breakfast

Make the blondies

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
• In a big bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
• Place the melted butter into a mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar, ground coffee, and salt. Stir to combine.
• Add eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter into pan and level out; an uneven spatula makes that easy. Sprinkle with almonds.
• Bake 27 to 30 minutes, until the middle passes the toothpick test. Let cool completely.

To complete with glaze

• Mix together the melted tablespoon butter and extract. Gradually whisk in confectioners’ sugar. Add teaspoons of water, as needed, until the glaze is thick but can be drizzled. Place it in either a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip or a sandwich bag of which a corner will be snipped off. Drizzle glaze over blondies in a rough crosshatch pattern. Let glaze set for 1 hour before cutting blondies into squares. Store in a sealed container at room temperature. If making these in a warm place, put waxed paper between the stacked layers of blondies.

OM NOM NOM!

• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Generously coat the interior of a large bundt pan with nonstick spray. If using fresh blueberries, wash them and gently pat them dry with paper towels, picking out any stems.
• In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla.
• In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture alternatively with the yogurt. Scrape the bottom of the bowl a few times during the process.
• In a small bowl, mix together the dry ingredients for the filling: brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.
• Spoon about a third of the batter into the bundt pan. Sprinkle about half the dry filling mix over the top. Sprinkle about half the berries over this layer.
• Repeat the process. Spoon about a third of the batter to cover the blueberries. Distribute the rest of the dry mix around the ring, followed by the blueberries. Top with the remaining batter. Use a spoon or uneven spatula to even it out across the top.
• Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick plunged into the middle of the cake comes out free of crumbs. Cool for 20 minutes in pan, then carefully invert onto a cooling rack. Cool completely to room temperature.

Mix the glaze

• Stir together the confectioners' sugar and 2 Tablespoons of half & half or milk. The glaze needs to be thick so that it doesn't all run off. Add more sugar or milk, as necessarily, to get a thick glaze that can just dribble. Spoon over the domed top of the cake. Let set at least 20 minutes or place in fridge. Slice and serve. Store cake under a cake dome, within plastic wrap, or in individual slices encased in plastic wrap. As individual slices, it can be frozen for later enjoyment.

OM NOM NOM!

• Move rack to lower 1/3 of oven; set to preheat at 350-degrees. Generously coat the interior of a large bundt pan with nonstick spray, preferably a baking spray with flour.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a big mixing bowl, place eggs, sugar, milk, butter, and oil, beating until creamy yellow. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients, but reserve the empty bowl to one side. Scrape the bowl of batter as needed, mixing until it is smooth.
• Measure out 3 cups of the batter into the reserved bowl. Add the maple syrup, espresso powder or cocoa, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg, whisking until smooth.
• Pour half the plain batter into the greased pan. Top with half the spiced batter, spreading to the sides. Draw a butter knife through the layers, swirling up and down and around. Pour the remaining batters into the pan, repeating the swirl process with the butter knife.
• Bake bundt cake for 45 to 50 minutes. The top should feel dry and the middle should pass the toothpick test. Let cool in pan for 1 hour, then carefully invert onto a cooling rack; if any chunks stick to the pan, try to nestle them back into place on the cake.
• Finish cooling. Slice into wedges. Store under a cake dome or otherwise wrapped; individual slices can also be wrapped in plastic.

OM NOM NOM!

• Preheat oven at 35-degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Peel apple and finely chop enough to fill 1/2 cup. This likely will not be an entire apple; eat and enjoy the rest.
• Mix together oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter, apple butter, and egg. Gradually incorporate the contents of bowls. Fold in the chopped apple, cranberries, and walnuts.
• Use a teaspoon scoop or spoon to place dough, spaced on, on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until set but still soft. Let sit on cookie sheet on stove for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Continue to bake rest of dough.
• Store in a sealed container at room temperature.

OM NOM NOM!

Make the galette.

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, maple sugar, and salt. Add butter and work into dough so that the butter is down to pea-sized chunks. Add just enough water to incorporate as dough, smearing butter chunks in the process. Shape dough into a disk and shroud in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 30 minutes, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Place parchment paper on a large rimmed baking sheet.

Make the interior.

• In a large bowl, gently stir together the flour, maple sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice; it will form a thick paste. Gently stir in the pears to coat. Expect the mixture to become more liquid as it sits with the pears in it.
• Use some extra flour to lightly dust a large work surface. Roll out the dough to at least a foot diameter circle. Transfer it to the prepared parchment paper on baking sheet; the dough might hang over the edges for now, but that’s okay.
• Arrange the pears in a circular pattern in the center; leave a 2 1/2 to 3-inch border. Scrape the rest of the maple paste over the pears. Fold the dough inward, with the center still exposed. Brush the egg over the top and sprinkle on the remaining maple sugar.
• Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the crust is golden and the filling bubbles. Let cool before cutting.

OM NOM NOM!

• Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until it is soft and light in color. Add golden syrup. Follow up with the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt, mixing until just combined.
• Use a tablespoon scoop to shape dough, rolling each lump briefly with hands to compress and flatten, then place spaced out two-inches apart on baking sheet. They will spread as they bake.
• Bake 12 to 14 minutes, until golden brown and set. Let them idle on the cookie sheet about 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature.

OM NOM NOM!