Breakfast cookies

I was feeling stuck in a pancake/waffle/muffin/fruit/yogurt rut with the kids' breakfasts (and eggs before noon make me feel blarky), so I thought I'd give these a whirl.  I'm not sure I can say that this is an adaptation of the original recipe, since there are only 3 ingredients that are the same, but the *idea* comes from Natalie Haughton's Cookies.  You can store them in the fridge or freezer.  The kids scarfed them down this morning.

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Microwave Pumpernickel Muffins

These are not too bad.  What a ringing endorsement, huh?  Haha!  But did anyone else try those microwave cake kits in approximately 1987?  Blark.  These muffins do not suffer from the same ills I recall from microwave baking 20+ years ago.  Microwaves are famous for not browning food, but these delicious whole grain muffins don't need extra browning.  The microwave leaves the muffins extra tender and of course, it's unbelievably fast, kid-friendly baking without heating up your house.  I also experimented with freezing the uncooked batter and baking single muffins from their frozen state...results are a little ugly, but still tasty.  I think these may enter the lineup of quick ready-made breakfast/snack options.

This is a recipe I dredged up out of a 1980's era cookbook, but unfortunately I don't have the citation.  The only adaptations I've made are to use what I routinely keep in my pantry/freezer and to make the whole process a little less fussy. 

I was a bit short on my 3 oz. of cream cheese when I tested these on account of a certain Little Dude liberating some of the product and giving himself a little moisturizing cream cheese facial in the middle of Meijer, but I think it turned out okay.  I think using a teaspoonful of prepared flavored cream cheese would be on point here, too--the muffins are not so insistently pumpernickel-y that a sweet fruity cream cheese would be out of place, but they are savory enough to support a garlic-and-herb type of filling as well. 
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Muffin mix yeast rolls

A classic soft dinner roll that can made sweet or not and frozen for browning-and-serving.  I made this recipe recently using my bread machine on the dough setting.  It's a 2 lb. machine and it managed to handle this large and heavy recipe, but I wouldn't do it in a smaller machine. 

N.B...the package size for the muffin mix/cake mix is important.  If you do a sweet cake mix, get a 9 oz. box that makes a single 9" layer (Jiffy makes mixes this size, so does Martha White I think).  The big boxes of Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines mixes are 18 oz.  Same with the muffin mix...make sure it's a small 7.5-ish oz. package of mix, not a great big box.  Constant vigilance!

Muffin Mix Yeast Rolls

Makes 18 rolls

1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

3 3/4 cup bread flour

1 7.5 oz. package bran muffin mix

1 1/2 cups warm water (~110F)

1/4 cup butter, melted

Optional: 2 beaten egg whites

OR

Cake Mix Yeast Rolls
Makes 18 rolls

1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

3 1/4 cup bread flour

1 9 oz. package yellow cake mix

1 1/2 cups warm water (~110F)

1/4 cup butter, melted

Optional: 2 beaten egg whites

Stir together dry ingredients.  Add water and melted butter and beat until a shaggy ball forms.  Knead the dough about 5 minutes.  Put in a large greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise 1 hour. 

Punch dough down and divide into 2 pieces.  Divide each of those into 3 pieces, and divide each of those into 3 pieces.  Roll each piece of dough into a ball and place in 2 9" cake pans, lightly greased or non-stick. 

You can freeze the dough now, or let it rise 30 minutes.  Brush tops of rolls with egg whites for a shiny finish (totally optional). 

Bake dough (thawed, if previously frozen) 15-20 minutes at 350F. 

You can also freeze the baked rolls and reheat them, after thawing, at 350F for about 15 minutes.

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