.  It's so simple to make.  Try it!  The original is from Smitten Kitchen, check it out here.  It would be great for brunch.  It’s completely perfect in every way. Happy Fall!


Apple Cake
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
(this is a half recipe)

For the apples
3 apples, a mix of macs and cortlands is best
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
33g or 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

For the cake
180g or 1 1/2 cups flour MINUS a tablespoon (I use a mix of wheat and white)
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
shake of salt
117g or 1/2 cup  oil (coconut is our favorite here but butter or almost any oil works)
200g or 1 cups granulated sugar
1/8 cup buttermilk, goat milk, lemonade, or orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a square pan well (we use a 9 inch silicone pan to ensure it doesnt stick).  If you are making a full recipe, this is a half recipe, then use a tube pan, well greased.  Chop apples into 1-inch chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, liquid, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Add in flour, baking powder and salt.

Pour half of batter into prepared pan (it isnt much). Spread half of apples (and their juices) over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean (if you are making a full recipe, then it will likely need 60 minutes).

Cool completely before cutting and serving.  Keep any leftovers (ha!) at room temp.

Whey Good Waffles (or pancakes)

Waffles are great with whey.  This is a double batch, perfect for having leftovers for the freezer.  The recipe is from King Arthur Flour, find it here.  I made the usual changes, subbing in some whole wheat flour and some butter for the oil.

Whey Waffles (or pancakes)
makes approx 10 large waffles

4 cups flour (we like a 50-50 mix of white and whole wheat
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoon baking soda
a few shakes of salt
a little vanilla
4 cups whey
4 large eggs
5 tablespoons melted butter and/or oil

Melt the butter, then add in whey, eggs, and butter/oil.  Add in dry ingredients and mix (dont overmix).

Follow directions for your waffle iron OR make pancakes.  Keep warm in oven till ready to serve.

We serve ours with a buffet of yogurt, walnuts, chopped fruit, cinnamon, and of course, maple syrup.

Lemon Cake by the Authors Daughter

Hi! It's Delilah again! For my birthday I wanted lemon tea bread. Today when I got home from school we made it. I love lemon anything. Lemon cake, lemon bread, lemon blueberry muffins, you name it! So, I knew I wanted something lemon for my birthday. Finally, I decided that I wanted lemon tea bread. We didn't do a great job of following the directions, but it tastes great, smells great and looks great. YUM!

Whey Good Birthday Lemon Cake

It's Delilah's 10th birthday tomorrow so we made lemon cake.  Ina Garten has recipes that never fail, but that's only if you actually follow them.  We halved the recipe since one loaf of lemon cake is enough, but cooking with kids and halving recipes arent always a great mix.  The lemon juice, baking powder and soda were not halved.  Instead of buttermilk, I used too much lemon greek yogurt mixed with some lemon whey.  I like to bake just one cupcake when I make a cake, so we can taste it and make sure the cake is worthy.  I was sure that this cake was going to be served to the chickens, but surprise!  The little cupcake was amazing.  It's moist and fun and with the lemon syrup and glaze, it is just perfect.

Update: we made this again for Delilah's 12th birthday.  I forgot the glaze and it was tart and sweet and delicious.  I recommend it this way if you're not a fan of super sweet desserts.

Check out Ina's recipe here or below.

Lemon Cake
(this is a half recipe, it makes 1 loaf)

1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 extra-large eggs
grated lemon zest from 1-4 lemons (the more the better)
1 1/2 cups flour (mix of whole wheat and white)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of kosher salt
1/8 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup yogurt
1/3 cup buttermilk, milk or whey
splash of vanilla extract

For the Lemon Syrup:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

For the glaze:
1 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Then, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, mix briefly. Then add lemon juice, yogurt, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Pour the batter into the pan, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

For the lemon syrup: 
Combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar with 1/4 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cake is done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and set on a rack set over a tray or sheet pan; spoon the lemon syrup over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely.

For the glaze:
Combine the confectioners' sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a whisk until smooth. Pour over the top of the cake and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.