Blueberry-Oatmeal Muffins with Mascarpone & Orange Glaze

A perfect early summer morning consists of dragging children out of bed for a short drive up the mountain to pick blueberries.  And to make it even more so dreamy, how about stuffing handfuls of the freshest blueberries on the West Coast into their happy little mouths?


Eat your heart out Maine!

I am certain that we ate more than ended up in our bucket, but seriously, who is counting?

 

What a beautiful mess!

Which I would gladly endure again in spite of the muffin pan that I will spend two hours scouring.....maybe we will save this for a long, hot, soapy bath in the sink. It really does look as though I walked in on my daughter with a tube of finger paint and a brilliantly white wall :) 

Blueberry explosion = Success.

These muffins have somewhat of a quick break consistency rather than a spongy-box muffin type.  I used bread flour since it was all I had in the pantry.  I'm sure you could try all-purpose flour instead and see what happens.  I am a huge advocate for "seeing what sticks on the wall" rather than always following the rules. 

That's where the best recipes come from, right? 

Enjoy!

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Ingredients for Blueberry-Oatmeal Muffins with Mascarpone & Orange Glaze

by Splendor in the Kitchen

1 1/2 Cups Buttermilk
3 Tbsp Honey
1 Cup Rolled Oats {instant or quick-cook}
2 Cups Bread Flour
1/2 Tsp. Salt
2 Tsp. Baking Powder
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
4 Tbsp Canola Oil
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Egg, slightly beaten
2 Egg Whites
2 Cups Fresh or Frozen Blueberries

1/4 Cup Mascarpone Cream Cheese {softened at room temperature}
1/2 Cup Powdered Confectioner's Sugar
2-4 Tbsp Orange Juice {freshly squeezed if possible}

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper liners, or grease pan with softened butter. Set aside.

Heat buttermilk and honey in microwave until hot but not scalding, about 1 minute.  Pour in rolled oats, stir and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients {flour, salt and baking powder}.  Stir in vanilla, oil, sugar and whole egg. Add in the buttermilk/honey & oatmeal mix that has been soaking.

In another bowl, beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form.  Gently fold egg whites into batter, careful not to break up the peaks.

Gently stir in blueberries and combine just until berries are evenly distributed in the batter.

Divide batter evenly amongst prepared muffin pan, filling until about 3/4 way full.  Bake in preheated oven, 20-24 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of muffin. Let muffins cool in pan for 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack for 5 minutes.

While muffins are baking in the oven, prepare glaze by whisking together softened mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar and enough orange juice to thin out glaze for drizzling.  Glaze should be smooth with no lumps from the cheese.

When muffins are still warm, drizzle mascarpone & orange glaze over all muffins with a small spoon. Serve immediatley.

Makes 12-16 muffins.

Arugula & Bacon Frittata

"Whatever this is called, I love this stuff" says my 11 year old.

Words that you don't hear often from a child, unless of course you recognize the sophisticated palate beaming from this particular child. 

Could a mom really be so lucky, or is this arugula and bacon frittata just that magical?

Maybe I did wave my magic wand and sprinkle a little fairy dust if you go by my husband's review {with a mouth still full, I might add!},

"This is like a cloud....an egg flavored cloud stuffed with bacon."

A perfectly unpretenious meal with a starring role from freshly picked arugula first thing in the morning out of my garden, with a cameo of course from some succulent, maple infused bacon.


"The Art of Breakfast for Dinner"
...coming soon to a theater near you ;)

Enjoy!

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Ingredients for Arugula & Bacon Frittata

by Splendor in the Kitchen

2-3 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup

4 Large Slices Uncooked Bacon

1 Cup Arugula {packed well in measuring cup}

1/4 Cup Mascarpone Cheese

1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4 Cup Grated Jarslberg Cheese

1 Tbsp Chives, chopped

1/4 Cup Flat Leaf Italian Parsley, chopped

1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/4 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper

1/4 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Nutmeg

6 Whole Organic Eggs

4 Organic Egg Whites

1/2 Cup Heavy Cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Brush maple syrup over both sides of bacon and place on a microwave-safe plate. Cook in microwave until bacon is crisp, about 3-4 minutes. Let cool and then use a knife to chop bacon into 1/4" pieces.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, heavy cream and mascarpone cheese until smooth. Stir in all remaining ingredients, including cooked bacon pieces.

Spray a 9" deep-dish pie pan, or an 8"x8" square baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour frittata mixture into prepared dish.  Bake until top of frittata is golden-brown, and center comes out solid yet moist {not liquidy} when poked with a toothpick; about 35-40 minutes.

Serve immediately while warm, or let cool completely and refrigerator up to 3 days.

Serves 4-6

Cinnamon Biscuit Kisses

"School's Out for Summer....no more teachers, no more school books, no more teacher's dirt-y looks." -Alice Cooper

School is offically out for the summer and it never fails that this song will ring in my head.  I am looking forward to fishing, gardening, sun-bathing, playing with my munchkins and most importantly.....not driving to various schools 3-4 times a day! 

I took it upon myself over this lazy Memorial Day weekend to surprise the kids with a special little treat from my childhood, rather than our standard Pancake Saturday...

...you should have seen the look on their faces when they bit into this chocolately, gooey, cinnamony delight! It was a cross between Christmas morning and a well-earned video game {which rarely happens!}.

Priceless.

I vaguely remember coming across this recipe, or at least some version of what I think I know, in a "kids can cook"cookbook, and my sister and I would make this as frequently as my mom would stock the house with Hershey kisses.

Not often enough to a child :)

Here's all you need.

I imagine the origin is derived from a Monkey bread, which I'm really not a fan of--too sweet and sticky.  I am sure some of you are cursing me at this exact moment.

Trust me. Please.

Especially since canned refrigerator biscuits are NOT a staple in my household.  This must be worth a try!

Have the kids do the dirty work.  They can unwrap kisses {sneak one or two is an absolute must}. And they can pat down the biscuits and place a kiss in the center of each one. 

Use some melted butter to seal up the pouch and on the outside of the dough as well.

I couldn't find my bundt pan so i just used a springform pan with an upside down bowl. Just stack the biscuits on top of each other-- I got three layers out of it.

Bake until Golden-Brown.

And then find a fork as quick as you can!

Enjoy!

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Ingredients for Cinnamon Biscuit Kisses

4 pack of 7.5oz Pilsbury Refrigerator Biscuits {10 biscuits each}

40 Hershey Kisses, unwrapped

4 Tbsp Butter, Melted

1/3 Cup Sugar

2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Mix sugar and cinnamon well together in a low-sided dish. Set aside.

Remove biscuits from package and lay out individually, a few at a time.  Gently pat each biscuit down to a 1/4" thickness. Place 1 Hershey Kiss in the center of each biscuit. 

Use a pastry brush to lightly spread a small amount of butter around the edges of the biscuit.  Fold all sides together to fully enclose each chocolate kiss.  Lightly brush more butter across the outside of biscuit. Roll biscuits through the cinnamon-sugar mixture, covering all sides of biscuits. Shake off excess cinnamon & sugar. 

Place biscuits sealed side down in bundt pan, filling one row around the bottom.  Biscuits should be touching. Once there is no more room on the bottom layer, begin a second layer and then a third.  With each layer, you should have less biscuits in each row.

Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and biscuits are no longer gooey. Eat immediately while still warm.  Once cool, can be stored in an airtight container for a day or two.

Serves 6

Homemade Granola

Happy Sunday!

  What an absolutely gorgeous May morning.....70 degrees,which prompts me to relish in sitting on my back patio, coffee in hand and scoping out our panoramic forest views. 

Lucky me.

This batch of crispy granola that I whipped up this weekend lends itself perfectly to my morning, and to my bowl of tangy Greek yogurt too.

Yep, and there is a hummingbird fluttering overhead. 

Doesn't get much better than this today :)

So here is my pretty simple and quick version of semi-sweet & semi-savory granola step by step.  It was extremely well received by the handfuls when we offered up a bag for the in-laws to try, but I may tweak it slightly to my taste, so I will keep you posted!

Step 1. Puree Bananas with Agave Syrup & Canola oil.

Step 2. Mix together Rolled Oats, Sliced Almonds, & Banana/Agave & Oil Puree.

Step 3. Spread out onto a baking dish lined with a Silipat mat or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Step 4. Remove from oven and let cool completely.  It will crisp up more here {the bananas keep the granola moist, so you really need to let it set and crisp}.

Step 5. Scoop up and savor every last crumb!

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Ingredients for Homemade Granola

by Splendor in the Kitchen

4 Cups Rolled Oats
2/3 Cup Sliced Almonds
1/2 Cup Agave Syrup
6 Tbsp Canola Oil {divided, 4 & 2}
2 Bananas
2 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup

Directions

Preheast oven to 400 degrees.

In a food processor or blender, puree together the bananas, agave syrup and 4 Tablespoons of Canola Oil.

In a mixing bowl, add rolled oats and sliced almonds.  Stir in the banana puree mixture, coating the oats evenly. 

Spread out oats onto a baking tray lined with a Silipat mat, or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Make sure this is an even layer and not clumped.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.  Turn oven down to 325 degrees, and stir oats around. Bake for another 10 minutes.  Pour additional 2 Tbsp of canola oil and 2 Tbsp of Maple Syrup onto oats.  Stir, and bake in oven approximately another 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool completely. Store in airtight container for snacks or sprinkled over yogurt.