Rainy Sunday breakfast as good as it gets

Old fashioned pancakes (with maple butter and hazelnut coffee)

1 1/2 cups plain flour

3 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp white sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

3 tbsp melted butter

 

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl and mix together.

Combine milk and egg in a separate bowl and whisk together. Add the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir together. Once combined, stir in the melted butter.

In a buttered pan, bake pancakes as large or as small as you prefer. Turn the pancakes when bubbles start to form on top.

Serve with maple butter or butter and maple syrup.

Maple Leaves (Maple Walnut Scones)

Maple Leaves (Maple Walnut Scones)

Scones

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 tbsp cold butter

1/3 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)

1 large egg

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup whole milk

2 tbsp maple syrup

Icing

1 cup icing sugar

1 tbsp maple syrup

4 tsp whole milk

Preheat oven to 190°C. Combine the flour, oats, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

Use a pastry knife or a fork to cut the cold butter into the dry mixture.
Stir in the chopped walnuts. Use an electric mixer to combine the egg, brown sugar, milk, and maple syrup in a medium bowl.

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and blend with electric mixer until firm, then use your hands to mix the dough until you can form it into a ball. Pat the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is about 3cm thick. Shape the dough into a rectangle and use a cookie cutter or a glass to cut out shapes, or just cut the dough in triangles.

Arrange the scones on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or just until the scones begin to turn light brown on the edges.

As the scones cool, combine the icing ingredients in a bowl. When scones have cooled, spread with icing.

Falafel balls

Falafel balls

2 cans of chickpeas, drained (400g each)
handful of fresh parsley
handful of fresh chives
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp of chilli flakes
1 tsp Tahini
juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp of plain flour

Place all the ingredients in a food processor (or finely chop everything and mash together) and blitz until it forms a lumpy mix, season with salt and pepper to your taste preference.
Roll the mix into small balls just smaller than a golf ball… use slightly wet hands to avoid getting messy.
Fry the falafels in a hot pan with oil until crispy on the outside and hot right through.

Makes about 16 falafels.

Blueberry Shortbread Bars (by Foodwishes.com)

 

Blueberry Shortbread Bars

 

 

Ingredients for 12 bars:

185g (by weight) AP flour (about 1 1/2 cups of sifted flour, aka not packed)

1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp Chinese 5-spice (or a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg)

115g (1/2 cup) very cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon ice water, dripped over mixture

about 3/4 cup blueberries, or enough to cover surface

 

 

Put flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Using a whisk, whisk the dry ingredients until very well combined (alternatively, sift the ingredients together into the bowl). Add a pinch of Chinese 5-spice (or a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg), mix into the flour. Add the cubed butter and cut it into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter, fork or your fingertips. When the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, add the egg yolk. Keep cutting yolk and butter into the flour. Add the iced water and keep mixing until you have a crumby, dry looking mixture which will, however, come together to a dough when squeezing it between your fingers. Pour about three quarters of the mixture into a lightly greased square 22cm baking dish. Press down the mixture firmly with the back of a spoon. Add blueberries in a single layer with the berries not quite touching each other. Pour over the rest of the shortbread mixture and press down lightly onto the blueberries. Bake at 190°C for 30-35 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.

(as seen on http://foodwishes.blogspot.ie/2012/08/blueberry-shortbread-bars-please-dont.html)