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Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter Pop-Tarts

cinnamon raisin peanut butter pop tarts

 Do you ever find yourself watching TV shows that you hate, but you can’t turn them off? You just love to hate them! That’s me with Love It or List It, it drives me crazy and I spend most of the show shouting at Hilary – seriously, she’s the worst, she never has a contingency in her budget for any hidden problems, she basically ignores what the home owners want and acts like the fact they don’t have endless amounts of money to throw into her budget (that she’s terrible at managing) is their fault and that they’re crazy for being annoyed with her for messing things up! Who knew I would have such strong feelings about a HGTV show, right? But despite all that, I watch it all the time! I’m get a bit addicted to HGTV when I’m in the US, it’s about the only TV I watch out here, and I miss it a lot when I’m back home. I’m watching HGTV as I write this post, it’s Hawaii Life tonight though and I’m still finding myself moaning at the people on the TV! Maybe this is my guilty pleasure, enjoying being annoyed by strangers on the television!

cinnamon raisin peanut butter pop tarts

Okay, on to something that is the opposite of annoying! Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter Pop Tarts (with frosting). The name may be a bit of a mouthful, but the pop tarts aren’t – they’re mini! 

When I made this Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter I knew I wanted to bake with it, but what to make? My first thought was to make a spruced up version of my Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Pudding Cookies, but that didn’t feel exciting enough. I don’t know how I ended up on pop tarts, but I’m so glad I did. 

cinnamon raisin peanut butter pop tarts

Oh my, these mini pop tarts are heavenly. The pastry is a pie crust and it’s so flaky and buttery and the sweet and salty filling is so tasty, especially when paired with the sweet frosting. And look how cute! These went down very well with my mum and her colleagues, they’re definitely a keeper.

cinnamon raisin peanut butter pop tarts

The great thing about these is they’re easily changeable to suit your tastes and what you have access to. Just full them with your favourite pop tart filling and you have just improved that sweet breakfast 10 fold. I love store bought pop tarts, I’m not going to pretend like I don’t, but they cannot hold a candle to these homemade ones. It’s great for me too because they’re not a lot of varieties in flavour for pop tarts in the UK, I often bring back a box of the cinnamon brown sugar ones when I’m in the US – but now I can make my own, and I’m definitely going to!

cinnamon raisin peanut butter pop tarts

 

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Chocolate Walnut French Toast Two Ways

Walnut French Toast

I’m English. I live in England. Yet here I am, posting a Thanksgiving recipe! But here’s the thing, I love holiday baking. Especially if that holiday is in the autumn, because it’s my favourite time of year with all my favourite flavours (I know, I’m such a revolutionary). So while I came up with this yummy French Toast recipe with Thanksgiving breakfast in mind, you can totally enjoy it on any day, anywhere in the world. My total Englishness can attest to that, because enjoy it is something I did with great enthusiasm! 

Walnut French Toast

I set out to make a yummy breakfast for Thanksgiving because I figured there’s enough amazing Thanksgiving dessert recipes out there already, my input isn’t need. And you need a fabulous breakfast on Thanksgiving morning before all that food you’re going to eat – call it stretching! I knew I was going to make French toast because I’d just made a Sourdough loaf (I may have made the bread with the sole intention of using it for french toast) and I of course wanted it to be Thanksgivingy, so I was trying to think of desserts I could use for inspiration. Pumpkin Pie was obviously one of my first thoughts, which lead to pecan pie – pecan pie french toast! Perfect! But then I couldn’t find any pecans (what kind of dystopian world am I even living in?!) so I landed on walnuts instead. 

Walnut French Toast

Last year I actually celebrated Thanksgiving with my best friend’s family in Atlanta. Her mum made an amaaaazing pecan pie, the thing that tipped it over the edge for me was the chocolate chips – so I knew I had to include chocolate chips in my pecan walnut pie french toast. Why two ways? There’s a couple of reasons actually – I initially made stuffed french toast but I couldn’t eat it myself because the issues I have with my jaw means I’m limited in what I can eat. Plus baked french toast has been on my list of things to bake for a while now, so after I fell in love with the stuffing for this french toast I knew I had to make it in baked form. So Chocolate Walnut French Toast Two Ways was born! Those two ways being Chocolate Walnut Stuffed French Toast and Chocolate Walnut Baked French Toast with a Streusel Topping.

Walnut French Toast

Whichever way you make it, you’re going to love it. The chocolate and walnut filling is sticky and sweet just like pecan pie, you can of course make it with pecans but honestly I loved the walnuts. It made it feel more festive for me! The baked version would probably be your best option for Thanksgiving (or Christmas!) breakfast since you’ll prepare it the night before, no fussing about in the morning when you have 1001 other things to do, you can just wake up, pop it in the oven and serve a delicious breakfast that your family will think you’ve been up since the rooster’s crow slaving away for them! Don’t worry, I won’t tell them 😉 

Walnut French Toast

 

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Chocolate Chip Cake Batter Pancakes

Chocolate Chip Cake Batter Pancakes

It’s an unseasonably mild October afternoon and you’re expecting some bad news, but instead you’re given good news – well, not good but better than expected at least. That only calls for one thing – celebratory pancakes for dinner!

Chocolate Chip Cake Batter Pancakes

What is it about having breakfast for dinner (or “brinner”, as my friends on Scrubs call it) that makes it taste so much better? Maybe it’s because it feels like you’re being naughty? Or maybe it’s just because breakfast food is the best type of food, so eating it for dinner is like double the treat! These chocolate chip cake batter pancakes were the perfect celebratory “brinner”, they’re so fluffy and soft it’s like eating a cloud! A buttery, chocolate chip loaded cloud! 

Chocolate Chip Cake Batter Pancakes

 

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Cinnamon Honey Butter

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We all remember those special moments in our life, the momentous occasions that helped shape who we are;  the first time you fell in love, your first kiss, the day you graduated, the first time you tried this cinnamon honey butter….

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Oh yes, it really is that good. I spread it on a nice, warm bagel and I was in heaven. How I stopped myself digging in and just eating it up with a spoon I’ll never know! It’s so sweet and buttery with a real cinnamon kick that keeps you coming back for more. Maybe I’m a little biased because cinnamon is my absolutely favourite flavour in the world and if you add it to something I’m sure to love it! But really, this butter is amazing!

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I made this butter to go with the hot cross buns I made for Easter, the recipe for which I’ll be sharing with you this weekend but I just had to share this cinnamon honey butter recipe with you first! This butter will go great with pretty much anything you could dream to put it on; bagels, dinner rolls, biscuits, baked sweet potatoes, waffles, pancakes, banana bread, EVERYTHING! I will be making this butter every chance I get and I’ll slather it on everything I possibly can to the point where I may have to make my next post from a hospital bed after my butter induced heart attack! (I’m kidding of course… hopefully!).

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And what makes this butter even more awesome? It’s so simple and quick to make, with only 3 ingredients! You can whip this up in a matter of minutes and you’re on your way to a buttery, cinnamon heaven! It’s also super simple to adjust to suit your personal tastes. What could be more perfect than a recipe that’s super easy to make and will transport you to a state of bliss?

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If you can bear to part with it, you could even package this up in cute little jars and give it away as Easter gifts. What better way to start Easter Sunday than with a slice of toast with this smothered all over it, before you break into all the yummy chocolate!

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Okay, I will stop teasing you! Here’s the recipe

[recipe title=”Cinnamon Honey Butter”]
Ingredients

  • 200g good quality unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 tbsp good quality, clear honey
  • 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Method

  • Combine the all the ingredients in a bowl using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or hand mixer with beaters. Beat for 3 minutes.
  • Serve at room temperature

Notes:

  • It will keep in the fridge in a sealed container for a few weeks, I doubt it’ll last that long though!
  • Makes approximately 1/2 cup of butter, you can divide or multiply the quantities to make as much as you need
  • Adjust the amount of honey to make it more or less sweet, same goes for cinnamon.

[/recipe]
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Happy Pancake Day Y’all!

British Style!

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Today is Shrove Tuesday which is a day observed by some Christians, it’s the day before Ash Wednesday when Lent starts. In some places it is celebrated with Mardi Gras, a carnival celebrating the last indulgence before Lent starts. In little old Britain we celebrate it with Pancake Day! Personally, I love pancakes so I think I prefer our tradition. I believe pancake day came about as a way to use up the eggs and milk you have before you start fasting, at least that’s what I was always told.

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Our pancakes are a little different to US pancakes. Ours are more like crepes I guess, I’m not sure what the difference between crepes and pancakes are, I’ve never made crepes (maybe there is no difference, that’s a google for another time) . The traditional way to eat them is with caster sugar and lemon juice, it also happens to be my favourite way to eat them. American pancakes are a different matter, they are best with lots of syrup and bacon yum yum! I love both types equally. Today I had these pancakes, tomorrow we’ll be going out to the original pancake house for some fluffy American pancakes (maybe without the bacon since it’s Ash Wednesday and meat isn’t allowed).

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You can put pretty much whatever you like on pancakes though, my other favourites include Nutella and ice cream! The pancake batter is just flour, eggs, milk, salt and a little butter, which means you can pair them with anything savoury or sweet making them super versatile.Let me know your favourite type of pancakes and how you like to eat them in the comments!

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When I was younger, pancake day was about stuffing yourself with as many pancakes you could possible cram in, until you couldn’t move for hours. Today, I limited myself to just three like an adult! I only made a little batter since it was only me in the apartment! It’s a really simple batter to make, you just mix flour, eggs, milk, salt and a little butter together until smooth and thin and then you’re ready to go. The secret to making a good pancake is getting your pan really hot and then turning it down to a medium heat just before you pour the batter in. This is much easier to achieve when you have a gas stove (which I don’t here) but you can manage it with electric. My other tip would be to do a test pancake first to see how much batter you need (I find about 3 tbsp is good for a 10″ pan), then use a ladle or something similar to pour the batter in the pan as you want it all in the pan at once so it cooks evenly.

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Have a great day everybody. If you observe lent, let me know what you’re giving up in the comments below!

[recipe title=”Pancakes” servings=”6-8 10inch pancakes”]
Ingredients

  • 110g plain flour, sifted
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 200ml milk
  • 50g unsalted butter

Method

  • Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl from a height so the flour gets a good airing. Make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Whisk the eggs into the flour.
  • Gradually add the milk and continually whisk. Don’t worry about any lumps, they’re disappear as you go. When all the liquid is added, scrape down the sides to make sure its all incorporated.
  • Melt the butter in your pan and add two tablespoons of it to the batter and whisk in. Pour the rest of the melted butter into a bowl and use it to oil your pan, using paper towel to smear it around the pan before each pancake.
  • Now, get the pan really hot and then turn the heat down to medium. Pour the batter into the pan, as soon as the batter hits the pan tip it from side to side to get the base of the pan all covered. It should only take a minute or so to cook, you can lift the edges up with a fish slice to see if its browning. Flip the pancake over (with your fish slice, or with your mad flipping skills if you have them!) the second side will only take a few seconds. Then just slide it out of the pan onto a plate.
  • Stack the pancakes with sheets of parchment paper in between, with the plate on top of a pan of simmering water to keep them warm while you make the rest
  • Serve immediately with the toppings of your choice.
    [/recipe]

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Yummy breakfast: Easy Cinnamon Rolls