The Michigan Bed and Breakfast Association is over 30 years old and started with just a few innkeepers coming together to collaborate and support each other. Of course, sharing breakfast recipes was a big part of this collaboration. We are creating a new website for our association, and during the process, we came across some old fall recipes that members have shared. To avoid losing this legacy and yumminess, we are sharing them in this article.
Apple Critter Croissants at the Maple Cove B&B
Innkeeper Jan Smith of Maple Cove Bed and Breakfast in Leonard used Gala apples for the dish featured in this photo, but choose your favorite. Maple Cove B&B’s location in north Oakland County is near many notable apple orchards in Oakland and Macomb counties. Jan and her husband, Mark, feature local foods in as many of their breakfast dishes as possible. Eggs come from their chickens.
Ingredients
Serves 4
You will need:
4 small serving bowls of your choice
2 large croissants cut in half lengthwise
2 apples of your choice peeled and sliced thin
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp butter
Orange juice or apple juice as needed to add to apples. I used juice to dribble over the bowls once assembled and before the frosting.
Powdered sugar
Half and half
Instructions
Toss the apple slices in the sugar.
Melt the butter in a pan. Add brown sugar and vanilla. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Add the apples and white sugar mixture to pan. Gently sautee the apples until just tender. You will need the juice from this to pour over the apples once assembled on the croissant so if you need more liquid, add a splash of orange juice or apple juice.
Make the icing by combining powdered sugar and half and half.
Place a croissant half in each bowl. Top with some of the apple mixture, drizzle with the juice from the pan. Top with the icing. Serve warm.
Pumpkin Bread from the Dapple-Gray Bed and Breakfast
Ruth Van Goor of Dapple-Gray Bed and Breakfast in Eagle Harbor says this bread is a guest favorite. Don’t overbake and let it dry out, she advises. It’s a more moist bread than most.
Ruth says she’s never used a cooling rack. “I cool my loaves on an upside-down plate.” She also refrigerates the loaves until ready to use to retain its moisture. Once opened, loaves are kept on a covered cake plate.
”I serve my pumpkin bread at room temperature. It is almost like a dessert,” Ruth said, adding that it also freezes well.
Eagle Harbor is a log home B&B located on the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula. It offers views of Lake Superior.
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups flour
3 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp each of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 15-oz can of pumpkin (use Libby’s only, less watery)
A cup of chopped nuts (optional)
Instructions
Grease loaf pans (I use butter). For easier removal of the baked loaf, cut to size two pieces of aluminum foil and place one on the bottom of each pan.
Combine all ingredients, except the flour and pumpkin, with a mixer.
Sift flour and add slowly to the wet mixture. Once thoroughly combined, add pumpkin and mix.
Stir in chopped nuts, if using. (I don’t because they don’t add to the taste, and make it more difficult to slice.)
Pour mixture into two bread loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 55 minutes.
Use a toothpick to test doneness. When it comes out clean, it’s done.
Let cool in the pan. Then use a knife around the sides and the loaf should come out.
Apricot Stuffed French Toast
Fresh apricots don’t star at breakfast nearly as often as they deserve. They taste of sunshine, with a subtle sweetness, and their soft yellow color with just a hint of blush is undeniably cheerful. Apricots don’t need to be peeled; when ripe, the flesh is easily separated from the tiny seed. Thus, from a chef’s standpoint, apricots are good-looking, good-tasting, and well-behaved.
Ingredients
Up to 10 servings
A loaf or two of French bread, depending on its diameter
1 quart fresh apricots, washed
8 oz apricot preserves or jam
1/2 cup fresh orange juice, divided
Cream cheese (1 oz. per portion)
Grated orange rind to taste
Vanilla, one or two generous dashes
2 eggs
3/4 cup half-and-half
Instructions
Trim the crusty ends of the loaf and reserve for another use. Slice the loaf diagonally, allotting approximately two inches total thickness per portion. Make a parallel slice halfway through each two-inch portion without cutting all the way through. (Slicing diagonally is aesthetically pleasing and allows each portion to be longer than the diameter of the loaf.)
Dice three or four apricots. Mix well: Cream cheese, grated orange rind, and vanilla. Stir in diced apricots.
Spread a generous dollop of the cream cheese mixture in the middle of each bread portion.
Slice remaining apricots.
Whisk together: eggs, half-and-half, 1/4 cup fresh orange juice and a dash of vanilla.
Stir together apricot jam and 1/4 cup fresh orange juice. Warm the sauce just prior to serving.
To assemble and serve French toast:
- dip both sides of each portion in egg mixture
- grill on griddle or electric skillet until lightly browned. (Buttering the pan may not be needed.)
- plate the portions, topping each with sliced apricots and drizzling with warmed sauce
Baked Brie with Pecans and Pumpkin Butter
An essential ingredient is pumpkin butter, which you can buy in jars at specialty retailers such as William-Sonoma or at a well-stocked national chain grocer. You can also make your own, but avoid making it too moist and runny.
Ingredients and instructions
Thaw a sheet of puff pastry.
Roughly chop 3 tablespoons of pecans and place at center of dough.
Drop 2-3 tablespoons of pumpkin butter on top of pecans.
Shave the rind off a wheel of brie and place on top of pecans and pumpkin butter.
Draw up the sides of the dough and pinch together at center. Brush the dough with an egg wash – all sides.
Place seam side down on parchment-lined baking sheet. Top the dough with a circle of pecan halves.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Baked Morel and Cheese Leek Omelet
Former innkeeper Marci Palajac developed this recipe, for which you don’t need fresh morel mushrooms. Instead, the recipe uses Morel and Leek cheese, typically found in the International cheese section of your local grocery store.
The ingredients
Butter for greasing dish
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 leek sliced (white parts only)
8 large eggs
1/3 cup whole milk
1 tsp. kosher salt
Cracked black pepper (to taste)
1/3 cup of roasted red peppers, chopped (You can use roasted red peppers from a jar)
1 1/2 cups of Morel and Leek Cheese* shredded
2 Tbsp. Boursin Cheese (this is a soft cheese)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter an 8 X 8 inch baking dish. Warm olive oil in a sauté’ pan and sauté leek until softened.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Stir in the red pepper, 1 cup of shredded cheese, leeks and parsley. Pour into baking dish. Separate the Boursin into four dollops dropped into the four corners of the egg mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.
Cut the omelet into four squares.
Serves four.
Substitutions
*If you can’t find Morel and Leek Cheese, substitute another cheese you would like (Gruyere is a particularly tasty choice).
You can also substitute green onions for the leeks.
Double Dark Chocolate Waffles with Bourbon Sauce
This decadent breakfast entree combines double-dark chocolate waffles with a bourbon sauce, topped with freshly whipped cream and sliced strawberries.
Make the waffles
Ingredients
2 large eggs, beaten
2 Tbs dark brown sugar
1 Tbs white sugar
3 Tbs melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 buttermilk at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp instant espresso powder
Dash of ground sea salt
3 oz dark baking chocolate, chopped finely
Instructions
- In small bowl, blend together eggs, sugars, melted butter, room-temperature buttermilk and vanilla.
- In larger bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cocoa, espresso powder, and salt.
- Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Fold in chocolate, cover bowl, and let rest while waffle iron heats and sauce is made.
- Make waffles according to directions, using added butter to prepare the waffle maker.
- Keep prepared waffles warm in a 250-degree oven. Put them in one layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Serve with sliced strawberries or raspberries and the bourbon sauce. Top with freshly whipped cream, sweetened with confectioner’s sugar.
Serves 8
Make Iron Fish Bourbon Sauce
Ingredients
1 stick butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup real maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup Iron Fish Distillery bourbon
Instructions
Combine first four ingredients in saucepan. Bring to boil. Cook three minutes. Reduce heat and add bourbon. Keep warm until serving.
Cinnamon Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Preheat oven to 350F, and prepare a bundt pan, or your favorite pan with any kind of pan spray.
2 sticks room-temperature butter
1 ½ cups white sugar
4 eggs, one at a time
Blend those 3 ingredients until smooth and creamy, then add:
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp vanilla or almond extract (your choice)
1 cup chopped nuts, your choice. I prefer pecans or you can leave them out, or add a few to the cinnamon mixture.
Continue to blend until creamy, then fold in the chopped nuts
Add to the wet ingredients:
2 ¼ cups sifted flour, as measured after sifting
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt (Sea salt is my favorite.)
Cinnamon mixture
¾ cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp soft butter
1 Tbsp cinnamon
Blend again. The batter should be fairly thick at this point. Pour half the batter in the pan, top with cinnamon mixture and repeat.
Bake for ½ hour and rotate, bake another 20 to 25 minutes, depending on your oven. I sometimes cover loosely with parchment paper for the last 20 minutes so it doesn’t get too crusty on top. (Most people invert, but you can serve either way.)
Let cool for about 10 minutes, bang it around to loosen and invert onto rack.
Once it’s completely cooled, dust with powdered sugar, or drizzle with topping.
Topping: ½ cup powdered sugar, and start with a tsp of water, milk, juice, blend until it will drizzle. Add more powdered sugar and liquid as needed.
Slice and enjoy. It also freezes nicely.
Flower Pot Herbed Loaves at the Hotel Saugatuck
An impressive accompaniment to any spring meal at the Hotel Saugatuck
Imagine your delight when one of these Flower Pot Herb Loaves turns up on the tray of your room-delivered breakfast at The Hotel Saugatuck Luxury Bed and Breakfast. Warm and fragrant, with the aroma of five herbs, this bread will delight the taste buds, too.
Each day at The Hotel Saugatuck, guests choose from three main-course options for their breakfast, delivered to their rooms at the agreed-on time.
Flower Pot Herb Loaves
Makes enough for six 4-inch terracotta pots
4 cups flour
1.5 tsp salt
1 package dry active yeast
2/3 cup milk, warm
1.5 cup water, warm
4 Tbsp butter, melted
vegetable oil to season pots
1 egg, beaten, for glaze
Mince herbs together:
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp parsley
1 Tbsp chives
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp rosemary
Sift flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix yeast in warm water.
Create a well in flour mixture for yeast and water mixture. Let sit for 10 minutes, then mix.
Add in warm milk, all herbs, melted butter. Mix until incorporated.
Turn out on clean surface. Knead about 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise for 1 to 1.5 hours. Will double in size.
Prepare terracotta flower pots by generously coating in vegetable oil. (It will take a few uses of the pots before they are seasoned. Expect some sticking of the dough the first couple of times.)
Preheat oven to 400F.
After the initial rise, punch down the dough. Portion the dough into six baseball-sized pieces. Place in prepared pots. Cover and let rise an additional 30 minutes.
Brush egg over the tops. Bake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
Fontina and Goat's Cheese Tart in a Hash Brown Nest
Makes 10 to 12 nests
Make hash brown nests
15 oz. frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Mix hash browns, salt, pepper, olive oil and 1 cup Cheddar cheese in a mixing bowl
Butter the wells of a jumbo muffin pan and divide hash brown mixture. Use your fingers to pack them tightly and shape them into nests
Bake at 425 degrees F until the edges have browned and the cheese has melted, about 15 minutes.
Make the filling
3 oz baby arugula and baby spinach blend
2 Tbsp butter, softened, plus more for pan
8 large eggs
Coarse salt and ground pepper
½ cup plain, whole fat Greek yogurt
1 cup half and half
sea salt, freshly cracked pepper
6 oz grated Fontina cheese
5 oz goat cheese, crumbled (goat cheese crumbles easily if you freeze for about 30 minutes beforehand)
4 scallions, thinly sliced
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Wilt the baby greens in a sauté pan with a small amount of water. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Drain the cooled greens well and roughly chop.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, Greek yogurt and half and half. Fold in grated Fontina cheese, greens, 1 teaspoon sea salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper until well combined. Divide mixture evenly into hash brown nests. (I use an ice cream scoop.) Sprinkle each with crumbled goat cheese. Bake until set, 25 to 30 minutes.
Let nests rest for five minutes before removing from pan. Sprinkle with chopped scallions to serve.
