Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 315

Almond Crumb Cake.

[This post is sponsored by McCormick ! I’m so excited to show you some of my favorite dishes over the holiday season!]

This almond crumb cake is tugging at my heart strings.

One glance at this and I’m in heaven. It’s basically half cake, half crunchy, crumbly almond-filling topping.

And I’m alllll about the topping. 

We already know that I’m THAT person who steals all the crumble topping off of muffins and all the streusel off of cakes and all the potato chips off of cheesy potato casserole and all the pecans off the sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. Yes, I’m the worst.

And yes, this is why it’s so important that this cake is half and half. Half fluffy, moist cake and half crumbly bits of almond topping.

It’s dreamy!

I’m super excited to bring you another deeeelish dessert today in partnership with McCormick. Today, we’re using the McCormick Pure Almond Extract to create fireworks of flavor in your kitchen. Seriously. You have to make this perfection!

Let’s just say that I’m a bit of a nut over almond flavored desserts. Pun totally intended.

I absolutely adore all things almond. Especially this time of year since it’s FINALLY fall. It feels like I’ve been waiting forever. Some summers tend to linger longer than others, but this one not one of them for me. I’ve been ready for a month!

I love how almond flavor kind of transitions us from summer to fall. It’s nutty and fragrant and comforting and brings that real punch of taste to treats. I use McCormick Pure Almond Extract constantly – actually, I use it almost every single day. I’ve been putting a drop in my overnight oats (and I also love adding it to my oatmeal lattes – omg!) and I also love adding a ½ teaspoon or so into my smoothies. It’s SO good and makes it taste like legit dessert. And you guys know that I also use it all the time in my pistachio treats too. Really brings out the flavor!

SO it was only natural that almond crumb cake would fit it into my kitchen. It’s like an almond croissant on steroids. Actually, it’s like an almond croissant married a big old coffee cake and had a fluffy, soft and perfect-for-breakfast baby. Almond crumb cake is my new favorite brunch. And breakfast and dessert!

And to make the almond crumb cake even more delicious and fall-like, I threw in some of the McCormick Rum Extract. It’s perfect and almost gives you that whole butterscotch flavor. Like brown butter! Really brings the fall flavors home here!

This is the perfect cake for so many occasions. Ideal for dessert, but it’s also perfect for brunch, breakfast, heck – even a coffee date. It’s a great cake to gift to someone because it really holds up well and it’s so hearty, satisfying and comforting. A slice of this with a cappuccino? It’s all I need in life!

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Almond Crumb Cake

Yield: serves 6

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon oil (olive, vegetable, canola, etc)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon McCormick Pure Almond Extract
½ teaspoon McCormick Rum Extract
3/4 cup milk

crumb topping

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup loosely packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup sliced almonds
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon McCormick Pure Almond Extract
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round springform pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, oil, egg, extracts and milk. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until the batter comes together and is smooth. Spread it in the spring form pan.

In the same bowl stir together the flour, sugar, almonds, cinnamon and salt. Sprinkle in the extract and melted butter. Mix with a wooden spoon to combine and then use your hands to make sure the entire crumb is moistened and kind of resembles sand. You want all of it to be moistened!

Sprinkle the crumb on top of the batter. If desired, you can add a few extra sliced almonds.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the center is set. Let the cake cool completely before slicing and serving. If desired, you can sprinkle with powdered sugar!

adapted from serious eats

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This is now the standard for all my crumb toppings. YEP.

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Currently Crushing On.

Happy Saturday! This first full week of fall just flew by and I.am.loving.it. Living up every bit of this glorious season! I hope you are having a wonderful September. Be on the lookout for my monthly beauty and lifestyle favorites in the next few days!

xoxoxo

What I’m loving this week:

This german apple cake is killing me. I want all things apple!

Along with this chai spiced apple skillet cake.

Halloween meat and cheese board? So cute.

How about these perfect pumpkin bars?

Just say yes to shredded chicken and zucchini tacos.

Creamy goat cheese and spinach pasta. I’m in.

3 questions to ask yourself to create the life you want.

These chocolate and pumpkin cream sandwich cookies are incredible.

I’ve been majorly craving these fried pistachios with lemon yogurt. OMG.

Whoa – this dairy free broccoli cheese soup? Best I’ve seen!

So matcha snickerdoodles are a thing.

15 minute easy chicken chow mein. Oooooh. Yep.

The post Currently Crushing On. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

One Pan Sesame Chicken.

Ooooh how I love a good sesame chicken!!

Truth be told, this isn’t the very first sesame chicken variation on my blog. There’s another version here that is actually pretty popular with you guys. I love that you love it!

Good stuff.

And I freak over meals like this, so I couldn’t help but share another.

Quick and easy dinners are king in this house. And since I get bored often, I like to have a bunch of them on hand at all times. That way I can rotate flavors and make us alllll happy.

Because really, it has to be the combination of flavors here – they are an absolute dream.

What we have here is a super easy and majorly flavorful meal that you can plan on having for dinner Monday night. YES. Get in on your menu plan now! You will not regret it.

In this skillet, I threw some red pepper slices, carrots (not my fave but Eddie looooves them), and sugar snap peas. You can do whatever vegetables you’d like, of course. It could even be a clean-out-the-fridge meal! Because the best part is the SAUCE. It takes everything over the top and half the time I want to double it to drizzle on extra. Extra sauce on all the things.

The meal is just SO tasty.

Yes, the chicken and veggies are all made in one oven-safe skillet. If you want to serve it with rice or quinoa, that has to be made on it’s own, but you can also use leftovers or throw some brown jasmine rice or tricolor quinoa from Trader Joe’s (both my faves!) in a pot that will be ready in 15 minutes while the chicken roasts!

And I so highly recommend using chicken thighs because of their juiciness and flavor. Now that I’ve said FLAVOR 47 times in this blog post, I’ll let you go! Because you need ingredients to make this pan of deliciousness.

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Yield: serves 2 to 4

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 ½ tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
pinch of salt and pepper
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2/3 cup sugar snap peas
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat an oven safe (cast iron or enamel!) skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add it to the oil and brown on both sides, just about 1 to 2 minutes per side until golden. Remove the chicken and set it on a plate.

Add the carrots, peppers and snap peas to the skillet, tossing well. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 6 minutes. Turn off the heat and place the chicken on top of the vegetables. In a bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, vinegar, honey, ginger and garlic. Pour it over the chicken and veggies. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Place the skillet in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and slightly thickened.

Serve the chicken as is, on salad or my favorites, with jasmine rice or quinoa.

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So very much craving that plate.

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The Cutest Way to Serve Pumpkin Beer (and a Hot Pretzel Bar!)

Okay are you ready? This is the cutest way to have the best pumpkin beer party!

I cant get over the adorableness of this table. Grab your favorite autumnal beers and a big old pumpkin and GET READY.

Annnd I’m definitely the person who wants a cinnamon sugar rimmed glass with my pumpkin or fall beer. Judge me if you must.

Go find your most favorite pumpkin beers. Wait!

What ARE your favorite pumpkin beers? My favorites right now are probably Leinenkugel Harvest Patch Shandy and Jack-O Traveler Pumpkin Shandy. Those ones are SO delish with a cinnamon sugar rim. And to be honest, I don’t really even want the beer without the sugared rim. It’s not like I’m drinking them all the time, so I reallllly want to live it up.

SO. How to make this more fun?

A PUMPKIN COOLER!! Oh my gosh.

Confession: I am obsessed with the practice of carving pumpkins and the tradition of doing so. Eddie carves incredible pumpkins (he is a great artist!) but I have very little patience for the actual act of doing so. Whomp whomp.

However, I sure as heck can make a pumpkin cooler. Just carve off the top. Clean it out. Add ice. Add beer!

Super easy.

Also.

What could be better to pair with all of our favorite autumnal beers than a hot pretzel bar?

Eeeeep!

This was Lacy’s idea and we’ve been talking about the deliciousness since July. We could not WAIT to put this together.

Like most of my favorite “bars” – this is alllll about the dips. Sure, you could make different varieties of soft pretzels (jalapeno chedder and pepperoni and cinnamon sugar and what not) but for me? I just want the dips. Give me alllll the dips.

The star of the show here is the chipotle cheddar beer cheese. With October right on the horizon, I’m ready to start living in beer cheese central. I’ve made beer cheese snacks on the blog for years now and eating beer cheese soup a million years ago with my mom is one of my most vivid memories. There are few things as delicious as beer cheese.

I think it all started for me as a kid – I mean, not that I was given beer cheese often, but I remember tasting that old school beer cheese dip you’d make in a ring of Hawaiian bread. That was theeee moment I fell in love.

What do we have here, aside from the pretzels and beer cheese dip? An apple butter Dijon dip (that Eddie actually told us about! Like what?!), some ranch, blue cheese and good old honey mustard. Oh oh and a little bit of yellow mustard too. Because how can you eat pretzels without mustard?!

The dips are all up to you. You can go absolutely crazy on what you’d like to serve. As a self-proclaimed mustard freak (who basically has a mustard collection), I choose the briney and cheesy dips over ranch or more dressing-like dips.

You can also always do sweet dips, like a cinnamon sugar or cream-cheese based sweet dip. Even a salted caramel or hot fudge!

Keep in mind that the pretzels are SO carby. I mean, okay, obviously, like you know that. It’s a big old hunk of bread. But I find hot pretzels to be so heavy and carby that I rarely overdo it, so I’d keep your dips to a maximum of about six if you’re serving this at a party. That way, you won’t be left with a ton of waste.

And in the spirit of SAVING YOU TIME: I suggest you buy the pretzels if you can. Yes, I have a recipe where you can make your own. You can make buns or twists or bowls or nuggets. But soft pretzels only last for a short period of time (I liken them to stale donuts. Ha!), so use your time wisely and if you can get delish ones near you, do it. And spend your time making dips!

Okay now who is going out and trying all the fall beer this weekend?

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The Cutest Way to Serve Pumpkin Beer (and a Hot Pretzel Bar!)

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

chipotle cheddar beer cheese

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
2/3 cup beer
10 ounces freshly grated white cheddar cheese
1 chipotle pepper, diced
1 tablespoon adobo sauce from the can of chipotles

apple dijon dip

1/4 cup apple butter
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon yellow mustard

hot pretzel bar

a bunch of soft pretzels, whether you make or buy them
chipotle cheddar beer cheese dip (above)
apple dijon dip (above)
blue cheese dip
ranch dip or dressing
your favorite honey mustard

pumpkin cooler

1 large wide (some symmetry helps!) pumpkin
a bunch of your favorite fall or pumpkin beers!



Directions:

chipotle cheddar beer cheese

To make the beer cheese sauce, heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add butter. Once sizzling, whisk in flour and stir for 1 to 2 minutes until golden and fragrant and bubbly. Add in beer, whisking well to combine, then reduce heat to low (make sure it’s low!) and add the cheese gradually, stirring until totally melted and smooth. Stir in the chipotle and adobo sauce. Sprinkle with smoked paprika or red pepper flakes and serve!

apple dijon dip

Whisk ingredients together until combined and serve.

hot pretzel bar

Assemble your soft pretzels (and big sourdough hard pretzels, if you wish!) and dips on a big platter, just like a cheese board!

pumpkin cooler

Slice the top off of the pumpkin. Remove the insides and the seeds. You can also shave down the sides up top and the opening of the pumpkin.

Fill the pumpkin with ice and stick the beers inside. Be the cutest ever!

 

 

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I couldn’t be cozier.

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Grilled Cinnamon Toast with Figs and Ricotta.

I’m determine to take the cinnamon sugar toast of 1989 to the next level.

And I have some EXCELLENT news!! If you have some ricotta left over from those jam jars last week?

THIS HAS TO BE YOUR LUNCH.

Or your breakfast. Or heck, just make it dinner. Who cares!

Grilled cinnamon sugar toast is where it’s at. If you didn’t grow up eating cinnamon sugar toast, I feel for you. This was such a staple for us, even if we only had it once or twice a year. It was such a fun treat and I even have a coconut oil version in The Pretty Dish!

It’s one of those little indulgences, you know? It’s crunchy and sweet and perfect for a morning treat. And now we are taking it to the next level by GRILLING it.

Why didn’t I ever think of this before? I mean, it’s a shame really.

This recipe is as basic as can be. Spread your toast with cinnamon sugar butter. Yes, we’re doing it a little differently here since we have to grill the toast, but it’s so good. Whip up that butter, slather is on a slice and throw it on the grill.

The grill imparts this bit of smokiness that you didn’t know you needed until you tasted it.

And yes, of COURSE it’s perfect alone.

But do you really want to fire up the grill JUST for a snack of toast?

No no no. You don’t!

That’s where the perfect figs and ricotta come in. Grab some ripe figs while you can still get them. Whip your ricotta cheese until it’s creamy and smooth. If you’re really feeling it, you can even add a drop of vanilla extract or something.

Maybe even almond. Oooooh yes I love me some almond.

Serve your toast with a big scoop of the creamy dreamy mixture and sprinkle it with a hint of cinnamon. Throw on your figs and just ENJOY. It is weirdly and ridiculously easy, albeit slightly high maintenance.

Worth it though. It’s so freaking good! I promise.

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Grilled Cinnamon Sugar Toast with Figs and Ricotta

Yield: makes 4 slices

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
4 slices bread (whatever your favorite variety is)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup of fresh figs, halved
sprinkle of cinnamon
sliced almonds for crunch!



Directions:

Preheat your grill to the highest setting.

To make the butter, stir together the butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt until combined and smooth. Spread each side of the bread slices with the butter.

Place the bread on the grates and grill until toasted, about 1 to 2 minutes per side.

Place the ricotta cheese in a food processor and blend until creamy and smooth. If you want to add any seasonings or extracts, now is the time! I just like it plain.

To serve, add a scoop of the ricotta with the toast and top with fresh figs and a sprinkle of cinnamon. YUM. You can also add a drizzle of honey if you wish and some sliced almonds for crunch!

 

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Def want to snuggle into that ricotta cloud right there.

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Tuesday Things.

1. Coffee jelly. It’s a thing. A thing that I need.

2. This is craziness. For my entire life, whenever I eat walnuts, my tongue hurts. Like it feels like it’s being ripped up. I continue to eat walnuts though because I just figured it happened to EVERYONE. Eddie and I were out on Friday night and we had amazing roasted cauliflower with walnuts. It happened again and when he went to the restroom, I googled it and it said that means I have an oral allergy to walnuts. WHAT?!

3. Something else that’s funny that we always talk about. I have a great memory (was even better before I had kids!) and Eddie feels like he doesn’t have a great one. (Um, I’d agree.) I always feel like things happened 5 minutes ago (like our kids being born? Didn’t that just happen yesterday?!) while he always feels like things happened a super long time ago. It’s so weird!! Is this because I’m more nostalgic/sentimental than he is?

4. Last week I got to meet Valerie behind Lily & Val and oh my gosh, not only is she wonderful (and super sentimental like me!), she creates GORGEOUS work like this! Cutest right? Just go ahead and lose yourself on her instagram. It’s all over today.

5. We finished Jack Ryan this weekend! And I’m reeeeally excited that fun shows are coming back on this week. Can’t wait to sit and eat my tears while watching This Is Us. Ugh. I also want to watch Bodyguard!

6. I know I know I know that I really need a reasonable bedtime.

7. We were in Bath and Body Works few weeks ago (had to grab another Leaves candle, #basic) and I smelled one of the body lotions. I know that my scents have obviously changed as I’ve aged (especially after having kids) but as I smelled it, I couldn’t believe that I wore the body lotion at one time. Are there any scents you like that aren’t as… strangling.

8. Um this is so super true for us. The best baby toy is a TV remote.

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September Kale Salad.

It’s Monday and this is a fall kale salad. Cliché?

Sort of, yes. But I swear I will make it worth your while. I never steer you wrong when it comes to a kale salad!

Because here’s the thing.

It’s basically my mission to create a fall kale salad worth freaking over every year. Last year it was the honeycrisp harvest salad. This year it’s another kale salad because they are so much HEARTIER than regular old salads.

And they feel so fall-like to me!

I love the texture. The crunch. The fact that they don’t wilt in 26 seconds.

This is a necessity – the variety and the salad worth freaking over, that is – because I have such a hard time with salads at home. SUCH a hard time.

When I make one, I’m rarely excited about it. I feel like it never tastes as good as a salad that I have in a restaurant or one that someone else makes me.

Of course, there are a few exceptions to that, like my house salad that we adore, or the honeycrisp salad mentioned above, or the poppyseed chicken salad… okay, I could go on. There are a bunch of salads I like at home but it’s difficult to get pumped over having one for lunch.

You know?

Side note: I’m having a (reborn) love affair with the fuji apple chicken salad from Panera. It’s the salad I used to get so many years ago and I definitely burned out on it, but now I’m into it again! Definitely game on recreating that here at home. For sure.

So THIS fall kale salad. Why it’s different and why I’m obsessed:

We have apples. And figs!

Toasted pecans for crunch.

Crispy pancetta for more salty crunch and exceptional savory flavor.

My favorite quick pickled onions because they are so delish on EVERYTHING.

And goat cheese. Of course. Can’t forget the cheeeeese.

The dressing. Ohhhh this dressing.

I’ve rambled on before about how I never liked any salad dressings as a kid and that was a huge factor in not wanting to eat salads. As soon as I started making my own, my mind was blown on the flavor. It is really rare that I will use a store bought dressing. I usually don’t care for creamy ones and vinaigrettes are so super easy, so I love making ’em here.

And I present… maple cider vinaigrette! Apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and a pinch of nutmeg. A hint of fall and it tastes AMAZING.

So I’m naming this my September salad. To go with my September sangria!

That balances everything out. I’m sure of it.

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Apple Pancetta Fall Kale Salad

Yield: serves 2

Ingredients:

1/4 cup quick pickled onions 
2 ounces pancetta
1 bunch lacinato kale, leaves removed from stems (you want 4 to 6 cups)
2 small or 1 large honeycrisp apples, chopped
1 cup fresh figs, chopped
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

maple cider vinaigrette

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 garlic clove, finely minced or pressed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil



Directions:

If you haven’t made pickled onions before or you don’t have any on hand, go ahead and make them according to this recipe!

Next, heat a skillet over medium heat and add the pancetta. Cook, stirring often, until the pancetta is crisp and the fat is rendered. Remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel to drain excess grease.

While the pancetta is cooking, shred the kale with a large knife. I like to run my knife through the leaves until they are in smaller pieces, but don’t worry about them being super smell or uniformly sized. Place the kale in a bowl and add 1 teaspoon olive oil. Massage the oil into the kale with your hands for 3 to 4 minutes. Set the bowl aside to sit for moment. Chop up your apples, figs and pecans at this time too!

When you’re ready to assemble the salad, sprinkle the kale with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add in the pancetta, the apples, figs, pecans and pickled onions. Add the crumbled goat cheese on top. Season with another pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle with the dressing and serve!

maple cider vinaigrette

In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, syrup, garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg and pepper flakes. Continue to whisk while streaming in the olive oil. This dressing stays great in the fridge in a sealed container for a week or so, so feel free to make a double batch if desired!

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May as well just give me a pitcher of the dressing to drink too.

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Currently Crushing On.

Happy first day of fall! There is no better way to celebrate than apple picking – and we’re going today! The temperature is dropping and I’m just so excited for this time of year. What are you up to this weekend?!

p.s. This week on the blog, I started my blogging series with a post on building an audience. Eeeek. I love that you guys loved it! Means so much to me.

Have a fabulous weekend! xo

Favorites this week:

how about this unreal chipotle cheddar corn chowder?

majorly craving these buffalo chicken bites!

homemade coffee chai cashew butter. YUM.

love this creamy vegan cauliflower soup.

homemade froyo with sour cherry jam. dying for his.

just say yes to crispy italian fries. OMG.

possibly the only banana cake we need in life.

hazelnut romesco & cauliflower toast. this is a thing.

it’s definitely soup seasons. creamy vegan tomato basil!

wine jell shots. HELLO.

the most gorgeous wicked espresso cake.

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Pumpkin Protein Pancakes.

By accident.

Or, should I say, accidental pumpkin protein pancakes!

I am in love. In freaking love.

It was unexpected and almost unsuccessful, but I fell.in.love with these pumpkin protein pancakes.

No better way to lead us into fall, right?

I had no intention of making REAL pumpkin protein pancakes. But it happened and I don’t hate it.

First up!

We’ve been obsessed with collagen for years now. We like the Vital Proteins one and basically buy it in bulk from amazon. I only like the original – I don’t like any of the flavors or the creamer or anything. But I put it in coffee (because it melts right in) or a smoothie, sometimes Eddie does a smoothie – more often than not now, he literally shakes it into a room-temp bottle of water! Crazy.

I just loooove it though – for hair, skin, nail and joint support for sure. And it has protein in it too!

The deal with the pancakes? I’ve been experiencing with a blender pumpkin pancake forever. If you even knew how many fails went into this… oh just wait until December. TONS.

I started with that base of the old school protein pancake mix – the oats and the egg whites. You know?! Remember those!?

My reason being is because pumpkin has that amazing fluffiness on its own in baked goods. I’ve always found that it’s one of the things that can make even the healthiest of foods taste a little indulgent (if you like it, that is) and I was on a mission to create these pancakes that we could eat often. We like to do breakfast for dinner and the idea was constantly on my brain. Because who wants to eat seriously fluffy, chocolatey pancakes right before bed?!

But anyhoooo – I was trying to perfect said pumpkin blender pancakes and in grabbing the vanilla extract or something, I spied the collagen powder and and decided to throw it in.

Fantastic idea, if I do say so myself.

Also! You can totally add other protein powder to this if you want. I burned way out on protein powder in my 20s and think it’s just SO gross – it wasn’t until I found the collagen powder that I was interested again in something like that. Because it melts into hot liquid like NOTHING.

Like I don’t even realize I’m consuming it.

These pancakes are definitely not your traditional, fluffy-as-a-cloud pancake. Don’t go in expecting that. Go in expecting a slightly healthier pumpkin pancake that’s a little dense but still really delish and add a few dark chocolate chunks (my current obsession are the semi-sweet chocolate chunks from See’s – omg, try them) and you will be overjoyed!

Plus, these are embarrassingly easy.

Throw everything in the blender. Pour into pan. EAT.

Hurry hurry hurry!! You have to go try ’em.

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Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

Yield: serves 2 to 4

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 scoop collagen peptides powder
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk (I like cashew milk! or coconut milk!)
dark chocolate chunks, if desired
sliced almonds, for garnish
maple syrup or honey for topping!



Directions:

Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium to medium-high heat.

To a blender, add eggs, pumpkin, oats, collagen, honey, baking powder, spices, salt and milk. Blend until pureed and smooth.

To make the pancakes, you can add coconut oil or butter to the skillet if you want that crispness! You can pour the batter directly from the blender or scoop it out into a 1/4 cup measure for more uniform pancakes. Once you pour the batter into the hot skillet, take a spoon and slightly smooth it out into a larger circle if it seems thick. Add a sprinkling of dark chocolate chunks into the batter if you wish!

Cook the pancakes until bubbles form and the batter becomes more opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes – then flip and cook once more for 2 to 3 minutes. You’ll want to cook the opposite side a bit longer than you would traditional pancakes- these are more dense.

Serve with syrup and a sprinkle of almonds annnnd maybe more chocolate. This will make about 8 pancakes!

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Going to be the best fall ever.

The post Pumpkin Protein Pancakes. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

How to Make an Apple Cider Shandy.

Apple cider shandy season just might be better than pumpkin beer season. I’m going there.

Maybe. I mean look at this! Cinnamon sugar rim. Sparkling cider and regular cider. Ice cold. Refreshing! Apple cider shandy is where it’s at.

I’m probably making REAL beer lovers cry right now, but if you’re a fake beer lover like me, then you will freak over this!

I love it because it still sort of tastes like summer, which matters because it’s still 80 degrees in some places. Plus, it just tastes fantastic. I am such a huge apple cider fan. It’s not like I drink it every day, but I would drink it every day if I found it appropriate.

Instead, I use apple cider hand soap every day and clean my kitchen with apple cider disinfectant and then I start craving an apple cider shandy.

It’s truly ridiculous how good this tastes!

The other thing I love about a good shandy is that it stretches. Like, this takes an enjoyable amount of time to drink. You know? You’re not sucking it down in 23 seconds and moving on to chex mix or something.

It’s also another treat that you can serve at a tailgate! Ooooh FUN.

And and AND you can also actually USE pumpkin beer here and mix the two. Depends on how much you love both flavors and how much you like to trash things up.

I would be the queen of trashing. See also: pomegranate shandy. Watermelon shandy! Give me all the shandy.

Every fall I get SO excited for apple cider sangria and apple cider margaritas and now, I have a new apple cider love to add to my list! WOOHOO.

It’s a touch high-maintenance (two kinds of cider, hello!) but it’s REALLY darn good. The sparkling cider adds these delicious bubbles and it’s actually… fresh. Spiced and warm and fresh, if you will.

Ready for the crunchy leaves in 3, 2, 1…

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Apple Cider Shandy

Yield: makes 1 drink, is easily multiplied

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon coarse sugar + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon for the rim
1 orange wedge
4 ounces cold apple cider
2 ounces cold sparkling apple cider
8 to 12 ounces your favorite fall-flavored wheat beer – COLD
apple slices for garnish



Directions:

Mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Rim a glass with an orange wedge and dip the glass in the cinnamon sugar to coat.

Add both ciders in a frosty glass and stir. Squeeze in the orange wedge. Pour the beer over top. Serve with a sprinkling of cinnamon and an apple slice!

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Cinnamon sugar rim is a must. Write it down!

The post How to Make an Apple Cider Shandy. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.