Italian Cream Pancakes

I know I haven't posted in a while...I've been super busy with school work (junior year is killing me), but now it's FINALLY time for Spring Break! I will try my best to post at least one recipe each day because there are so many recipes I've been meaning to post and I know I am super behind. For my first post in a while, I have decided to present to you these incredible, sweet, nutty pancakes topped with a decadent cream cheese glaze. 

Yes, they are just as delicious as they sound. I promise.

If you've never tasted Italian Cream Cake, then you totally need to. Like...immediately. Sooo..you can start with this breakfast recipe! These pancakes seriously taste just like Italian Cream Cake, only hot and in heavenly pancake form, with warm glaze oozing all over them. Coconut, cream cheese frosting, and pecans are the most perfect combination perhaps in the entire world, and they taste scrumptious in this recipe.  Not to mention, [ toasting ] the pecans give the pancakes a wonderful nutty-ness that tastes so warm and comforting.

There were no leftovers when I made these for my family, and I'm sure the same thing will happen for you.

You can find this decadent recipe here. 

Glazed Spice-Cake Donut Muffins

I love spice cake.  I love donuts.  I love muffins.  Why not combine them all?  This recipe does not result in your typical Krispy Kreme, fried donut...although the glaze is quite similar.  The texture is more of a cake donut consistency, with a wonderful, spiced flavor.  They are the perfect thing to have in the morning with a warm, cup of coffee...so comforting, and very suitable for dunking.  They also keep well for a couple days (for best taste, no more than three), and who doesn't love leftovers? Another thing I love about this recipe is that there are so many options on how to prepare the batter.  You can bake them: into mini muffins (just reduce baking time), on parchment paper or greased baking sheet to create muffin top cookies, into one, large pan to create a snack cake/quick bread, in a donut pan, and/or you can frost them with cream cheese icing.  However, I absolutely adore this recipe the way it is - no alterations necessary.  

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

For the muffins:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly

For the Glaze:

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup confectioners' sugar; sifted

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons hot water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium muffin pan with cooking spray, or line with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, mix sugar, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and flour. Whisk buttermilk, eggs, maple syrup, and butter in a separate medium bowl until just combined, and stir into the dry ingredients. Do NOT over mix. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, about 3/4 of the way full.
3. Bake 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.  Let rest for at least 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack.
4. For glaze, combine melted butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and hot water in a medium bowl.  Whisk until smooth.  When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cinnamon Raisin Glazed Biscuits

With the glaze....

My stomach is growling just thinking about these wonderful biscuits.  I made these a few days ago - without the cinnamon and glaze - and I was going to post them but I wanted to take them to the next level.  Both versions of these biscuits are absolutely perfect.  They're buttery, sweet, soft, fluffy, moist, full of juicy raisins and laced with a delicious cinnamon swirl.  The icing just takes them >above and beyond<.  If you prefer a less sweet biscuit, then you can omit the glaze...but if you're like me and have a major sweet tooth, then I definitely recommend it.  Also, if you're not a fan of cinnamon (I've never met anyone who isn't a fan of cinnamon, but who knows...), then feel free to omit that as well.  These biscuits without the glaze and cinnamon are more of a buttery, lightly sweet, tea biscuit, but are still incredible.  They taste best warm from the oven, but are still awesome at room temperature the next day.  Both versions are great for breakfast, dessert, or a snack.

Yield: 8 large biscuits

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raisins

• 1 cup hot water

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 6 tablespoons white sugar (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk, or as needed

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

desired amount of cinnamon (I used about 1/4 teaspoon)

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Soak raisins in water for 10 minutes; drain, pat dry, and set aside. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in the butter with a knife or pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir milk into the flour mixture until just moistened. Add the drained raisins. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the dough, and fold in or swirl through with a knife until just blended (this does not need to be evenly distributed; since it can be a cinnamon swirl).  Shape biscuits with lightly floured hands or turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll the dough out into a 3/4 to 1-inch thick round. Cut dough with a biscuit cutter and place onto the prepared baking sheet.  Let rest at least 10 minutes.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
4. For glaze, combine all the glaze ingredients until desired consistency is reached and drizzle over hot biscuits.