Carrot Cake Pancakes

How I love a stack of hot of the griddle, drenched in syrup, fancy pancakes! Here's a recipe you are definitely going to want to add to the weekend mornings breakfast rotation. I think I could probably eat the entire batch of pancakes by myself =). They really do taste just like fluffy, sweetly spiced carrot cake, especially when they are smothered with Vanilla Cream or Cream Cheese Syrup. My obvious inspiration for these was the real thing, and I looked to my favorite carrot cake recipe to create this one. I would say for serving, one of the two syrups listed is a must, maple syrup just doesn't cut it with these. Also, I've never liked nuts in carrot cake only sprinkled over the frosting. That's why with these I chose to sprinkle them over the top, but if you like nuts in your carrot cake then feel free to mix some into the batter with these. 

If you were wondering why I decided to soak the carrots overnight with the buttermilk and sugar, it's because I wanted to give the carrots a head start softening and I thought adding the sugar would help draw some of the natural sugars out of the carrots (but really what do I know, I just experiment and if it tastes good then something scientifically genius must have happened =). I love the natural orange color it gives the pancakes too. Enjoy! Breakfast shouldn't always come from a box. 

Carrot Cake Pancakes

Yields about 8 pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots, about 3 medium carrots

1 cup buttermilk

3 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp cinnamon 

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1 large egg

2 Tbsp vegetable oil (applesauce would be a good low fat substitute)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 recipe Vanilla Cream Syrup or Cream Cheese Syrup, recipes follow

chopped pecans, for serving

Directions:

In a medium airtight container, whisk together grated carrots, buttermilk and granulated sugar. Cover container and refrigerate overnight.

The following morning, preheat a non-stick griddle to 300 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In a separate small bowl, whisk together egg, vegetable oil and vanilla extract.  Add egg mixture and carrot mixture to flour mixture and whisk just until combine. Pour about 1/4 cup - 1/3 cup batter onto a buttered if necessary, preheated griddle (if you want more pancakes do 1/4 cup) and gently spread batter out (just slightly, I do this so the centers aren't thicker than the edges) using the back of the measuring cup. Cook pancakes until bubbles begin to appear on the surface and bottom is golden brown then flip and cook opposite side until golden. Serve immediately with Vanilla Cream Syrup or Cream Cheese Syrup and garnish with chopped pecans.

Vanilla Cream Syrup
Yields about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
1/4 cup salted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 pinch salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in sugar, cream, buttermilk and salt.  Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture begins to boil and sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla, whisk for about 10 seconds until frothy.  Serve warm.  Syrup can be stored in refrigerator up to 1 week and reheat before serving. 

Cream Cheese Syrup

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup buttermilk

4 oz cream cheese

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Stir in sugar, buttermilk and cream cheese. Cook mixture, whisking constantly until cream cheese has melted. Stir in baking soda and whisk for about 10 seconds until frothy. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Serve warm. Store in refrigerator up to 1 week and reheat before serving. 

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

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Grilled Chicken Teriyaki Kebobs and a Great Find

Check out this video...

Say what? Disposable bakeware! Has anyone tried these yet? I'm dying to get my hands on some. I absolutely love to cook and bake but I hate the cleanup. These things are genius. I definitely want these at the next dinner party I host. Thank you thank you Chinet for improving the world of cooking. Less stress due to less mess, yes please. I'd rather spend my time in the kitchen making delicious food rather than cleaning up after it. Bake, eat, toss, repeat =).

Feast your eyes on the perfect summer dinner. These Grilled Chicken Kebobs are so tantalizingly delicious! Tender chicken, lightly charred fruit and veggies all finished off with a generous smothering of homemade teriyaki sauce, yes these are wow good! I know the servings I listed says 4 but I might recommend 3, my husband and I each ate about 4 skewers. They were so tasty I just couldn't stop, but they're mostly veggies right? Really these are quite healthy. They are low in fat, full of fruit and veggies and a great source of lean protein from the chicken. I love when I can have a healthy meal that is so amazingly good. Healthy and yummy, it's a definite keeper. Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Teriyaki Kebobs
Yields about 4 servings (10 Kebabs)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1 1/2 inch pieces
2 small green bell peppers (or 1 1/2 large), diced into 1 1/2 inch pieces
2 small red bell peppers (or 1 1/2 large), diced into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 large yellow onion, diced into 1 1/2 inch wedges
3 heaping cups fresh pineapple, diced into 1 1/2 inch chunks (and about 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick)

Marinade/glaze:
3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
3 Tbsp orange marmalade
1 tsp molasses
1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp cold water
2 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, whisk together soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, light-brown sugar, honey, orange marmalade, molasses, grated ginger, garlic and pepper. Reserve 1 cup of sauce mixture in a bowl in refrigerator and pour remaining sauce over diced chicken in a large ziploc bag. Seal bag and place bag in a bowl (to prevent leaks) in refrigerator and allow chicken to marinate 4 hours in refrigerator. 
To prepare glaze, pour reserved 1 cup sauce into a small saucepan. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 Tbsp cold water and cornstarch, then pour cornstarch mixture into saucepan and stir. Bring sauce just to a boil over medium high heat, stirring frequently. Once mixture reaches a boil, reduce heat and allow to gently boil 1 minute,  stirring constantly. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
To prepare kabobs, using either metal skewers or water soaked wood skewers, thread a piece of marinated chicken (discard marinade), followed by an onion wedge, a chunk of red pepper, a chunk of green pepper and a chunk of pineapple, then repeat pattern twice and finish with an additional piece of chicken (I fit 4 pieces of chicken on the kebab total then 3 of everything else).
Grill kebabs over medium heat, 12 - 16 minutes rotating once halfway through grilling, until chicken has fully cooked through. Remove from grill and brush kebabs with teriyaki sauce, serve warm with cooked white or brown rice if desired (alternately you can brush kebabs with teriyaki sauce during the last few minutes of grilling but I say why waste such good sauce that will drip to bottom of the grill).

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

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Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Have you been searching for an unforgettable, perfect chocolate cupcake recipe? I think it's fair to say your search will likely end here. While I was relaxing outside a light summer breeze that only evenings have to offer gently swept across my face, and I slowly sank my teeth through that whipped, lightly tangy, kissed with cocoa frosting and into the cupcakes fluffy, tender crumb with a moisture that was bound to stick to my teeth, then my taste buds touched that rich yet perfectly sweet chocolate divinity I knew my search was over. Pure bliss? Yes it was =). 

The secret to this recipe is that I adapted it from one of my all time favorite cupcake recipes that I recently created, my Red Velvet Cupcakes. I knew how similar red velvet is to chocolate so I knew it would be fairly easy to create this one. Let me tell you I have been having a rough time creating the perfect white cupcake, maybe this was much easier for me because chocolate is my true love. Why settle for white when you can have chocolate? Life isn't complete without it. 

My reason for choosing to pair this frosting with this cupcake is because I often get a brownie at a local bakery with a Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting and it goes perfect with the rich chocolate brownie. I've been meaning to make the frosting at home for quite some time now and I knew this was the cupcake for it. I love how well the frosting's gentle cream cheese flavor, along with the light taste of chocolate and it's sweet buttery richness compliments the chocolate cupcake. I didn't want an overpowering frosting, just one that would highlight the cupcakes perfection. And with a cupcake so incredible I'd say fancy frosting technique is required. I absolutely love the way the world famous Hummingbird Bakery decorates their cupcakes so I adapted that technique to frost these cupcakes. It's whipped perfection with a pronounced indentation to hold a generous pile of sprinkles right in the center. If it looks better it will taste better that's my theory.  This is chocolate at it's finest. Enjoy and indulge a little!

P.S. in the unlikely event that you have any left over frosting, simply refrigerate it a few hours until firm and enjoy it by the spoonful - it tastes just like fudge when it's cold!

Chocolate Cupcakes

Yields about 15

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup salted butter, firm but not cold

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla extract

one recipe Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda, set aside. In a separate large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer on medium speed, whip together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy about 3-4 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition until combine. Measure out buttermilk in a liquid measuring cup and add vanilla extract to buttermilk then whisk to combine. Working in 2 separate batches, add buttermilk mixture followed by flour mixture to butter mixture, mixing just until combine after each addition (batter will be thick). Fill 15 paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven 18 - 22 minutes until toothpick inserted into the center of each cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool 5 minutes in muffin pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Cool completely then frost generously with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salted butter, firm but not cold

6 oz cream cheese, cold

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder

3 1/3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, with an electric hand mixer on medium speed, whip together butter and cream cheese until fluffy, about 1 minute. Stir in vanilla. Sift cocoa powder into mixture then blend until combine (you'll want to sift it to break up any lumps). Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth and fluffy.

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

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