Honey Butter Biscuits for a Saturday Morning

The kid and I needed a slow Saturday morning with a big sitdown breakfast of eggs, bacon, and homemade biscuits. The last few weeks, with the exception of my daughter's beautiful wedding, have been rough. It seems like there has been one challenge after another since mid-February. But spring is here and the garden is starting to fill out. South Texas is blanketed with wildflowers. The days are longer. There is much to be grateful for.

Sleeping in is hard around here. If it's not the dogs demanding to be let outside, the cat wants his breakfast or the chickens are cackling to be let out. So I was up by 7:30, which technically is sleeping in for a whole hour by weekday standards. I let the dogs out, fill the kettle so I can make coffee, dish out the dog food and cat food, and slip on some shoes to head out to the coop to let the chickens out for the day. By the time I head back in the house, I'm making coffee in my coffee press and starting breakfast.

We have eggs just about every day in some form or another, especially with the girls laying pretty frequently now, but I rarely make biscuits. This particular recipe was shared by my friend Bryan. We both enjoyed cooking together while he lived with us. He was in charge of the biscuit making while I made soup or something to go along with the biscuits. Ben calls them Bryscuits, so forever more they will be known in our household by that name.

A note about biscuit making. We were having some trouble getting the biscuits to rise nice and fluffy and after some investigation, I think I may have solved the issue. Apparently, according to the King Arthur Flour blog Flourish, when cutting biscuits it is important to use a sharp biscuit cutter or knife otherwise the dough pinches, preventing the biscuits from rising. Clean edges equal high rising biscuits.

Bryscuits (Honey Butter Biscuits)

• 2 Cups plain flour
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 2/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425F. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add cold butter and using hands, work into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Alternatively, you may use a food processor. 

Add honey and milk, mixing in with a wooden spoon or spatula. Gently knead dough and roll out to about 3/4" thick onto a lightly floured surface. 

Using a sharp knife or a biscuit cutter to cut biscuits into the desired shape. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until brown.

Serve warm with butter and plenty more honey (or your favorite jam). 

Flapjacked Carrot Spice Protein Pancake Mix Review

I usually make my pancakes from scratch.  My boys favorite are my Pumpkin Pancakes with Hot Cider Sauce. We eat a lot of pancakes in this house, so I was thrilled to be picked as a winner of a protein pancake mix in a Facebook contest held by Flapjacked. I've tried their protein smoothie mix and found them to be delicious. I was excited to try another product.

I'm picky about the food I buy. I won't buy it if I find the ingredients list is full of artificial junk. There is nothing but good stuff on the ingredient list for Flapjacked Carrot Spice Protein Pancakes; whole oat flour, whey protein, pea protein, carrots, coconut flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, salt, xanthan gum, and monk fruit.

You can mix the pancakes a couple different ways, according to your taste and dietary requirements. Just adding water, the protein content is 20%. Substitute the water with milk and gain another 5% protein. Or, like I did, use milk and add an egg to the mix for a whopping 34% protein.

The consistency of this mix is perfect. I've tried another protein pancake brand and their mix is always a bit runny by the package directions. These pancakes fry up nice and fluffy. We topped them with cinnamon honey pecan cream cheese and a little real maple syrup. The flavors complimented each other nicely. Everyone in our household gobbled them up. It was almost like eating carrot cake for breakfast.

While I have yet to see Flapjacked pancake mix sold locally, you can get them on Amazon or directly from their website Flapjacked. In addition to their protein pancakes sold in different flavors and their smoothie mixes, they also sell cookie mix and mighty muffins.

With the ease of use, protein content, and quality of ingredients, I will be purchasing their products again. But on slow Sunday mornings, I'll still be making up a batch of my homemade pancakes.

Overnight Oats Workshop and Two New (Dairy Free) Recipes

One of my goals here at The Hippy Home is to share with people how to eat healthy no matter what your budget. Yesterday, I held an overnight oats workshop at my home. It was small and cozy, with four of us sharing ingredients and good conversation while we made the easiest grab and go healthy breakfast ever. After getting to spend the evening with these wonderful ladies, the next best thing was not having to cook breakfast this morning, even though I wasn't in any particular hurry to go anywhere. What have I learned here? In addition to being a great grab and go breakfast on a busy morning, they also make a great breakfast for a lazy summer morning as well. They are perfect little hand held breakfasts on any day. Or lunch, or afternoon snack. Did I mention they are also easy to make and healthy? And kid friendly. My seven year old likes the strawberry one, minus the chia seeds.

We made four different recipes last night. The Strawberry Vanilla and Blueberry Cinnamon can be found at this link. They both contain Greek yogurt, though if you are vegan or dairy intolerant you could probably use a dairy free yogurt. The two new flavors I am going to share with you are Banana Nut Bread and German Chocolate Cake. Both of these overnight oats are dairy free and vegan. The chocolate flavor is really subtle in the German Chocolate Cake overnight oats, so if you are like me and craving a stronger chocolate flavor, you can use a chocolate flavored nut milk and slightly increase the cocoa powder amount. Adding a good, high quality chocolate protein powder like Juice Plus Complete, would also be a great way to increase the chocolate flavor and the protein. Vanilla protein powder would be a yummy addition to the strawberry and blueberry oats. I think the banana oats would be tasty with either flavor. I have some experimenting to do!

German Chocolate Cake Overnight Oats

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup almond milk 
• 1/2 banana, mashed
• 1 Tbsp pecans
• 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
• 1-2 Tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 tsp maple syrup

Mix all ingredients in a quart sized jar with a lid. Place in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, give it a good stir and eat. It will keep in the refrigerator up to five days. 

Banana Nut Bread Overnight Oats

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup almond milk, or other favorite nut milk
• 1/2 banana, mashed
• 1 Tbsp chopped nuts
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp nut butter
• 1/2 tsp maple syrup

Mix ingredients in a quart sized jar with a lid. Place in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, stir and eat. Top with banana slices right before eating for more banana flavor.

Perfect Pumpkin Scones with Pumpkin Spice Icing

When autumn rolls around, people seem to divide into to camps. The one's who go crazy putting pumpkin into everything and the ones who mutter, "Meh" under their breath as their pumpkin crazed friend lists all the pumpkin related recipes he or she has made. Everything from pumpkin soup to pumpkin spice lattes. It's an obsession for some.

I must admit, I fall into the pumpkin lovers camp, An absolute favorite around here is my recipe for Pumpkin Pancakes. And for your dog, try these Wheat Free Pumpkin Dog Biscuits. 

I love making scones. They are simple and delicious with a hot cup of coffee or cocoa on a cool autumn morning. So, with my pumpkin cravings in mind, I whipped up a batch of pumpkin scones yesterday morning. There were no regrets. I may have to make another batch next weekend!

I recommend baking scones on a pizza stone. They bake more evenly and come out perfect. I always had problems with burnt bottoms when I used a cookie sheet, but not with my pizza stone. 

Pumpkin Scones

• 2 1/4 cups unbleached flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp pumpkin puree, chilled
• 3 1/2 Tbsp buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp half and half

Pumpkin Spice Icing

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp pumpkin puree
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp half and half

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Thoroughly mix together in a large bowl the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and both sugars. Break butter into small pieces and cut into flour mixture until butter is no longer visible. I prefer using my hands, but you can also use a pastry cutter or a food processor on pulse. 

In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Pour into dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Dust a surface with flour and knead into a circle. Slice dough into 8 wedges. Dough will be sticky.

Transfer dough wedges to a baking stone or a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Brush with 1 Tbsp half and half. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool 10 minutes before drizzling with icing.

For icing:
Whisk together powdered sugar, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and half and half. Drizzle spoon fulls of icing over cooled scones, or pipe icing onto scones by using a plastic sandwich bag and cutting a small hole in one corner.

Best eaten warm, but may be stored in an airtight container for breakfast the next morning :-)

5 Delicious Mother's Day Breakfast Recipes

As a single mom with a six year old, I am not expecting breakfast in bed this year. However, if I were, I would love to be served any of these delicious breakfast recipes with a glass of mimosa and a mug of hot coffee. Heck, I'd be happy with just coffee in bed. A bit of cream and two sugars, please. Seriously, though, if you are looking for a delicious and easy recipe to cook up for mom this Mother's Day, any of the following five recipes will start her special day off just right. Just click on the link and it will take you to the full recipe.

Fresh Berry Bismark

A fast and easy breakfast that also looks quite fancy, fresh berry bismark is also a great recipe for the kids to make. Any kind of fresh berries make a great topping. Be sure to use real maple syrup or local honey to really make it special. Serve a little cup of yogurt on the side and you have a fulfilling and healthy breakfast for mom.

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

No yeast is used in making these cinnamon rolls, so they are both easy and fast to make. They are also just as delicious as their yeasty cousins. Whip up some fluffy scrambled eggs and a cup of fresh fruit and mom will have a complete and yummy breakfast. 

(Ugh, I really need to make up another batch of these just to photograph them again. That lighting stinks.)

Gluten Free Banana Breakfast Muffins

Even if your mom doesn't have special dietary needs, these muffins are a delicious addition to any Mother's Day breakfast. Make them extra special by serving them with boiled or poached eggs and a side of yogurt and fresh fruit.

The Best Buttermilk Pancakes (and a syrup recipe too)

For a super simple and delicious breakfast, make up a batch of these for mom. 

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

I love scones, and these are by far my favorite scone recipe. These would be a special addition to any Mother's Day breakfast. Slather them in some lemon curd and serve along side an omelette or poached eggs.  

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

I love lemons and all things lemon scented. If I could, my house would smell like fresh lemons all the time. Some of my favorite memories involve lemons, like a dear friend of mine taking the time to make homemade lemonade on a summer day way too long ago. One day I hope to grow my own lemons, maybe just a potted Meyer lemon tree with a handful of lemons each season, but it would make my heart sing to pick the sunny fruit and use its juices and rind to make up a batch of lemon poppy seed scones.

I haven't baked as much as I'd like to lately. I haven't done a lot of things I enjoy these past couple months. I hadn't picked up my beloved camera since the beginning of January for little one's birthday. But, today I photographed lemon scones. I photographed lemons. I spent about twenty minutes photographing lemons in the evening light, while I ignored the kitchen floor that needs mopped and the dishes stacked from lunch. The light and the lemons were mesmerizing. Just what I needed after too many rainy days here in South Texas.

I discovered this scone recipe about five years ago. It originally appeared in Bon Appetit in March 2002. According to the notes, this recipe was developed by Ledbetters, a breakfast restaurant in Connecticut.

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

• 3 Cups all purpose flour
• 1 Cup plus one tablespoon sugar
• 3 Tbsp poppy seeds
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 2 tsp. grated lemon peel
• 1 tsp salt
• 10 Tbsp (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup or more whole milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, 1 cup sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, lemon peel, and salt in large mixing bowl. Add butter and mix in using hands or a pastry cutter until mixture resembles a course meal. Whisk together the egg and lemon juice. Add to flour mixture until moist clumps form. Add milk and mix until dough forms, adding more milk if it seems too dry. Using floured hands, gather dough into ball and flatten into an 8 inch round. Cut into 8 wedges. Transfer scones to a large baking sheet, brush with milk, and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. 

Bake until scones are golden brown and a tester comes out clean, approximately 25 minutes. Cool. Store in airtight container at room temperature. 

Apple Pie Muffins

September was so busy it slipped by in a whir. I started a new job as a librarian and art teacher at a Montessori school and little man started kindergarten at the same school. Unfortunately, he will remember kindergarten as the year he broke his arm. Yep, ended his second week by falling off the monkey bars and breaking his arm. I was nearby in the school library when it happened. He's been in his cast for almost a month now, and we have at least another couple weeks to go. His accident also happened the day before soccer season was to start, so instead of a busy fall full of soccer practice and games our calendar is full of doctors visits. 

The weather is changing here in south Texas as shorter, autumn days take over. It doesn't always mean cooler temperatures, but we have had some beautiful weather this past week. It is the season of apples and pumpkins. While I love just about everything pumpkin, I also wanted to include apples in our fall menu. Little one loves apples, but not apple peels, so these are perfect for his taste buds. Gooey apple pieces inside a cinnamon explosion and topped with crunchy goodness. I made the first batch full size muffins and the rest as mini muffins that I am freezing. I am actually looking forward to Monday morning so I can sink my teeth into one of these. Ah, and with my morning coffee I think I'll be in heaven.

Apple Pie Muffins

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 C buttermilk
• 1/2 C butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 C packed brown sugar
• 2 C peeled and chopped Granny Smith Apples

Topping

• 1/2 C packed brown sugar
• 1/3 C all purpose flour
• 1/4 C rolled oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl mix together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, add brown sugar and softened butter. Mix well, then add egg, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients until just mixed. Fold in chopped apple pieces. 

In a separate bowl, mix ingredients for topping. Pour batter into muffin tins, filling to top. Sprinkle topping over each one. Bake in oven for 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. For mini muffins, bake 15 - 20 minutes.

Cool and store at room temperature.

Overnight Oats - A Quick Healthy Breakfast

It has been a long, slow summer full of staying up later than we should and unrushed mornings sleeping in. Sometimes breakfast was more like brunch and since most mornings we didn't have to rush out the door, I had the time to cook our favorites, including banana pancakes, which I make often and just realized with surprise I have never shared with you. Wow, blogger fail. Anyway, we are back to work/school this week and I have been trying to figure out easy and fast breakfast recipes to help mornings run smoother. We are going to need all the help we can get until everybody is adjusted to our new routine. Nobody but the cat is a morning person in this house.

I've been seeing recipes for overnight oats all over Pinterest. This past week I decided to give them a try. The little man, to my delight, ate the oats all up two days in a row. I am also cooking up some freezer breakfasts, which I will share in another post, but the overnight oats will also be a great choice for our busy mornings. Just make up a batch the night before, grab out of the refrigerator in the morning, stir, and eat. Everyone gets their own grab and go jar. The flavor variations are nearly endless, too. We have enjoyed vanilla strawberry and blueberry cinnamon flavored overnight oatmeal so far. I think I will experiment with an apple walnut next. Little one loves apples. Oh, and with fall just around the corner, a pumpkin flavored one is a must.

Strawberry Vanilla Overnight Oats

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
• 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds or flax seeds
• 1 tsp honey 
• handful of fresh strawberries, sliced

Mix ingredients in a quart mason jar or other lidded container. Store in refrigerator overnight. May eat cold, or if you prefer, heat in the microwave. Enjoy straight from the jar. 

Blueberry Cinnamon Overnight Oats

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds or flax seeds
• 1-2 tsp honey
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• handfull of blueberries, approximately 1/4 cup ( I used frozen wild blueberries)

Mix ingredients together in a jar. Refrigerate overnight. Stir and eat straight from the jar. May be heated in a microwave if desired. 

I see so many possibilities for overnight oats. If you change the milk to a nut milk and the yogurt to a coconut or soy yogurt, and sweeten with agave or maple syrup, these would be a great vegan breakfast as well. I know some recipes call for steel cut oats, but you don't want to use instant or quick cook oats or they may be too runny. If you decide to experiment with flavors and ingredients, let me know what yummy combinations you come up with. I'd love to try them.

Homemade Pancake Syrup and The Best Buttermilk Pancakes

We love pancakes around here. I'll even make them for dinner from time to time. In the fall, it's pumpkin pancakes. I've made zucchini pancakes, cinnamon pancakes, and our favorite banana pancakes, but this basic buttermilk pancake is a standard. Change 'em up by adding diced apples, blueberries, or chocolate chips. And, yes, serve up a stack for dinner.

Top off you pancakes with homemade syrup. This recipe was handed down to me by my parents. I believe it may have originally come from the book, The Tightwad Gazette, by Amy Dacyczyn. Dad still makes this syrup after over 20 years. While I'd prefer natural maple syrup, it's out of my budget and I have no interest in the high fructose corn syrup and artificial coloring/flavoring filled store bought syrups.syrups. Blech. It's easy to make up a batch of this syrup with leftovers so you don't have to make it every time you have pancakes, but it's so simple to make and if you get it mixed up and cooking on the stove while you cook up the pancakes, you'll have a nice, hot batch ready when your pancakes are done cooking.

Homemade Pancake Syrup

• 3 cups sugar (cane or brown both work. Brown sugar adds a deeper flavor)
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups water
• 3 Tbsp molasses
• 1 tsp natural vanilla

Mix all ingredients together in a medium pan. Bring to boil over medium high heat. Remove from heat and let set.

Best Buttermilk Pancakes

• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp melted butter
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients and mix until lumps are gone. Heat butter or oil in a skillet. Drop 1/4 cup batter into skillet and cook until bubbly. Flip, cooking until brown on other side.

Serve hot with slabs of butter and homemade syrup. 

Pumpkin Pancakes with Hot Cider Sauce

I have been making these pancakes since 1993. When I did the math and realized that meant I had been making them for 19 years I felt kind of, well, old. I discovered the recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Celebrations Magazine. Around here they are  known as pumcakes, as my oldest son affectionately named them. For an extra treat serve them with the hot cider sauce. You won't be disappointed.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 C. all purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 C milk

1/2 C canned pumpkin

2 slightly beaten egg yolks

2 tbsp canola oil or coconut oil

2 egg whites

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl combine milk, pumpkin, egg yolks, and oil. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into pumpkin mixture.

Cook on hot lightly greased  skillet or griddle until bubbly. Turn and cook until lightly brown on both sides.

Hot Cider Sauce

3/4 C apple cider or apple juice

1/2 C packed brown sugar

1/2 C light corn syrup

2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture is bubbly. Simmer about 20 minutes or until reduced to 1 cup. Let stand 30 minutes before serving to thicken.

Warm Cinnamon Pancakes

As you can tell by my overabundance of breakfast recipes, we love breakfast around here. Heck, sometimes we even eat pancakes or waffles for dinner. On lazy Saturday mornings like this one, sometimes we don't even get it on the table until nearly lunch time. We especially eat a lot of pancakes around here. None of us are particularly gluten intolerant, so I don't avoid wheat flours or other gluten products, but I think it is healthy to mix it up a bit and introduce other grains into our diet. This pancake is made from a mix of wheat and brown rice flour. Brown rice flour is a tasty, light flour that makes a good substitute in recipes where you want the results to be less dense. My little one gobbled up these pancakes, so if you are looking for yummy kid tested breakfasts this one fits the bill. These are especially yummy topped with apple butter instead of syrup. Or for a variation, try adding dice apple right into the batter.

Warm Cinnamon Pancakes

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour

2 tsp aluminum free baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 Tbsp. honey

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl until mixed well. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients. Mix well. Stir wet ingredients into flour mixture. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Heat lightly oiled griddle or frying pan (my favorite is my cast iron). Pour approximately 2 Tbsp. batter into griddle for each pancake. Cook until bubbly, then flip and cook other side until golden brown. Serve hot.