Tot in the Kitchen: Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes

These pancakes are awesome.

I think buttermilk is the secret ingredient that makes pancakes work, and now that I have cake flour I was able to get a combo that easily made fluffy delicious pancakes.

Bean helped me stir and "dump" ingredients (and "chop" and "chunk," although I'm not thoroughly sure either action was required.) He really wanted to add his cereal to it for a special touch, but I decided that raisin bran might not be my favorite add-in.

He calls pancakes "penkens." So enjoy these penkens!

Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes (Source: The Train to Crazy, originally from RecipeZaar)
-1 cup cake flour
-1 tsp sugar
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 beaten egg
-1 cup buttermilk
-1/4 stick melted butter
-We added fresh blueberries as they cooked

-Mix dry ingredients
-Add wet ingredients and mix until just combined
-Cook on greased griddle over medium/low heat
-Add blueberries before flipping

Note: This recipe is pretty small. We doubled it to get enough to freeze. If you have more than three people in your family I would plan to double it.

Tot in the Kitchen: Surprise Carrot Cake

Mishke's birthday, and he loves carrot cake, so Bean and I decided to spend some time tonight making a mess/birthday surprise while he was at work. I found the recipe on the flour box! (after I bought cake flour for this recipe.)


It is a super-moist cake! I wound up using store bought frosting, because I was worried my cream cheese frosting would rip holes in the top of the cake. And because by the time I got to frosting it all I could think about was sleeeeeep.

Happy Birthday my Love!

I have a picture of the finished product but suddenly my computer will not let me upload the picture . . .

Surprise Carrot Cake (Source: Pilsbury Softasilk Cake Flour)
-2 1/4 cups Softasilk Cake Flour
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-2 tsp baking soda
-2 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp ground allspice or ginger (I used pumpkin pie spice)
-3/4 cup mayonnaise (I was short an egg so used an extra 3 tbsp mayo)
-3 large eggs
-1 8oxs can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
-2 cups finely shredded carrots
-3/4 cup chopped pecans

-Preheat oven to 350
-Grease and flour two 9" cake pans
-Mix dry ingredients in medium bowl (flour through allspice)
-Mix mayonnaise, eggs, and pineapple in a large bowl
-Gradually add dry mixture, beating until well combined
-Add carrots and pecans and mix well
-Pour into prepared pans and bake for 28 mins
-Remove and allow to cool fully on cooling rack before frosting

Tot in the Kitchen: It's Beginning to Smell a Lot Like Christmas Part II: Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

These smell insanely good. And they're super cute.

They're not technically a food, but they are made with all food ingredients, so I figure they count.

I had a little challenge with the ratio of applesauce to cinnamon. Not enough applesauce. Too much applesauce. Grrr . . .

Bean loved mushing the dough in a bag

Apple Cinnamon Dough Ornaments (Based on recipe from: Homemaking Fun)
-6 tbsp applesauce
-10 tbsp cinnamon
-1 tbsp ground cloves

-Add all ingredients to zip and seal bag
-Mush around to mix
(I needed to add extra applesauce to make it form a dough)
-Roll out dough and cut into shapes with cookie cutters
-Make a hole in the top large enough to thread a ribbon through it
-Bake at 150 or lowest oven setting for 2 hours
-Turn off oven and leave to dry overnight

Pictures to come . . . they are still drying . . .

Tot in the Kitchen: Pancakes

We are definitely a breakfast family. We love going out for it, making it, and eating it. The first meal I ever made for Mishke was French Toast (my SIL has me way beat on French toast though and swears it is how she will woo her future spouse.) And I make a pretty mean omelette, because when I spent the summer in Paris my roommate was really homesick for her boyfriend who used to make omelettes all the time, so I had to step up to the plate.

However - I can't make a pancake to save my life. Mix or from scratch, my creations have a place in the NHL. So I didn't have high hopes for anything un-puck-like when I decided to make pancakes with Bean this weekend. The post with the recipe I used raved about how light the pancakes were but I was still skeptical.

Things turned from bad to worse when I realized not only did I not have the cake flour the recipe called for, but I was almost out of All Purpose. So the pancakes had to be mostly wholewheat. I love wholewheat flour, but it's kind of the kiss of death when it comes to airy baked goods.

But I've got to tell you. These somehow came out vaguely fluffy; and I would be willing to bet that, made with cake flour, they would be about as perfect as the name suggests.

I'm a believer . . .

Perfect Pancakes (Source: originally from The Pioneer Woman Cooks, found through Mommy's Kitchen)
-3 cups + 2 tbsp Cake Flour (NOT wholewheat, but if you happen to have to substitute you won't screw it up as epically as you think you might)
-½ tsp Salt
-3 tbsp Baking Powder
-2 tbsp Sugar
-2 cups Milk
-2 eggs
-3 tbsp vanilla (or more if you're heavy handed like me
-1/2 stick of butter

-Find willing toddler
-Have them mix together dry ingredients in large bowl (Bean gleefully yells "dump!" every time we measure something in.)
-Mix milk, eggs, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
-Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring very gently until just combined
-Take bowl away to chagrine of toddler
-Melt butter and add it to the batter, stirring gently to combine.
-Cook on a greased skillet on medium-low until golden brown, adding whatever fun things you like in your pancakes (we did my favorite - bananas and chocolate chips)
-Devour

Tot in the Kitchen: Brownie Macaroons

Some recipes are so easy a toddler could make them.

This one did.

(and then went to bed, and the grownups decimated the results. Nannan and Dandan, who were visiting, gave this one two chocolate-covered thumbs up.)

(so the epic mess in our kitchen is not the normal state of affairs - which tends toward chaos at the best of times - this baking adventure occurred in the middle of some majorly disruptive renovations . . .)

Brownie Macaroons
Source: Taste and Tell (originally found in "Best of the Bakeoff")
-1 package brownie mix
-2 cups flaked coconut
-4 tbsp water
-2 tablespoons canola oil
-1 egg

-Heat oven to 350F
-Lightly grease cookie sheets
-In a large bowl, combine all ingredients; beat 50 strokes with spoon
-Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls (icecream scoop worked perfectly.)
-Place 3 inches apart on greased cookie sheet; flatten slightly. -Bake at for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are set. (Centers will be soft)

mmm . . . angel flake . . .