Susan Mallery's Fool's Gold Cookbook: A Love Story Told Through 150 Recipes (Fool's Gold #12.1)

For muffins:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9 muffin cups with paper liners. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin-pie spice, cinnamon and salt. In another large bowl, whisk eggs, oil, both sugars and pumpkin until blended. Fold in dry ingredients just until blended. Do not overmix.

2. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake 20 minutes, until firm on top but still just slightly soft in the center. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

For glaze:

1. In a small bowl, whisk espresso powder and hot coffee until powder is dissolved. Whisk in powdered sugar, a little at a time, to drizzling consistency. Drizzle in a zigzag pattern over cooled muffins.

TIP: Any unflavored vegetable oil will work in the recipe.

FALL

Blueberry Muffin Coffee Cake

This gorgeous cake will make an impressive centerpiece at your next brunch.

Serves 12

Cake

2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for coating blueberries

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus additional for greasing pan

2 cups granulated sugar

Zest of 1 lemon, chopped

3 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

¾ cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

3 cups blueberries

Topping

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10-cup tube pan, preferably one with a removable bottom. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt until blended.

2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, cream butter, sugar and lemon zest for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low, then alternately add dry ingredients and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl. Beat another few seconds until combined. Do not overmix.

3. In a medium bowl (you can use the same one the dry ingredients were mixed in), combine blueberries with a fistful of flour; toss to coat. Remove batter from the mixer; fold in blueberries until just blended. Scoop batter into prepared pan.

4. In a small bowl, whisk sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the batter. Bake 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Run a metal spatula around the edges of the cake to loosen from the pan. Carefully remove the pan sides. Let the cake cool completely before releasing the cake from the pan.

TIP: Tossing the blueberries with flour ensures that they don’t sink to the bottom of the cake during baking.

FALL

Jo’s Bar Applesauce-Stuffed French Toast

This clever baked French toast recipe means you don’t have to stand at the stove cooking toast to order. We cheated a bit—the applesauce isn’t exactly stuffed into the bread; rather, it’s nestled between the baking slices.

Serves 4

7 thick slices raisin or white sandwich bread

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup granulated sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

½ cup applesauce

1½ cups whole milk

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Garnishes

Whipped cream

Maple syrup

Powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter an 8-by-8-inch baking pan.

2. Spread one side of each bread slice with butter; sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place bread on the baking sheet and bake 6 minutes, until toasted, flipping once. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Cut 3 slices in half. Lay the remaining 4 slices down the length of the pan, arranging them in an overlapping column. Fit half the slices around the edges of the pan to even out the height of the slices. Use a tablespoon to spoon the applesauce in between the slices, so that applesauce is completely covered by the toast.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk milk, eggs, vanilla and salt. Pour evenly over the toast slices. Let the toast sit for at least 15 minutes (or cover and refrigerate overnight). Bake 25 minutes, or until filling is just set. Serve hot, with garnishes as desired.

TIP: Use whatever bread your family likes, but make sure it’s not a thin-sliced variety.

FALL

FALL

Caramel Apple Scones

Two classic fall flavors combine in this buttery breakfast treat.

Makes 4

Scones

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 baking apples (about ⅔ pound), peeled and cut into ¾-inch chunks

Cinnamon sugar, as needed

1½ cups all-purpose flour

⅓ cup granulated sugar, plus additional for sprinkling

1½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced

¼ cup heavy cream

1 large egg

Glaze

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ cup light-brown sugar

1 tablespoon whole milk

¼ cup powdered sugar