Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Butterscotch Coffee Cake

I've secretly loved coffee cake for years...

Well, okay, it's not really a secret.  But I do, I do love coffee cake.  I remember my first cinnamon coffee cake, the yellow cake with the crumb topping piled high.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven!  Then came my mom's coffee bundt cake with the swirl of cinnamon and nuts inside.  Man was that good.

So over the years MGG and I have enjoyed a variety of coffee cakes.  He loves it with his coffee, and I love it for breakfast with my hot tea...or dessert...or a snack...okay and dinner too!

Today I wanted to share one of our favorites.  This one is full of chocolate, peanut butter, and butterscotch.  Oh, how I love hot melted chocolate.  It just does it for me.  The 3 flavors together are outstanding.  I love this recipe since it is easy to pull together.  Using some help from a can of biscuits you don't have to make a dough.  This is perfect when you want to through something together quickly and still have the results be full of flavor and company worthy.  

I have a dozen different coffee cakes to share with you.  I better get baking!

What is your favorite coffee cake?


Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Butterscotch Coffee Cake

serves 6

1/2 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 can of large buttermilk biscuits (8 count)
4 Tbs. of butter, melted
2 Tbs chocolate chips
2 Tbs peanut butter chips
2 Tbs butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 inch cake pan with cooking spray.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl mix the sugar and cinnamon.

Separate the 8 biscuits.  Cut each biscuit in to quarters.  Dip quarters in melted butter and then roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.  Place in the prepared pan, covering the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle all flavored chips over the dough quarters.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through the center.  Cool 10 minutes in pan. Serve.

BLT Pizza

One of our favorite foods is pizza.  I mean who doesn’t love it?

All that saucy and cheesy goodness.  Yum!  I think my love of it started in at the pizza parlors going with my parent. Then in my teens it’s where we would all gather to hang out and eat pizza after the football games or on a Friday night with a pitcher of rootbeer.

A definite staple throughout the years.  But I’ve also found that as our age increases so does our palate, and our health concerns and we tend to not eat pizza as often as I’d like.  I know that MGG doesn’t go for all that melted cheese any more.  “Light cheese” or cheeseless pizzas are becoming the norm with him.  I still crave my standard pepperoni and mushroom, I just can’t give that up!

Still, we find that we are now eating pizzas with salad on it!  Some wonderful spicy greens topped with some fresh tomato chunks and some shavings of Parm, with a sprinkle of lemon.  Another great way to eat pizza, if I must say.

One of my mom’s most beloved sandwiches is the BLT.  Something quick to put together and you still get some protein and veggies. She loved it.  So in honor of my mom, MGG and I decided to put together BLT Pizzas.  (jazzed up a bit).

These are perfect as a lunch entree or even as a snack.  Taking a twist on the original pizza dough I’ve used toasted English muffins which lend a crunchiness to the crust and really support the toppings.  Swap out the lettuce for some spicy arugula, add turkey bacon, tomato, and a little marinara sauce, and a tiny bit of cheese and you have the makings of a BLT Pizza!  MGG loved this without the cheese and saved some fat and calories.

We thought these turned out great.  Healthy enough to eat a little more often!  Pizza yeah!

BLT Pizzas


serves 4

1/4 cup marinara sauce
2 whole grain English muffins, split and toasted
1/2 cup arugula leaves
1/4 cup chopped, seeded tomato
1 slice turkey bacon, crisp-cooked and chopped
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (2 ounces)

Preheat broiler. Spread marinara sauce evenly over English muffin halves. Top with arugula, tomato, and bacon. Sprinkle with cheese. Broil 3 to 4 inches from the heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

A First Encounter and Pear Ginger Muffins

My first meeting of my love was in a Starbucks.  It was a blind date of sorts.  A first encounter.  My good friend was setting me up with an acquaintance of hers that she said was PERFECT for me.  Miss Matchmaker.

So we talked a little online via email.  (This was before texting!) and then progressed to several really, really long 4 hour phone calls.  Then we decided to meet.

"Make sure you meet in a public place" one friend said! "Don't go anywhere alone until you know him", another one said.  So I decided to meet at Starbucks.  I don't even drink coffee...

We met, we laughed, and we talked for another 4 hours. Then I got in his Italian sports car for a little ride (I know, I know...didn't listen to my friend's advice).  It's been heaven ever since!

One thing I remember quite well is him asking me if I wanted any "sweets" with my tea.  We ended up sharing a muffin. This simple ritual of going to a coffee house and getting a "sweet" to share has stayed with us for over 13 years.  As a matter of fact we just did that 2 days ago.

I wanted to share a muffin I created for us that resembles that "sweet" we first shared. MGG loves them and so do I. Sweet winter pears, and warm ginger grace this muffin.  A perfect 'sweet' to share with your loved ones.

Enjoy!

Pear Ginger Muffins

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 egg

1/2 cup 2% milk

1/4 cup Canola Oil

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar or splenda

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt
1 pear, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup chopped candied ginger
brown sugar (optional)

Directions:

Place egg, milk, and oil in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until light.  Add flour, sugar (or splenda), baking powder, and salt.  Stir until moist.  Don’t overmix…batter should be lumpy and a little thick.

Fold in chopped pear and candied ginger.

Spray a non-stick muffin pan with cooking spray.  Divide batter among the muffin cups filling most of the way full. Sprinkle with a little brown sugar on the top if desired.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 min.  Remove from oven and cool.  Serve.