French Toast

Seriously, does life get any better than a plate of french toast ?

I looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove french toast ! Always have. It was one of my favorite special breakfasts that my Mom used to cook for us when we were kids.

And it's so easy to make !

You just need eggs, milk, vanilla and bread.

Just beat an egg (or two, depending on how much you are making) Add milk. Mix. Add a bit of vanilla. Mix. There's no real measurements and you can't really go wrong. I probably add a cup or two of milk to each egg.  Mix this in a bowl that is big enough to fit a piece of bread in, flat.

Heat a big skillet or frying pan to a medium heat. Add butter to the pan so your toast doesn't stick. You could use oil but the butter gives it an amazing flavor.

Dip the bread into the egg/milk mixture, one at a time and then add to frying pan. (You want the bread to have the mixture coating both sides well.)

Cook the one side til golden brown, then flip.

Repeat til you have enough to feed everyone you are feeding !

We top with butter, pure maple syrup and powdered (icing) sugar.

YUM.

YUM YUM !

Chocolate Croissants

A most simple, yet decedent treat...

-1 can refrigerator croissants
-a few chocolate chips per croissant

Roll chocolate chips into each croissant.
Place on baking sheet.
Bake as directed on package.
Let cool a bit, then bite into a little bit of heaven!
A truly naughty treat!

Alia's Chocolate Oat Treat

So ... Alia made these the other day and by the time I thought to take a photo there was only this one left !! These were super easy and super yummy ! Such a fun treat.

This made 9 pieces the size you see pictured ...

150g chocolate ... we used a Lindt Milk Chocolate
8 TBLS rolled oats
2 TBLS butter
3 TBLS golden syrup
something sweet to put on top of each piece ... we used soft jubes

All you do is boil water in a small pot, put your chocolate in a heat proof bowl on top of the small pot to melt. Add the golden syrup and butter. Melt. Stir. Add oats. Pour mixture onto a small tray lined with baking paper. Put sweet decorations on top of each piece (you'll have to determine how many pieces you are going to cut it into !) Cover and put the tray in the fridge for a couple of hours til the chocolate is solid again. We left it over night. Cut into pieces and try to get one before they disappear !!

Christmas Cinnamon Buns

I was going to post this recipe last year and have had the photo sitting in a post ready for the recipe ... since LAST CHRISTMAS !! ha ha. Well, here it is ...

We love cinnamon buns. I only make them at Christmas ... and maybe if someone requests them for their birthday breakfast !

This year, I combined two recipes ... The dough came from my Breville bread maker hand book and the icing came from all recipes ... The Clone of a Cinnabon

I use a bread maker for the first part ... the sweet dough.

Water 290ml
Egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
3.5 cups flour
3 tablespoons powdered milk
1 teaspoon bread improver
2.25 teaspoons yeast

Throw it all in, turn it onto the dough setting and come back when it is done. Then you roll it out. The recipe says to roll it into a 40cm x 38cm square. Mine was for sure a rectangle ... no where near a square. I'm so not sure what difference it makes. ANYWAY ... then you melt 3 tablespoons of butter and brush 1/2 of it over the dough. Combine 4 tablespoons of brown sugar with 1.5 tablespoons of ground cinnamon and spread that over the buttery dough. You can also add chopped pecans but I never have.

Roll that up. Slice into 2cm thick slices. Put it into a baking dish (with either grease or baking paper cuz these are sticky !), cover and let rise til doubled in size. (20 minutes or so ?)

Bake in preheated 180C/350F oven for 25/30 minutes. Mine NEVER take that long. Yesterday I set my time for 15 minutes and then again for another 5 and they were done ...

While they are baking...

Make the icing ...

3 oz/85g cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1.5 cups powdered sugar (icing sugar)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt (i just did a pinch)

Beat above ingredients to desired consistency ... spread on warm rolls before serving ...

Yesterday, I enjoyed mine with a mug of my Mom's crock pot apple cider that I cooked all night long so that our home smelled like Christmas when we woke up Christmas morning ! We ran our air conditioner all day yesterday ... it was WONDERFUL ! I drank hot apple cider and pretended it was winter !! Merry Christmas !!

Almond Covered Date Balls

The other day we were at the check out of one of my favorite shops ... not a humongo supermarket ... and Jono saw a box of date/almond balls. They looked good to him and he asked if we could buy them. I looked at the price and nearly choked when it read $12.99, especially when the ingredients read: dates, almonds. Needless to say, we did not let ourselves be robbed along the highway ... instead, we went home and made these little beauties ourselves !

It was so simple ! All you need is dried dates and some almonds. Just process the dates til they form a ball. The kids thought this was hilarious. Rory and I thought it looked like something that should not be eaten. Ever. Pull that ball out and process the almonds. Then, put your kids to work. Have them roll the date balls and then cover them in almonds. That's it ! Easy. And they are yum. And sweet !

... very sweet !! A perfect little treat !!