Overnight Coffee Cake

This morning I was surprised to find that I haven't posted this coffee cake recipe yet. I've made it a handful of times, and each time Peter and I think it's really good. The recipe calls for it to sit overnight, but if you decide to make it last minute you can skip that step. I often do. Also I have substituted oil for the melted butter and rice milk with 1 T of lemon juice for the buttermilk. It still tastes great. Who wouldn't love to wake up, stick a pan in the oven, and have a warm homemade coffee cake early in the morning without all the work and clean up?!

Overnight Coffee Cake

from Gooseberry Patch Sweet and Simple

by Cathy Lemoyne of Ontario, Canada

1 c flour

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 c sugar

1 c brown sugar, divided

2 t cinnamon, divided

1 c buttermilk

2/3 c butter, melted

2 eggs

1/2 c chopped pecans, toasted (or not)

Combine first 5 ingredients, 1/2 c bornw sugar and one teaspoon cinnamon in a large mixing bowl; add buttermilk, butter, and eggs. Blend on low speed until moistened; increase speed to medium and blend 3 more minutes. Spoon battter into a greased and floured 13x9 baking pan; set aside. Mix remaining brown sugar, cinnamon and pecan togethers; sprinkle over batter. Cover; refrigerate overnight. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 12 servings.

Blueberry Coffeecake Scones

I am a big scone lover. They were the first thing I baked from scratch after moving out of my parents house. (Isn't it funny how you remember things like that?)

I'm having some girlfriends coming to visit from home in a couple weeks, so I knew I wanted to make a batch of scones while they're here. Since I haven't made this version before, I wanted to do a test run - and they turned out great!

The 'dough' mixture is really a thick batter (very wet & sticky). The best way to describe it is a free form coffeecake cut into wedges. So it's probably not technically a 'scone' but still good.

Makes: 8 wedges
Source: Simply Scones

Ingredients
For the Scones:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 1/2 cups fresh or thawed, drained frozen blueberries (I used fresh)

For the crumb topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Light butter an 11-inch diameter circle in the center of a baking sheet. (I used a baking stone)

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture. With a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (I was lazy and just put it in the kitchen aid mixer.)

2. In a small bowl, stir together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and lemon peel. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. The dough will be sticky. Gently stir in the blueberries.

3. With lightly floured hands and board, knead a couple times (I used almost 1/2 cup of flour when kneading) and pat the dough into a 9-inch diameter circle in the center of the prepared baking sheet.

4. To prepare the topping: in a small bowl stir together the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture. With a pastry blender, cut the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly over the dough to cover. Press crumb topping lightly into the dough.

5. Cut the circle into 8 wedges (but do not separate them). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the scone comes out clean.

6. Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool. Re-cut into wedges, if necessary. Serve warm, or cool completely and store in an airtight container.