Breakfast – The At Home Cook

Cinnamon Pop Tarts

I’m back!!! For anyone who noticed, lol. I haven’t written in over a week! Which seems like so long… it was a very emotionally exhausting week for us. My mother in law had a knee replacement surgery on Tuesday and had unexpected complications the following day.

Thankfully, everything turned out okay and as of today, she is safely back home!! Whew. Also this week I interviewed to go back to work in real estate! I’m excited to get back into it. I hadn’t worked since January!! I miss being an agent and I’m ready to get back into the swing of things- in that department!!

So as we are getting back into the routine of things, I told Luke this evening that I needed to write. I’d been working on a pop tart post for a while….. and now, I’m soooo excited to share!

These little treats were so good! So flaky, cinnamon-y, sweet, mmmmmm! I told my husband I didn’t think they were going to be good (I usually need 3-4 rounds of testing before writing) and really thought I wouldn’t be able to share tonight, buttttt I was wrong!! These were a hit! Hubby loved them, I loved them & of course even GM loved them too. I can’t wait to eat the rest of them tomorrow for breakfast.

So I know how using a measuring ruler assists with evenly cutting dough, so that each pastry looks uniform. However, that’s not really my style lol. Sometimes I just like things to look rustic and authentic and to me, that’s what being home made is all about!! I just eye balled cutting the two layers of dough and just hoped my little pop tarts would fit evenly on top of one another lol. They weren’t too bad!

Ingredients:

For the dough

- 2 cups of all purpose flour
- 2 tbs sugar
- 16 ounces unsalted butter 
  (cold)
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbs milk

For the filling

- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tbs cinnamon
- 4 tsp flour
- 1 egg beaten

For the icing

- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tbs milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

To start the dough, add the flour, sugar, salt into a bowl and whisk together. Cut the butter into small pats and incorporate with hands. It should be very lumpy, but try to get all the loose flower integrated into the lumps. Next add the egg and milk, then incorporate as much of the butter into the dough as possible. Try to get an even dough consistency without lumps. There will be some, but that’s okay, kneed it as much as possible. Then cut the dough into two even pieces then individually wrap in cling wrap then place into the fridge for 20-30 minutes.

Liberally flour a clean surface to roll the dough onto. Form each dough into a large rectangle about 9 x 12 inches and about an 1/8 of an inch thick. Flour as much of the rolling pin, and top of the dough as needed if it begins to stick and becomes hard to work with. Cut the dough into thirds both length wise and width wise. Trim off the excess dough and set aside.

Repeat this method with the second dough. Trim off the excess dough and incorporate the extra dough to try and form another 1-2 rectangles. In total I was able to make 9 pastries.

Lay the first layer of pastries on your baking sheet. Beat one egg into a small bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the filling ingredients (sugar, cinnamon, flour) and stir together to incorporate. Take a cooking brush and lightly coat each pastry on the baking sheet with some of the egg wash. Then take about a tablespoon of filling and add on top of the first layer. Once all the pastries have the filling, take the second Layer of dough and place atop each of the pastries.

With your finger tips gently press the seems of each layer of dough to seal together. Take the edge of a fork and press into the outer edges. Next, take the cooking brush and lightly coat with more egg wash. Take a tooth pick and poke about 6-9 holes in each pastry to allow them to breathe while they bake.

Stick your baking sheet into the freezer for 15 minutes, uncovered. Then pop into the oven for about 30-40 minutes or until the pastries turn golden brown on top. Allow to cool on a baking sheet.

While the pastries cool, in a small bowl add the powdered sugar, Brown sugar, cinnamon and milk. If the consistency is too runny add a tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time. Till it’s thick icing consistency. Layer each pastry with the icing and let set for 10 minutes before serving.

Classic French Toast

I know I’m on a bit of a breakfast kick with my posts lately! We had Classic French toast this morning per my husband’s request!

He had been gone for work this last week and today was the first morning we have been able to spend together in a few days. I rolled over in bed and asked what he wanted for breakfast and this is what he asked for!

My absolute favorite bread to use for making French toast is from Trader Joe’s (click here) its a pre sliced French Brioche! Makes it so easy! This bread is so rich in eggs and butter. It’s amazing on its own, and I think my husband thinks I’m some sort of rock star when I whip together French toast using this bread lol.

I just lightly drench the bread in cream, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla and toast both sides over a skillet with butter. So simple, so easy and it’s always a high reward breakfast! Top with butter, whip cream, fresh fruits, chocolates, anything!! You simply cannot go wrong.

Thank you for reading!!

Ingredients:

- 6 slices of brioche

- 4 eggs

- 1 1/3 cup heavy cream

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1 tbs cinnamon

- 2 tbs sugar

- 4 tbs butter

- powdered sugar for garnish

- maple syrup for serving

Instructions

In a medium bowl beat the cream together with the eggs until well combined. Add vanilla, cinnamon and sugar then stir together. Grease a skillet liberally with butter and one by one, drench eat slice of toast in the cream mixture. Make sure to evenly coat and slightly submerge the bread into the cream so that it soaks into the center. Drop off the excess cream before adding to skillet. Cook over butter for 1-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown on each side.

Simple Breakfast for One

It’s been one of those mornings. I didn’t feel like heating up the stove and sizzling bacon and eggs. And I didn’t want to feed the baby toast or a bagel today. I’m trying to break his habit of always having bread. He’s such a bread guy, he loves it just like his dad lol.

Sometimes the body just craves something simple, fresh and clean. Parfaits are not a common thing we make in our home, but I think it’s time to change that. I was studying recipes to make homemade pop tarts with the fresh blueberries I have ( I’m still working on this) initially I was planning to make a batch this morning and Baby and I would eat the test batch for breakfast. But instead, as I was staring into my fridge I saw an unopened container of Greek yogurt, the blueberries and more of my grandpa’s home grown strawberries. Berries are so in season right now! They are incredibly sweet, even the batches I’d been buying from the grocery store are.

I thought to myself that we needed to eat these beautiful fruits fresh this morning! It really hit the spot, and even baby enjoyed it too!

Ingredients

- 1 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

- 2 tbs maple syrup

- 1 tbs heavy cream

- 3 small strawberry

- 1/4 cup of fresh blueberries

- 1/4 cup of granola

- sprinkle of almonds

- sprinkle of brown sugar

Instructions:

In a small bowl combine the Greek yogurt, maple syrup and cream. Stir together until creamy in texture. Top the bowl with fresh fruit, granola, nuts and brown sugar. Enjoy!

Blueberry Oatmeal Bake

A recipe for my fellow oatmeal lovers out there! I really enjoy eating oatmeal for breakfast, but I REALLY REALLY love baked oatmeal. It’s warm and delicious & not too sweet (until I covered it with maple syrup) it was sugar- free syrup though, so I don’t feel too bad.

This bake is somewhere between breakfast and dessert, although it could be eaten for both… or throughout the day. I’ve seriously eaten oatmeal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I don’t feel bad after eating it!

Also, Oatmeal is super amazing for increasing milk supply for nursing mamas. So this past year, I really upped my oatmeal intake for that reason, but it wasn’t hard to do at all because I love it.

My son and I also love eating blueberries! I try incorporating them into our food as often as I can. The blueberries I got from HEB this week were so sweet and delicious. They are also packed with antioxidants, which is such a bonus!!

The toasted maple almonds on top of the bake provide a nice crunchy texture. You really have it all In this recipe. Warm soft oatmeal, sweet pops of berries and crunchy almonds on top. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Ingredients:

- 2 cups oats 
- 1/2 cup chopped almonds 
- 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup divided 
- 1 tsp baking powder 
- 1 tsp cinnamon 
- 1/4 tsp salt 
- 1 egg 
- 2 tsp vanilla 
- 1 and 1/2 cup milk 
- 1/4 cup of maple syrup and 
  2 tbs maple syrup divided

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and liberally butter the inside of an 8x8x2 baking dish.

In a saucepan over low to medium heat, begin toasting the almonds, stirring often. Once they have been toasted for a minute or two, sprinkle in 1/4 cup of brown sugar and immediately move off of the heat. Stir the sugar into the almonds, the almonds should be warm enough that the sugar slowly melts and begins to adhere to them. Add in 2 tbs of maple syrup to the almonds, stir to incorporate, then set aside.

In a medium bowl, add your dry ingredients (oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and remaining 1/2 cup of brown sugar)

In a large bowl add the wet ingredients (milk, egg, vanilla and 1/4 cup of maple syrup) quickly stir to beat the egg into the milk. Now add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the blueberries into the mixture. Carefully pour the mixture into your buttered pan and sprinkle the toasted almonds over it. Stick into the oven anywhere between 30- 60 minutes. Until milk has thoroughly evaporated. Let the dish sit for 20-40 minutes so that the oats can be cut into squares for serving.

Thank you for reading!