Brownie Batter Pancakes for One

I am seriously doing a 903 things at once right now.

That may not sound like a lot to you but I’m not too used to multi-tasking and handling a bunch of stuff all at once. I like to give each task my undivided attention. Multi-tasking usually freaks me out.

But today I am trying to find the perfect birthday treat for one of my great friends, make my gma some candied pecans, clean the kitchen, figure out something quick to have for breakfast, look around on Facebook (cus it’s super important, duh!), write this post while uploading pics to my Flickr. See? 903 things! I don’t exaggerate here, I don’t need the drama. And I have to do all that by 11am. It’s 9:18am now. Oh gosh, my life is overrrr!!!

Ahem.

Good thing that I have the best recipe EVER for THE MOST AMAZING QUICK FIX PANCAKES THAT WON’T KILL MY WAISTLINE!! Yes, I’m yelling at you. I want you to understand the sheer awesomeness of these pancakes. These come together super quick, they are chocolatey delicious, a perfect breakfast (or dinner, or dessert) for one, and the best part about these is that you get about 8 silver-dollar sized chocolate pancakes all for yourself and it won’t kill your diet!!! How can anyone NOT get excited about that?! Now, go chow down on some pancakes!!

Brownie Batter Pancakes
Yields about 6-8 silver dollar pancakes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (30g) *
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
1 Tablespoon of Splenda Granulated sugar (or 1 Tablespoon of sugar)
pinch of salt (optional)
1 1/2 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce (I used this)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 1/2 Tablespoon nondairy milk**

*There are several options for flour choice, choose what works for you: spelt flour, whole wheat flour, white whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, or even a gluten free AP flour.

**Same goes for the milk, feel free to use what you have: soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, coconut milk (oh, YUM) or plain ole dairy milk, I don’t judge 😉

Instructions:

If you have a pan that can handle the heat (such as a cast iron skillet) set a non-stick pan or skillet over medium-low heat. (I do this before anything else so that once the mix is done, the skillet is preheated and ready to go. I’m impatient, clearly.)

In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together very well.

In a small measuring cup, stir together all the wet ingredients.

Add the wet to the dry and mix until the dry ingredients JUST disappear. You don’t want gummy pancakes.

If you haven’t already, preheat your skillet on medium-low heat and let it get nice and hot (flick some water on the surface of the pan, if it sizzles it’s ready to go!) Pour a very small amount (about 2 Tablespoons, one cookie scoop) worth of batter onto the center of your skillet and let it cook until bubbles start to form and the edges are set. Flip them, taking care not to break the pancakes (they are fragile) and cook them for 30 seconds – 1 minute longer.

Stack, throw on every topping you can think of (not really. Try: powdered sugar, caramel, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, sliced berries, nuts, dried fruit, your favorite yogurt and granola, or maple syrup) and dig in!!

adapted from Skinny Taste

Servings: 1 • Serving size: 6-8 silver-dollar pancakes (one recipe without toppings) • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 172 • Fat: 2.4 g • Carb: 32 g • Fiber: 6.7 g • Protein: 5.3 g • Sugar: 4.7
Sodium: 241.7 (without salt)

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Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

I hate doing the same things over and over again.

Repeating myself because you didn’t listen to me the first time I said that awesome thing I said. Getting up after just having sat down because I forgot my water on the counter. Painting my nails AGAIN because I always seem to paint them when I am the most antsy I could ever possibly be. Laundry. Hearing the same commercial on three different radio stations, play some tunes man!

But, there are exceptions.

Playing my song obsession of the moment twice in a row. Or three times, who’s counting? Finding an adorable outfit and wearing it twice in the same week. Rewinding a part in a movie that made you laugh so hard you almost peed just so you can almost pee again! Playing that level of Angry Birds until you get all three stars.

And most importantly, making a recipe that you just LOVE over and over again. And in my kitchen, that’s a pretty big deal. Recipes rarely get a repeat performance. So many recipes, so little time.

But once in a while I make something delicious that I can’t stop thinking about. Like these bars.

Soft and chewy oatmeal bars with a great hit of banana flavor, speckled with chocolate chips, baked and served warm. Don’t let the oatmeal fool you, these are breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, if you ask me! Customize them to your liking: add peanut butter cups/chips, toss in some nuts, top with ice cream, whatever you like!

Make these and eat them. Then make them again. Then eat them again. Again. What a lovely vicious cycle.

Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Yield about 12-16 servings

Ingredients:

1 very ripe banana (mine was 115 g)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup all purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8″ glass baking dish with foil and lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, mash the banana with a fork and then add the oil and brown sugar. With a whisk, mix well until there are no sugar lumps left.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and oats until combined. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients with a rubber spatula until combined. Fold in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

Pat batter down evenly into the prepared pan with the rubber spatula. Bake for 25 minutes, or until edges are golden and the center looks set. Let cool before cutting into squares. Or throw caution to the wind and eat them warm straight from the pan. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Eat, Live Run

Honey Nut Scones – TWD

Happy Belated Halloween!!

Did you dress up? Did you throw a nifty party that only cool people could go to? Did you steal your kids’ candy? Did you buy a giant bag of different chocolates (because you know that’s what the kids REALLY want)? Did you turn off your porch light early so you could keep the rest of the chocolate for yourself? Are you most likely going to eat candy for breakfast?

If so, we could be great friends.

But just in case you frown upon chocolate bars for breakfast, I made you scones. It has good for you things in it like whole wheat flour, nuts and honey. Have one of these babies warm out of the oven with a glass of milk (for calcium) or orange juice (for vitamin C) or tea (cus it’s warm and yummy and what goes better with warm scones than tea??)

And don’t forget to drench your scone in more honey. If your immediate thought after reading that was something along the lines of “Duh, Jeannette… way ahead of you,” then we could be besties. For serious.

Scones are notorious for being fussy. You can’t overwork the dough or you’re guaranteed tough scones, and the dough is very easily overworked. The best advice that I have ever read regarding making scones (aside from work quickly) is this “Use your hands.” You hands are your best tool here: they are softer and gentler than any rubber spatula or wooden spoon could be; which means they will be gentler on your scone dough and agitate the dough less resulting in fluffy scones. Just be sure to have a napkin handy to turn on the faucet to wash your hands. Unless you think random bits of dough hanging out on your faucet handle-thingies (omg, what the heck are they called?!) is a decorative statement… in which case, I’d have to give you the look -_-

The only change I made to the original recipe was to use pecans instead of walnuts and I made 8 medium scones instead of 12 small-ish scones. That was a direct result of my laziness in not wanting to divide the scone dough so I just patted it into a larger circle and baked for about 2 minutes more. Next time I’ll brush with some cream and sprinkle some raw sugar on it for extra texture. There are a lot of good scone making tips here. Ya learn something new everyday 🙂

Honey-Nut Scones
from Baking: from My Home to Yours

Ingredients:

1 large egg
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup cold whole milk (I used 2%)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Stir the egg, honey and milk together.

Whisk the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Drop in butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (my favorite method) or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You’ll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between — and that’s just right.

Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir with a fork (or by hand) just until the dough, which will be wet and sticky, comes together. Don’t overdo it. Stir in chopped walnuts.

Still in the bowl, gently knead the dough by hand, or turn it with a rubber spatula 8 to 10 times. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it in half. Working with one piece at a time, pat the dough into a rough circle that’s about 5 inches in diameter, cut it into 6 wedges and place on the baking sheet. (At this point, the scones can be frozen on the baking sheet, the wrapped airtight. Don’t defrost before baking — just add about 2 minutes to the baking time.)

Bake the scones for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are deeply golden and firmish to the touch. Transfer them to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before serving, or wait for the scones to cool to room temperature. Enjoy : )

Head on over to the LYL page to see everyone that baked scones and Far Brenton with us this week. You can find the recipe for Far Brenton (which I sadly didn’t get a chance to make) on Nicole’s blog, Cookies on Friday.

Tuesdays with Dorie is sadly coming to an end. I joined a bit late in the game but I have learned so many things and made so many great friends through this experience. I’d like to thank you all for making this something to remember.

Banana Bread Pancakes

When I was in high school, I was not your typical sleeps-til-noon teenager. Nope, not me. I spent every weekday morning getting out of bed at 5am to be able to get up, shower, beautify, collect my things and be out the door on time to catch the bus. So when the weekend came, sleeping in meant 8am.

Now, being an adult, I seem to have found my love for sleep. I usually wake up no earlier than 10am on my days off (unless certain circumstances arise) and sometimes I can even sleep until noon, depending on how late I stayed up baking the night before.

This newly found adoration for my comfy bed and warm blankie sadly interferes with the other love of my life: pancakes for breakfast.

After staring at the clock in disbelief (and other various distractions), I’m usually ready to decide what to make for breakfast around noon. Then I get distracted some more and I either end up skipping breakfast all together or having pancakes at 1:30pm.

It’s National Pancake Day, don’t be like me: start your day off right, enjoy your pancakes for breakfast 🙂

These pancakes taste like you whipped up banana bread dough and accidentally spilled it in your skillet. It tastes exactly like banana bread; but with the whole wheat flour, small amounts of sugar and butter, you can feel good about piling 4 onto your plate. They are fluffy, thick and full of delicious flavor.

Banana Bread Pancakes
adapted from How Sweet Eats

makes 4 pancakes

Ingredients:

2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large ripe banana, mashed
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, whisking until combined. In a meauring cup, measure out the milk and vanilla extract and give it a quick stir. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir with a rubber spatula. At this point, the mixture will still be dry. Add in mashed banana and mix thoroughly. Add melted butter and stir until batter is somewhat smooth.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. When hot, spritz with non-stick cooking spray and using a 1/3 cup measure, spoon batter into rounds and cook until bubbles form on top and the pancake looks set around the edges – about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for a minute or two more. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve hot with butter and syrup, or however you wish.

Note: If you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour, you can use 1 cup of regular whole wheat + 1 cup of all purpose. Or 2 cups of all purpose.

SMS – Mom’s French Pancakes

AKA crepes.

AKA German pancakes. Well, at least ’round these parts (AKA in my mom’s home.)

We are a German family and my mom has made these for breakfast for as long as I can remember. When I was a child, I never knew the name of them so I dubbed them ‘German pancakes’ as I was convinced that my mom invented the recipe out of her sheer distaste for ‘American pancakes’. She’d stand by the stove for what seemed like forever (that’s a child’s patience for ya) and every so often I’d come in and ask for one. Most times I was told to have patience, it would only be a few more minutes. And other (more glorious) times, she’d smile and hand me the ‘baby’ of the batch. And I’d stand right there and eat it plain.

Once they were all done, they were piled high on a plate and placed dead center of our little kitchen table surrounded by cream cheese, jams, sugar, syrup, nutella and everything in between. We would dig in like we haven’t eaten in three days. And to this day, I still eat my first one plain.

As soon as I saw that this recipe was chosen, all the good memories came flooding back and I knew that not only did I have to make them… but that I had to share them with my family. And I did.

These are a good basic recipe for crepes. They yield a tasty vehicle for any filling, sweet or savory, that you can imagine.

But, they will never hold a candle to my mom’s ‘German pancakes.’

Thanks to Jaime of Good Eats and Sweet Treats for choosing this recipe. Head on over to her blog for the recipe (posted today).

TWD – Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

This bread is deceptive in every way. The name isn’t particularly appealing (unless you’re an oatmeal FREAK) or eye catching (I would have skipped right over it). The ingredients aren’t anything special, just your run-of-the-mill staple ingredients plus the addition of applesauce and oil instead of butter. It tricks you into thinking that this bread is nothing short of plain jane.

Wrong-o!

This bread is PHENOM! It is wonderfully aeromatic: spices that waft together to remind you of that snowy day during Christmas season. It is moist and keeps well. And the flavor OH THE FLAVOR! So simple yet divine. But the star, was the simple addition of pecans and brown sugar pressed atop the loaf prior to baking. It makes ALL the difference.

I subbed apple butter for the applesauce (which gave it a little extra kick in the spice department) and I added rum soaked raisins, just cus I could.

You should try this bread. I promise, you won’t be sorry.

A big thanks goes out to Natalie of Oven Love for choosing this delightful recipe. Get the recipe here. I will be making this again and again.

Up next week: Crunchy and Custardy Peach Tart — I’ll be scaling way down as peach desserts pretty much hate me, but I am excited about this one!