This might just be my favorite scone recipe ever. It’s everything a good scone should be — subtle, but flavorful. Perfect with coffee or tea. And totally memorable.

Scones unfairly get a bad rap, I think. It’s usually with folks who’ve only had the dry, rock-like version that some stores sell. And really, if that’s the only way you’ve had them, it’s not surprising if you groan and turn away when you see someone writing about them. Those scones are an acquired taste, for sure. But I urge you: give homemade scones a chance.

Homemade scones are different. They have a crusty outside, yes, but that gives way to a soft, tender interior. Scones are definitely best the day they’re made, warm from the oven. But they are good the next day too — especially if you warm them up briefly before serving. But you should know that scones won’t last more than two days (they lose that softness after that) … but then again, scones rarely last more than two days in my house anyway.

When Shawn asked me to make some scones this weekend, I decided to just work with what we had in the fridge — and this recipe was born using flavors we love with a tried and true process. This is a mash-up of my family’s favorite pancake recipe for Blueberry White Chocolate Buttermilk Pancakes and a killer recipe for Raspberry White Chocolate Scones that’s another favorite. Tangy buttermilk, sweet white chocolate chips and some delicious tart wild blueberries are like breakfast-craft for me. So good.

These scones are buttery with a nice coarse sugar sprinkled top … You’ll love them. I swear.

I heated up a couple of these for the kids this morning and Will was so excited that the flavors were like his favorite pancake. He’s declared this his new favorite scone. Sweet.

Blueberry White Chocolate Buttermilk Scones
yields 8 scones
adapted from Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, plus 1 tbsp reserved
2 large eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk
coarse sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and then set side.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt (a wire whisk is great for this). Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the 1/4 cup of cold butter into the flour mixture until it looks like coarse crumbs. Fold in the white chocolate chips and blueberries.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk until well-combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Stir gently from the inside  out until the dry ingredients are all moistened. The dough will be crumbly.

Turn out the dough onto a floured board and with floured hands, pat into a 3/4-inch thick circle. Using a pizza wheel, cut into eight triangles. Carefully move from the cutting board to the prepared baking sheet. I use an offset spatula, which is perfect for it.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and brush the tops of the scones with it. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until cooked through and just starting to turn golden at the peaks.

Enjoy hot from the oven or let cool and store in an airtight container at room temperate for up to two days.

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More from Sarah W. Caron of Sarah’s Cucina Bella

• Snapshot: Sarah Caron in the Newtown Bee (a profile by our local weekly newspaper)
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Coffee cake is one of those things. It’s comforting and familiar and perfect for breakfast. This one, made from a recipe from the 1930s, has a dense crumb and an irresistible buttery cinnamon sugar topping.

No, it’s not that impossibly fluffy and almost-dessert-sweet coffee cake from the grocery store. But it doesn’t want to be. It’s a totally different coffee cake — one that stands up to the fork without squishing into oblivion and that can be eaten by hand without crumbling all over. And it’s really great with a hot, steaming cup of coffee.

It is coffee cake after all.

Making this, I wasn’t sure if the vintage sensibilities would make it a winner for us. But it was. Hugely.

I whipped it up for a brunch with friends last weekend where the cake quickly vanished. Seriously, not a trace was left behind. Good sign, right? And it was so good that I baked another just for our family.

Back to the brunch for a second. Though I adore brunch, I don’t have people over (or go out) for it nearly enough. So I was thrilled to have a little one at my house. The brunch menu was simple — bagels and lox with all the fixings, scrambled eggs, berry and pineapple fruit salad and this coffee cake. In the course of conversation, I shared that this was a vintage recipe — something dug out of my great collection of early 20th century cookery books, pamphlets and recipe cards.

This recipe comes from the third edition of All About Home Baking, published in 1936 (the original was published in 1933) by the General Foods Corporation, a now-defunct company whose products (Calumut baking powder, Post cereals, Maxwell House Coffee and General Foods International Coffees, to name a few) live on. I bought this hardcover book off eBay a while back.

My friend asked about my interest in vintage recipes, which really got me thinking about why I have been so into pre-1960s cookery. I made this conscious decision to reclaim lost cooking techniques because I feel like as the reliance on prepared, prepackage and shortcut based cooking has grown, we’ve lost some of the skill and technique that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers used in the kitchen. To them, making a quick coffee cake for breakfast or brunch or whatever was just that. It was simple, uncomplicated and easy.

And when I find a winner — like this coffee cake — I love to share it.

All told, this recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Coffee Cake takes about 30 minutes to make — maybe 40, if you include the cooling time. And most of that time is totally hands off (making the dough for the cake takes maybe 5 minutes). Be warned, instead of a batter this really makes a crumbly dough. Don’t worry if it doesn’t form a ball — you just need all the ingredients to have come together before you press it into a pan with floured hands.

And don’t change a thing about the buttery cinnamon-sugar topping. It’s the best part. (Aren’t topping always the best part?)

You can do this. Dust off that cake pan this weekend and give it a try.

Cinnamon Sugar Coffee Cake
recipe from All About Home Baking, 1936
serves 8

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
6 tbsp butter
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk

Topping:

1 1/2 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9-inch cake pan all over the inside with a little butter.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or two knives.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk until light and frothy.

Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir well until all combined. The dough will be somewhat stiff, but keep stirring until everything is incorporated.

Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Using floured hands, gently pat it down into one even layer.

Brush the top of the coffee cake with melted butter. Then, stir together the sugar, flour and cinnamon for the topping. Sprinkle all over the top of the coffee cake.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out cleanly. Let cool for five minutes in the pan. Then, gently loosen the sides with a butter knife. Turn out onto a plate and then turn back onto a serving plate.

Enjoy!

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More from Sarah W. Caron of Sarah’s Cucina Bella

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These eggs remind me of summer. Sweet fresh tomatoes are encircled with the brilliant flavor of fresh basil. There’s slightly sweet roasted garlic, which I have been obsessed with lately, blended with rich heavy cream — a nod to winter. And the warmth of the baked dish make it perfect for a chilly morning. Or dinner.

I feel in love with baked eggs in tomato-based concoctions last winter. Runny yolks are always a favorite of mine, but even more so when they are paired with flavors that compare, contrast and compliment them. And it’s a great bonus that there are so many possibilities for flavor combinations. This seemed like the perfect dish to make when Betty Crocker and Land O’Lakes recently asked me to create something with Land O’Lakes eggs.

This version is a favorite since it uses so many fresh ingredients (and, of course, fresh flavors). There is just no contest when you start with ingredients in as close to a natural state as you can get. I bet this would be even more amazing in fall, when fresh tomatoes and basil from local farms are available and the air just starts to take on that crisp coolness.

But for now, hothouse tomatoes do the job just fine.

Want to try this for yourself? It’s easy.

Start by gathering and preparing your ingredients. It’s seven simple things (plus salt and pepper) — easy as can be. You’ll need to dice the tomatoes and chop the basil. Also, you need to combine the heavy cream and roasted garlic.

Layer it in the small oven-safe pan. Tomatoes and basil first, egg second, garlicky cream third.

Sprinkle it with freshly grated parmesan.

Then bake it.

Try this dish for breakfast in bed, with some buttered whole grain toast and fresh orange juice. You can thank me later.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy eggs?

Baked Eggs with Roasted Garlic, Tomatoes and Basil
serves 1

1 large fresh tomato, diced (about 1 heaping cup)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
3 cloves roasted garlic
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 large egg
1 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small oven-safe bowl rectangular pan (about 6x4x1-inches), combine the tomatoes, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. Stir well.

Meanwhile, in a mini food processor, combine the roasted garlic and heavy cream and whirl until mixed.

Crack the egg into a bowl and then pour into the oven-safe bowl or pan over the tomatoes. Drizzle the heavy cream mixture over it. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the egg white is set.

Remove from the oven. Enjoy!

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Disclosure: I am being compensated by Land O’Lakes and Betty Crocker for this recipe and post. All opinions expressed are my own.

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More from Sarah W. Caron of Sarah’s Cucina Bella

• Roasted Confetti Hash on Tablespoon
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Do you ever peek in other people’s baskets at the grocery store? It’s probably a little voyeuristic, but I totally do. I just find it fascinating what people buy. I notice the folks who buy a ton of frozen meals and the ones who stock up on meats. I notice the ones with tons of snacks, and the ones with just fresh foods. And then there are those who buy like two bananas, a gallon of milk and chips — and then I wonder if that’s dinner.

If you were to check out my grocery cart, you’d think I love yogurt. Like totally adore it. On any given week, I buy at least three varieties of yogurt — Greek fruit on the bottom yogurts for my husband, those little yogurts with cookie crumbles to stir in for Will and yogurt drinks for both Will and Paige. Sometimes there is even more yogurt since Paige adores yogurt too. Sometimes I eat some of the ones with the mix-ins too, but more often I leave the yogurts to everyone else.

But with the new year here, I’ve decided to give Greek yogurt another try. In the past, it just didn’t appeal to me with its thicker texture and tang. But things change. We grow, adapt, live and learn … and guess what? When I decided to use Greek yogurt in the parfait I have been thinking about for days … I really liked it. The whole dish is just delightful … like a chocolate covered strawberry and strawberries and cream all wrapped up into a single guilt free package.

And hey, if I can add a little healthy decadence to breakfast, it’s totally worth it.

You start with a container of Greek yogurt (I used Oikos Vanilla Yogurt from Stonyfield Farms), some strawberries and chopped dark chocolate. That’s it.

Chop up the strawberries. They should be bite size. Also, chop the chocolate. Then you just layer it up. That’s it. Ready to enjoy.

Then you just layer it up. That’s it. Ready to enjoy.

Chocolate Strawberry Greek Yogurt Parfait
serves 1

1 single serving container vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 cup chopped strawberries
1 oz dark chocolate, chopped

Stir the Greek yogurt vigorously. Spoon half of it into a parfait glass and top with half of the strawberries and half of the dark chocolate. Top with the remaining half of the yogurt, strawberries and chocolate. Enjoy immediately.

It’s a muffin! It’s a corn muffin! It’s a maple corn muffin! And it’s amazing.

Filled with maple-y goodness, these easy muffins aren’t overly sweet, which makes them so versatile. You can enjoy them warm with a pat of butter (my favorite way!) for breakfast or a snack. Who doesn’t love butter? They are tender and a little crumbly, a nice combination. But, I keep dreaming of enjoying these with chili too. Maybe tomorrow?

Making these is easy. First you grab your ingredients — you may even have them all right now. See? I told you they were easy.

First you mix the dry ingredients. Then you beat together the wet ones. Then you mix it all together.

Portion out the dough into muffin cups. Then you bake.

Once they are all cooked, you can eat them soon after hot with butter … or let them cool and enjoy them later. Hint: to reheat these, bake at 325 for 10 minutes.

Either way, these make a great breakfast or muffin with chili.

Maple Corn Muffins
yields 12 muffins

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cornmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup low-fat milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter (1 stick)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 12 muffin slots in a muffin pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt until well-combined. In a small mixing bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Add the milk and maple syrup and whisk to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir well until combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Using a big ice cream scoop can help.

Slide the pan into the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes until the muffins are cooked through and golden. Loosen and remove from the pan. Let cool.

These are great served hot with a pat of butter. To reheat, split in half and bake for 10 minutes at 325.

Biscuits didn’t make frequent appearances on our table when I was a child. No, we were more of a grocery store bakery Italian bread family — always purchased fresh that day with a crusty outside and a soft, airy inside. Since I wasn’t a fan of the crusty outside, I would tear out the insides of the bread, roll it into a doughy ball and eat it that way. Odd, I know, but it was the way I enjoyed it.

Don’t worry, I don’t eat bread that way anymore. Just can’t get away with that at 31.

This isn’t about my bread eating habits though. We’re here to talk biscuits. Though I didn’t eat them much as I child, I actually love them and make them often in the winter. Delicate, fluffy biscuits are a dream.

Still, I’m picky about my biscuits. While I love Cream Biscuits and my special layered Whole Wheat Biscuits, I’ve looked down on Baking Powder Biscuits because they seemed to be denser, heavier biscuits that are dry and boring. That’s the way they had always turned out when I made them. But it turns out that I have been missing out. It’s all in the recipe (isn’t that always the case?). In this instance, I turned to a classic.

Awhile back, I bought a box of old recipes and cookbooks on eBay. I have a slight obsession with vintage cookbooks and recipes, so when I saw this set I had to have it. The recipes — a lot from the 20s, 30s and 40s — are an amazing look at how people used to cook. This weekend, I was looking through them and came across the 1926 Watkins Cook Book, a small book of recipes by The J.R. Watkins Company. The company made (actually they still make) all sorts of baking items including baking powder (among many other things). While I was leafing through it, the recipe for Baking Powder Biscuits jumped out at me.

These biscuits are amazing — light and fluffy with a slightly crisp, crumbly exterior. My version is adapted from the original and updated for modern cooking. While the original recipe didn’t specify a cooking temperature, I tested a couple temperatures to find out what worked best — it ended up being a mix of lower, slow cooking and a broiling finish. I also traded in the shortening that the original recipe called for, using butter instead, and added a brush of butter on the top before broiling, which is just biscuit magic. The buttery top changes these from a fluffy biscuit to a heavenly one.

Making these is simple. You need only a few basic ingredients. You probably have everything for these in your kitchen right now. (Not pictured: Milk)

And a few tools. Note: I didn’t use the biscuit cutter pictured when I made these — it was too big. A smaller 2-inch biscuit cutter is necessary for these.

First, you sift together the dry ingredients.

Then you cut in the butter.

Add the milk and stir until the dough comes together. Turn it out onto a floured board and knead it a bit.

Roll it out until it’s 1/2-inch thick. Then cut the biscuits with a 2-inch cutter. Or a jelly jar, as I did. Be sure to press down and pull up on the cutter (or jar) without turning it. This ensures that the sides remain lose and willing to rise.

Transfer them from the cutting board to a baking sheet lined with parchment or nonstick aluminum foil. Then you bake them. Once they are just about starting to color, you brush them with butter and broil them for a minute or two more. They end up a perfect golden color with amazing inner and outer texture.

All in all, the making of these takes about 10 minutes (really. I made them twice today to make sure I had the time, temperature and method just right). You have time to whip up biscuits in 10 minutes, right?

Buttery, Fluffy Baking Powder Biscuits
yields 8
adapted slightly from Watkins Cook Book, 1926

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp low-fat milk
1 tsp salted butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick aluminum foil. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking powder until well combined (about 30 seconds). Cut the pieces of cold unsalted butter into the flour mixture until they are tiny and dispersed throughout. Add the milk and stir well until the dough forms a rough ball.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface (I use a big wooden cutting board). Then knead lightly with floured hands until the dough is a smoother ball. Pat down into a circle. Use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out until it’s 1/2-inch thick. Use a 2-inch biscuit cutter (or a jelly jar) to cut circles from the dough. Knead scraps and re-roll the dough as needed until you’ve used all but a small bit.

Arrange the biscuits on the baking sheet. Slide into the oven and bake for 14-15 minutes, until the tops begin to color slightly. Remove from the oven. Turn off the oven and start the broiler. Meanwhile, melt the salted butter and brush the tops of the biscuits with it.

Slide the tray bake into the oven and broil for 1-2 minutes, watching very carefully, until the biscuits turn golden.

Serve immediately.

When I look at this photo, all I can think is good morning. It’s so inviting. All the contrasting textures and flavors … Wait. Let me tell you about it. Looking is one thing, but hearing is a whole other.

The simple roasted potatoes — both russet and sweet varieties — seasoned only with a little salt and pepper have a slightly crispy outside and silky inside. They’re mixed with rounds of sweet-slightly savory chicken apple sausage, which has such a warm flavor. Then it’s all bound together by the perfect runny poached egg — the kind that has a velvety ooze of yolk that spills out when you dig your fork into it.

I love poached eggs. They are blissful, compact, perfect lumps of egg that spill over so willingly when you dig in. Oh, the joy.

And it was the thought of poached eggs and roasted potatoes – no two kinds of roasted potatoes – and chicken sausage that got me so excited to get to work. In fact, I was so busy mentally calculating the recipe that I nearly missed the exit I needed to take on the highway. Yes, really. But it was totally worth it. It’s the kind of dish that wraps its arms around you and makes everything okay again.

This dish seemed perfect for a blogging gig I was recently given. My friends at Betty Crocker asked me to create an eggy recipe using Land O’Lakes eggs, and I jumped at it. Eggs are huge in our house — a favorite of my breakfast-devoted daughter. We go through about two dozen eggs every week in my house.

Breakfast in our house is kind of a big deal. I mean it should be, being the most important meal of the day and all. But it is really something in our house. Epic, at times, which is surprising since I was a reluctant breakfast convert. Will started the breakfast change in our house — but it was Paige who brought a deep breakfast devotion to the house.

She loved this one, by the way.

Having breakfast has become so important, so crafting balanced meals like this is a must for me. This one is best for weekends (it takes about 40 minutes), and is worth every cooking second.

Do you love breakfast? How do you take your eggs?

Roasted Two Potato and Sausage Hash with Poached Egg
serves 2

1/2 lb russet potatoes
1/2 lb sweet potatoes
Cooking oil spray
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 chicken apple sausage links (not breakfast sausage – the thick links)
2 large eggs (such as Land O’Lakes Cage Free)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil (or parchment paper).

Slice the russet and sweet potatoes into roughly 1”x1”x1/4” pieces. Spread out on the baking sheet. Spray lightly with cooking oil spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Once the oven is heated, slide the baking sheet in and roast for 20 minutes, stirring once.

Meanwhile, slice the chicken sausages into 1/4”-thick slices. Add to the baking sheet and stir gently before spreading out on the sheet. Return to the oven and cook for 10 more minutes.

Bring a pan of water to boil on the stove (about 2” deep of water). Reduce the heat to medium (hint: give it a minute before proceeding for the water to stop boiling so much) and add the cracked eggs to the pan (it helps if you crack them into a small bowl first and then slide in the yolk and white). Cook for 4 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon.

To serve: Divide the potato and sausage mixture evenly among two plates. Top each with a poached egg.

Serve immediately.

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Disclosure: I was compensated for my time by Land O’Lakes/Betty Crocker for the development and creation of this blog post and recipe. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

When my power went out on Sunday and I couldn’t work on Monday and Tuesday, it wasn’t a restful few days vacation. There was the stress of having no power and no running water, the worry about the kids safety and health and the extreme concern over my job and freelance writing. It was unsettling, to say the least.

And yesterday and today? It’s been a relief to be back to work and back on track … but there is still so much stress. My week’s worth of work has been condensed into a mere three days. And the recipe development work that was due this week? Hard to do when the grocery store is still restocking after losing power themselves. Tomorrow will be a whirlwind of finishing recipes, processing photos and writing. Oh, the writing I have to do still. It’ll be something.

So tonight’s post? We’re keeping it simple. I’ve been meaning to talk a little about my new favorite way of making bacon: in the oven. What I love about it is that I can minimize the mess (no splatter on the stove! Easy grease disposal!).

You start with good bacon. This is Nodine’s Apple Smoked Bacon, which I totally teased you with yesterday. I discovered this bacon a few years back when I first got interested in eating locally. It’s meaty and filled with a lovely sweet smokiness — perfect for a great brunch or making a killer sandwich. We’re huge fans, and I love buying it even more because it’s made here in Connecticut in the town where I first worked as a newspaper reporter post-college.

But if thick bacon isn’t your thing (and it’s not always mine), don’t worry. These directions for baking bacon can be used for both thick and thin styles.

How to Bake Bacon with Minimal Mess

NOTE: This technique works equally well with thin- and thick-cut bacon. Cooking time for thick-cut bacon is toward the longer end of the 15-20 minutes total.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. You’ll want the foil edges to trail up the sides of the pan. Top this with a wire mesh cooling rack.

Place the bacon on the cooling rack close together without overlapping. This allows you to maximize how much bacon you cook.

Bake the bacon for 10 minutes. Using tongs, carefully flip every piece of bacon. Return to the oven and bake for 5-10 minutes until cooked through and browned. Be careful, those last 5 minutes are critical. The bacon goes from brown and limp to crispy to burnt really fast, so you need to keep an eye on it.

Remove from the oven and transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.

Enjoy.

The days are quickly ticking by until school begins again. And while I am excited for the start of school — all the new supplies, the fresh start, the new teachers — I am sad that this summer is almost over for us. I am mourning a little.

But, there are highlights … the kids can’t wait to start school. And Will is psyched to have soccer again (this season will include his first games!). Paige is starting a dance class in September as well, which she is proudly telling anyone who will listen about. So it’s good too.

And with school approaching, I am also starting to think about food for the school year. Mornings are a mad, crazy rush since Will’s bus comes very early — earlier than we actually wake up in the summertime. So, breakfasts need to be quick, efficient and filling.

Now, I know you are wondering what this has to do with pancakes … Pancakes aren’t exactly fast (or at least fast enough for a school day) when made from scratch. But they can be totally school-day friendly when you freeze homemade pancakes for reheating later. That’s exactly what I did with the leftovers from this pancake batch.

Hint: To reheat leftover frozen homemade pancakes, preheat oven to 325. Place the frozen pancakes on a baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Done.

In the meantime, we are enjoying ourselves and tucking into maple syrup drizzled stacks of pancakes like these Banana Toffee Pancakes — a perfect treat breakfast (no, these aren’t for everyday). The sweet bits of toffee and chocolate melt into the soft, fluffy banana pancakes. It’s heavenly. Like dessert masking as breakfast …

What do you serve your kids for breakfast?

Banana Toffee Pancakes
serves 4

1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup nonfat milk
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 large banana, peeled and mashed
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup milk chocolate toffee bits (such as Heath’s, found in the baking section)

Heat a large nonstick griddle on the stove with the heat set to just below medium. Allow to heat for at least five minutes. 10 is better.

While the griddle is heating, prepare your batter. Crack the egg into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on medium-high until frothy, about 1 minute. Add the flour, milk, brown sugar, banana, baking powder and salt and mix briefly (about 30 seconds) on medium. Scrap down the sides of the bowl and add the milk chocolate toffee bits. Mix again briefly (about 30 seconds) to combine.

Drop the batter onto the heated griddle using a ladle (fill it about 1/2 way). Cook, flipping once, until lightly brown on both sides.

Serve with maple syrup.

Whenever my daughter and I walk by the bakery area of our local grocery store, she always says the same thing: “Mommy, can I have a muffin?” For someone who really isn’t into sweets (she turned down a slice of cake for dessert last night. It wasn’t the first time), her love of muffins is staggering and consistent. Sometimes I say yes. Other times I don’t.

This week I said no, instead opting to make my own homemade blueberry muffins.

These aren’t ultra-fancy, over-sized or bathed in butter and sugar, though any of those things can make muffins delightful. Instead, these are just a really good, homemade muffin. Tender, not too sweet, moist … all the important parts.

Sometimes what we really want is ultra-simple: a hug, a thank you, a smile … and the same goes for food. Sometimes, it’s not about the daring combination of flavors but rather the simple ones. The ones that hearken back to the foods we grew up on. The things that are comforting and remind us of home.

This recipe for blueberry muffins definitely falls in that that simple, homemade, comfort food category. They’re easy — just a one-bowl preparation and about 25 minutes in the oven. You’ll be eating them before you know it.

And then, you’ll make ‘em again. Because they really are very good.

P.S. My first book review for the BlogHer Book Club went live yesterday. I read and reviewed The Beach Trees by Karen White, a great book about friendship, family, loyalty and the ties that bind us. It’s a perfect summer read, and one that I really enjoyed. Please hop over and check it out.

Blueberry Muffins
yields 12 muffins

1 large egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup blueberries

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-slot muffin tin with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, beat together the egg, milk and oil. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and vanilla extract. Stir until combined. Add the blueberries and mix to combine.

Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups.

Bake for 22-26 minutes, until golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool slightly before serving.