Sunrise Blueberry Coffee Cake

This was a yummy coffee cake, I will definitely be keeping this one!! I used up all my really large blueberries in this, saving the smaller ones for scones or muffins. The only thing I would do differently next time is either wait for the cream cheese to soften or use the whipped variety. I smeared butter all over the top and it was quite tasty. I used almonds instead of walnuts and they were a good substitute. I think that it would display better with the nuts on the top, not the way I photographed it!! I cut the recipe by thirds and it fit perfectly into my smaller tube pan. This might work in individual tube pans, but you would have to use the smaller blueberries and squirt the filling through a frosting decorator so you had more control. I will try this the next time I bake this recipe up!! It might even work as a muffin.

Sunrise Blueberry Coffee Cake

6 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 T confectioner's sugar
1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
3/4 t. ground nutmeg
3/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 cup, plus 2 T sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
8 oz. sour cream
2/3 c. fresh blueberries
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
3. In a small bow, with a fork, beat together cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, and lemon juice until smooth.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1/4 t. nutmeg, 1/4 t. cinnamon, and salt.
5. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, cream 1 cup sugar and butter, mixture will be dry. Add eggs one at a time, beating well until smooth. Beat in vanilla. On low speed, add flour mixture alternating with sour cream. With a rubber spatula, fold in picked-over blueberries.
6. Pour half of the batter into prepared pan. Spoon cream cheese mixture over the batter and spread to within 1/2-inch of edges. Pour remaining batter over mixture and smooth with a spatula.
7. In a small bowl, with a fork, combine walnuts, remaining 2 Tablespoons of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle over the batter.
8. Bake for 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serves 10-12.

All Time Favorite Caramel Rolls or Sticky Buns

Here is the other pecan roll recipe, the one my mom baked. This was a winner with the ladies at the table, but my father liked the other one because it was less "doughy". I think that he liked the shortness of the other rolls. My mother and I liked the cinnamon-taste of these rolls. Both recipes were good, though, and I will keep both.

All Time Favorite Caramel Rolls or Sticky Buns

1 loaf frozen white baking bread, thawed according to package directions
1/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2 T butter, melted
2 t. water
2 T light corn syrup
1/2 c. chopped or whole pecan halves, if desired
2 T soft butter
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon

1. Let dough rise until almost doubled in size.
2. Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, melted butter, water, and corn syrup and spread in a 10" x 8" or 9" x 9" pan.
3. Sprinkle nuts over brown sugar mixture.
4. Stretch and roll dough to a 16" x 12" (approximate) rectangle. Spread with soft butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and cinnamon.
5. Roll up tightly, jelly roll fashion, starting with the long edge. Seal edge by pinching dough together. Cut into 15 or 16 pieces.
6. Place cut rolls on top of brown sugar mixture in pan and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
7. Bake in a 375ºF oven for 25-30 minutes. Cool 1 minute. Loosed edges and turn out onto a wire rack lined with waxed paper.

Old Fashioned Praline Pecan Rolls

My Mom and I baked up two different, but similar, recipes for pecan rolls for Mother's Day. Both were yummy, this recipe was mine and was more brown-sugar-buttery. I melted some butter on them and ate two!! We both had problems with getting our dough rolled out to the proper size, this recipe called for a smaller rectangle and was cut into smaller rolls. This is a keeper, but we both liked the other recipe because of the cinnamon. Perhaps a mix of both recipes?

Old Fashioned Praline Pecan Rolls

1 loaf (1 lb.) frozen bread (I used Bridgeford Ready-Dough)
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. pecans halves
2/3 c. pecans, chopped
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 T flour
1/4 c. butter, melted

1. Let bread thaw until pliable. Dough may be thawed overnight in the refrigerator or in the microwave oven for 6 minutes on low power.
2. Place 1/4 c. melted butter in the bottom of a well-greased 13" x 9" pan. Sprinkle 1/4 c. brown sugar and pecan halves over butter.
3. On a lightly floured board, roll dough out to a 10" x 14" rectangle. Brush with 2 Tablespoons of the remaining melted butter.
4. Combine chopped pecans with remaining brown sugar and flour. Sprinkle evenly over the dough.
5. Beginning with the 10" side, roll the dough up tightly in jelly roll fashion. Pinch dough along the edge to seal. Slice rolled dough into 12 pieces. Place slices, cut side down, in prepared pan.
6. Brush dough with remaining butter. Let rise until rolls have doubled in size (2-3 hours).
7. Bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully invert rolls onto a serving platter at once (syrup is very hot!)

Strawberry-Filled French Toast

OMG, this recipe is definitely a keeper!! I had some leftover strawberry cream cheese from the PB & C Sandwiches last week. I had a bit of trouble downsizing the recipe, but decided to wing it. I used about 3 ounces of the cream cheese, about a teaspoon of sugar, 6 fresh strawberries (chopped), about 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla, and a couple shakes of cinnamon for the filling. I used 2 eggs, about a tablespoon of half & half, a dash of salt, and 4 slices of bread. Usually I don't like the soggy egg bread part of french toast, so the next time I try this recipe I will only "egg" the outside portion of the bread. I tried this recipe with fresh blueberries, adding a bit more sugar, and it was also yummy!!

Safety note: Studies have shown that there are possible health risks to using raw eggs. Instead, substitute a pasteurized egg product.

Strawberry-Filled French Toast

Filling:
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
16 oz. frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed and drained
1 T vanilla extract
1/2 t. ground cinnamon

French Toast:
11 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1/2 t. salt
butter
24 slices of sliced white bread
confectioner's sugar

1. For the filling, mix cream cheese and sugar together until fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and mix until well-blended.
2. For French toast, whisk eggs, milk, and salt together until foamy.
3. Melt 1 Tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
4. For each serving, dip 1 slice of bread in egg mixture, turn once to coat, and place in skillet. Spoon about 1/4 cup of filling in center of bread. Dip another slice of bread in egg mixture, turning once to coat, and place over filling.
5. Cook 3-4 minutes or until underside is light brown. Turn and cook 3-4 minutes longer or until other side is light brown. Transfer to a warm plate, cover with aluminum foil, and place in a 200-degree oven until ready to serve.
6. Add more butter to skillet as necessary between batches.
7. To serve, dust each piece of French toast with confectioner's sugar. Makes 12 servings.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

I had a ton of blueberry coffee cake recipes, but I narrowed them down to two. The ones that didn't have a crumb topping did not make the cut!! Here is the first one. It is good, I like the crispy outer edge better, so I am happy I baked it it two smaller pans. Definitely serve warm with butter!! Oh, I used half and half instead of milk, and butter instead of shortening.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Cake:
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. shortening
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
2 c. sifted flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 pint blueberries

Topping:
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 c. dark brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. margarine, softened
1/3 c. flour

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Mix sugar and shortening, add egg and milk. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
3. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until flour is incorprated.
4. Gently fold in the blueberries and pour into a greased 8" or 9" square baking dish.
5. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter. Press down slightly to distribute the topping evenly.
6. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.
7. Serve warm with butter.