Coffeecake, sweetrolls, quickbread and oatmeal

I had a request for a very simple and quick coffeecake with lots of flavor. As we visited, I found the requester needed a breakfast or brunch recipe to serve overnight guests, and just wanted to do a coffeecake. I told her I would find a couple of recipes, but I would also give her a sweetroll recipe and a quickbread recipe, that I really like anytime of the day, but work great for a brunch. As I was looking for the coffeecake recipes in my breakfast and brunch files, I came across a recipe for oatmeal that is very tasty, easy and inexpensive. Maybe out of these different options, she can find one or more recipes that will work.

Quick Coffeecake

This quick and easy coffeecake is even better with the addition of chopped pecans to the streusel mixture.

• 1 cup oil
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, eggs, vanilla and milk. In a medium bowl, blend together sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Combine egg mixture with flour mixture. Pour half the batter into a 9x13-inch pan.

In a medium bowl, prepare streusel by combining brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle half of streusel on top of the batter. Top with remaining batter and then sprinkle the remaining streusel on top. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Makes 18 to 24 servings.

Sweet Orange Rolls

Sweet, light, chewy, fluffy and simple to make! These will hit the spot any day of the week.

For the dough:

• 1 cup warm milk
• 1 envelope quick rise yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 to 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling:

• *¼ cup butter, melted
• *¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• *¼ teaspoon cinnamon

For the icing:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons orange juice

For the dough: In a large bowl, stir warm milk together with yeast and half the sugar. Stand 5 minutes to let yeast proof. Stir in melted butter, egg, remaining sugar, salt and half the flour. Stir until incorporated, and then add remaining flour by 1/4 cup until dough comes together. Knead 3 minutes or until dough is smooth and feels sticky but won't stick to your hands. Place dough into buttered bowl and flip to coat dough completely in grease. Cover bowl and rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Spray a 9x13-inch pan and a pie plate with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Punch dough down and roll into 2 foot by 1 foot rectangle on a floured board. Spread melted butter over entire rectangle. Stir orange zest and cinnamon into sugar and stir to combine. Sprinkle sugar over butter, spreading evenly where necessary. Roll dough lengthwise and cut off uneven ends. Cut into 24 1-inch rolls, approximately. Place into prepared pans. Cover and let rise another hour. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake rolls 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. While rolls are cooking, stir powdered sugar and orange juice together until smooth to create icing. Once rolls come out of the oven, immediately drizzle with icing. Cool 10 minutes and serve.

Butter Brickle Loaf Cakes

This quickbread seems so simple, yet it is so flavorful. It makes two loaves, so one may be wrapped and frozen for another day. You may also add a drizzle of a powdered sugar glaze if desired. This is the perfect accompaniment alongside a piping hot cup of coffee.

• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 box vanilla instant pudding mix
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring
• 1 cup almond brickle chips or Skorr's English Toffee Chips

Bake pecans on a baking sheet at 350 for 5 minutes or until toasted, stirring once. Set aside.

Beat cake mix and next five ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer for five minutes. Stir in almond brickle chips just until blended. Sprinkle toasted chopped pecans evenly over bottoms of two lightly greased 9-by-5-inch loaf pans. Pour cake batter evenly over pecans. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted in center, comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks. Yield: 2 loaf cakes.

Note: Find almond brickle chips made by Heath or Skor English Toffee chips on the aisle with chocolate morsels. Variation: Chocolate chip loaf cakes; substitute 1 cup (6 ounces) mini semisweet chocolate morsels for almond brickle chips.

Sour Cream Coffeecake

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel:

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans, optional

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the pecans, if desired.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners' sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

For a slight variation away from coffee cake for breakfast, I included this recipe for one hot cereal option. This recipe is only for one serving, but it can be increased in size and cooked in a pan if desired for more servings. If you microwave, just make sure your bowl is large enough to avoid boil-overs.

Carrot Cake Oatmeal

• 1/3 cup quick-cooking steel cut oats
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg (optional)

• 3 tablespoons finely grated or chopped carrot
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts or pecans

Place oats, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, carrot and maple syrup into a large bowl and stir. Microwave 3 minutes. Stir and top with walnuts or pecans and more maple syrup and cinnamon, if desired. Yields 1 serving.

Have a great week, and until next time, happy cooking.