(You know that song right?  Dad is great, he gives us chocolate cake!  It’s an old Bill Cosby comedy thing.  Matt sings this song everytime I make this for breakfast!)  (Anyway…)

This is a super easy breakfast that can be made ahead of time…or made fresh the morning you plan to eat it.  I adapted my Giant Breakfast Cookie recipe to make this cake, and it’s moist and yummy.  Especially with a glass of milk!

“Mom is Great”  Breakfast Cake (yes, I humbly named it myself)

1 cup butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups whole rolled oats
¾ cup honey
2 eggs
1 t. sea salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
1 cup raisins, chocolate chips or other dried fruit

Stir together butter, buttermilk, flour and oats in a glass bowl.  Cover with a cloth and allow the grains to soak on your counter overnight or for at least 8 hours.

Stir in honey, eggs, salt, baking soda and vanilla.  Fold in raisins, chocolate chips or dried fruit.   Pour into a buttered 9×9 inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Serve warm…serve cold…it’s good either way.  Cut into squares and wrapped in plastic wrap, this is a great portable breakfast or snack too! 

Who wouldn’t want cake for breakfast?  Just watch, your family will be singing to you too if you serve this!  “Mom is great!  She gives us breakfast cake!”

Hehe…think we should tell ‘em it’s good for them?
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One day a few weeks ago, I was getting ready to make my Giant Breakfast Cookie recipe…but decided to play with it a bit and create some kind of breakfast bar instead.  (I LOVE playing with recipes!)

I came up with these yummy apricot bars and knew I’d have to share it with you. 

And then I forgot.  (So sorry.)

Then, last week, Marie emailed and asked if I’d try to come up with a good breakfast bar recipe (I think she said something about ”since you’re so brilliant in the kitchen”…yeah, that was it.).   And I was reminded that indeed…I had already come up with one.   So Marie (and everyone else)…here you go!  (I hope you like them…but if you don’t, can we still be friends?)  :)

Apricot Breakfast Bars

2 sticks butter
3/4 cup honey
1 t. baking soda
1 t. sea salt
1 t. vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup sesame seeds
3/4 cup dried apricots

Melt butter and honey together.  Remove from heat.  Pour mixture into a mixing bowl and add baking soda, salt, vanilla and buttermilk and eggs.  Stir in flour, oats, coconut and sesame seeds until well combined.  Cut dried apricots into small bites (I usually cut mine into fourths).  Fold apricot pieces into dough.

Bake in a 9 x 13 baking pan at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

*Make these bars even healthier by soaking the wheat and oats first to make them easier to digest:
Mix melted (and cooled) butter, buttermilk (with live cultures), flour and oats thoroughly in a glass bowl.  Cover and leave on the countertop overnight.  In the morning, stir in remaining ingredients.  Bake as above.

You can play with these yourself and add any combination of fruit and nuts…I know I’ll continue to mix and match different ingredients!  Enjoy!

You’ll find more kitchen tips at Tammy’s Recipes!

[tags]breakfast bars, healthy recipes, whole wheat[/tags]

Okay…so I have a question. 

I don’t like coffee….and I didn’t make coffee to drink with this cake…so can this still be called a coffeecake? 

Hm…well…anyway… 

Blueberry Coffee Cake

3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
½ cup water
½ cup rapadura or sucanat
3 T. arrowroot powder

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
1 cup rapadura
¾ cup melted butter
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 t. vanilla

In a medium saucepan, cook blueberries and water together until boiling.  Turn down the heat, cover and simmer for about five minutes.  Stir together rapadura and arrowroot powder in a bowl.  Slowly pour rapadura mixture into the blueberries, stirring while you pour.  It should very quickly become bubbly and thick.  Remove from heat.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and rapadura.  Make a “well” in the center and pour in malted butter, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.  Stir well. 

Pour half of the cake batter into a 9” x 13” baking dish.  Spread blueberry mixture over the batter.  Drop remaining batter by spoonfuls on top of the blueberry mixture. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.    

Go brew up a big pot of milk and give it a try!

[tags]blueberry coffeecake, healthy recipes, healthy breakfast idea[/tags]