Homemade whole grain pancakes, rich cheesecake French toast, Dutch Babies. Breakfasts like these are usually reserved for holidays or restaurant outings.
Try these recipes and make any weekend special, without spending a lot of time or money.
Strawberry Cheesecake French Toast
Take advantage of strawberries when they're fresh, or use frozen berries for this recipe. Either way, the results are rich and satisfying.
Ingredients
- 2 c. ricotta cheese
- 6 Tbsp. powdered sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 4 eggs
- 1 c. milk
- 4 tsp. agave syrup (or cane sugar)
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 8 thick slices of day-old bread (French bread, whole grain or white, depending on preference)
- 2 c. sliced strawberries, sprinkled with 2 Tbsp. cane sugar and allowed to sit so the berries release syrup
Directions
- Mix eggs, milk, sugar or agave syrup, cinnamon in a wide bowl until well blended.
- Mix ricotta, vanilla and powdered sugar in another bowl.
- Spread ricotta mixture on 1 slice of bread, and top with another slice.
- Fry in hot non-stick skillet until lightly browned.
- Turn and fry on other side until lightly browned.
- Top with sliced strawberry and sugar mixture.
Whole Grain Buttermilk Pancakes
Hearty & healthy, these pancakes are delicious with hot butter and real maple syrup.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 2-1/4 c. buttermilk
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. oil
- 2-1/2 c. whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
Directions
- Beat eggs and buttermilk together in medium-sized bowl.
- Add brown sugar and oil and mix until well blended.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Add flour mixture to egg mixture gently; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be lumpy).
- Heat nonstick griddle until drops of water "dance" on it.
- Pour about 1/4 c. batter on to griddle for each pancake.
- Turn when bubbles form on the pancake.
- Flip over pancake until lightly browned.
- Serve hot with butter and real maple syrup.
Variations
- Substitute 1 c. buckwheat flour for 1 c. whole wheat flour.
- Substitute 1/2 c. cornmeal for 1/2 c. whole wheat flour.
- Add 1 Tbsp. poppy seeds or sunflower seeds to batter when combining wet and dry ingredients.
- Gently add 1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries to batter.
Dutch Baby
Kids love helping to make Dutch Babies, because they puff up so much in the oven. This recipe makes about four servings, more or less depending on how hungry people are!
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter
- 6 eggs
- 1-1/2 c. milk
- 1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
- Choice of real maple syrup, jam, sliced fruit or vanilla yogurt for topping
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees
- Place butter in 12 inch cast iron skillet or 13x9 inch baking pan.
- Place pan in oven to melt the butter, watching so butter doesn't burn.
- Place eggs in the work bowl of a blender and whirl until beaten.
- Add milk, flour and sugar and combine until the mixture is just blended; don't overmix.
- Pour the batter into the pan with the hot melted butter.
- Put pan back into oven.
- bake for 20-25 minutes until puffed and golden.
Serve in slices with choice of topping.
Baked French Toast
Assemble this dish the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning. What could be easier?
Ingredients
- 1 24-oz. loaf firm white bread, cubed and divided
- 1 8-oz package of low fat cream cheese, cubed
- 8 eggs
- 1/2 c. real maple syrup
- 1 c. 1% milk
Directions
- Spray a 10x15-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Line the bottom of this pan with 1/2 of the bread cubes.
- Layer cream cheese cubes on top of the bread cubes.
- Top with the rest of the bread.
- In large bowl, beat together eggs, maple syrup and milk.
- Pour over the bread; cover and refrigerate overnight.
- The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake until light golden brown, about 45 minutes.
Any of these recipes are great alone, or can be served with fruit salad, crispy bacon, homemade smoothies, or anything else the family enjoys. Let kids help out, and make breakfast an enjoyable family time!
