George Washington’s favorite breakfast staple was a stack of Hoe Cakes fresh off the griddle smothered in butter, syrup or honey. He also enjoyed a cup of hot tea or one his other favorite beverages: hot chocolate cream (which we know now to be a version of hot chocolate).

Hoe Cakes

Ingredients

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten 

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup melted butter lightly cooled

Vegetable oil or bacon grease for frying

Directions

In a large bowl add the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt and whisk together really well. 

Make a hole/well in the center of the mixture and add in the beaten eggs, buttermilk, water, and melted butter and mix until thoroughly combined.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil (I use butter) in a cast iron skillet or frying pan on medium-high heat.

Scoop enough batter as if you are making a pancake and drop into the frying pan. 

Fry each Hoe cake until the edges start to bubble and the edges are golden brown. Flip over and fry for another couple minutes until golden brown.

Remove and serve immediately with butter, and or syrup. Or you can be like George Washington and add honey!

President Andrew Johnson was a man of simple tastes and humble beginnings from North Carolina.

One of his favorite dishes was Sweet Potato Pudding – which is a traditional Southern dessert.

Sweet Potato Pudding

Ingredients

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup whole milk

2 large well-beaten eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9×9-inch baking dish.

In a large pot, add the cubed sweet potatoes and cover with water. Bring to a full boil and cook the potatoes until they are tender (this will take about 15-20 minutes).

Drain the sweet potatoes and return them to the pot.

Mash until smooth. Set the pot aside.

In a large bowl, add the mashed sweet potatoes with the melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, milk, beaten eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt.

Mix until well combined and the texture is smooth.

If using the chopped pecans, fold the pecans into the mixture for added texture and flavor. You can also just sprinkle onto the top too vs. folding into the mixture.

Pour the sweet potato mixture into the greased baking dish and spread it evenly over the entire dish.

Bake the pudding in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until the pudding is set and slightly golden on the top.

Remove from the oven and let the sweet potato pudding cool slightly before serving.

The pudding can be served warm or at room temperature.

For extra deliciousness add a dollop of homemade whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Today in the kitchen I made former First Lady Edith Wilson’s Cornbread Skillet. I don’t recall ever making/baking Cornbread in a skillet and this is truly delicious. Especially using white cornmeal vs. yellow cornmeal. It has like a buttermilk taste – which I absolutely love 😋

Edith Wilson’s Cornbread Skillet

Ingredients

1 Cup White Cornmeal

2 cups of boiling water

1 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 TBSP baking powder

2 TBSP butter

2 TBSP granulated sugar (optional)

4 large eggs

Directions

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

In a medium bowl, pour water over the cornmeal and add butter.

Add the milk, flour, salt, baking powder, sugar (optional) and eggs.

Mix all together.

Grease a large skillet. I used softened butter to grease my cast iron skillet.

Pour into the skillet.

Bake until done – the original recipe says 30 minutes but I would check sooner possibly at 25-27 minutes.

Today in the kitchen I made a delicious Cinnamon Bread. I love the smell (and taste!) of all things cinnamon and the recipe is so easy to use. You probably have all of the ingredients in your own kitchen today!

Cinnamon Bread

Batter Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/3 cups sour cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Mixture

4 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 TBSP ground cinnamon

3/4 cup brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a loaf pan or line with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl add the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk the dry ingredients together really well.

Set the bowl aside.

In a separate medium bowl, add the eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream and vanilla extract. Whisk together really well. Set the bowl aside.

In a small bowl, add the cinnamon, melted butter and brown sugar. Mix together really well. Set the bowl aside.

Make a well into the center of the dry ingredients bowl.

Pour the wet ingredients into the well. Mix the wet and dry ingredients really well until all is combined thoroughly.

Spoon about 1/4 of the batter into the bottom of the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the batter.

Dollop about 1/3 cup of the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture over the batter.

Top with the remaining batter.

Add the remaining brown sugar-cinnamon mixture into the top.

Drag a butter knife back and forth – lengthwise and cross wise and make swirls.

Bake uncovered in the oven for 45 minutes. Then remove and cover with foil and bake for another 20 minutes until thoroughly done.

Remove from the oven cool the bread for at least five minutes before removing from the loaf pan.

Place on a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.

The bread is delicious to eat plain or with butter (I prefer butter, of course!)

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…and it’s my favorite time of year for baking!

The first cookie I’ve made (so far) this holiday season are these wonderfully festive Chocolate Chip cookies loaded with chocolate chips plus white chocolate chips to add the wintery feel + red and green sprinkles to add that extra bonus of a festive Christmas cookie.

Winter Wonderland Chocolate Chip Christmas Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Holiday sprinkles, for garnish

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Stir in the vanilla extract.

Set the bowl aside.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Gently fold in both the white chocolate chips and semisweet chocolate chips until evenly distributed in the dough.

Use a cookie scoop (or spoon) to drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

If adding holiday sprinkles, place the sprinkles in a small bowl and roll the cookie balls into the sprinkles and then add to the baking sheets.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are a lightly golden brown.

Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Today in the kitchen I made Maple Pumpkin Scones. The scones are incredibly moist, tender and infused with my favorite ingredients: pumpkin and maple.

They are perfect for breakfast, a tea party or brunch or…just because you want ‘em.

Maple Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients for the Scone Batter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaapoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Maple Glaze

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon milk

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Cut in the butter: Add cold, cubed butter and mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can use a pastry cutter, fork or also your fingers if you don’t have a pastry cutter available.

Mix the wet ingredients into a separate medium bowl. Combine the pumpkin, milk, and vanilla.

Add to the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.

Add the batter to a well greased scone pan or if you don’t have a scone pan…add the dough onto a floured surface and gently pat into a circle about 1 inch thick.

Cut into wedges and place on a well greased (or line with parchment paper) baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.

If using a scone pan, remove from the pan after ten minutes.

To make the maple glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners sugar, maple syrup, and milk until smooth.

Drizzle the maple glaze over the warm scones.

Hummingbird Cake was first submitted to Southern Living magazine in 1978 by Mrs. L.H. Wiggins from Greensboro, North Carolina. According to Southern Living it is one of the most popular Southern cakes ever made.

The cake is truly amazing with the star ingredients of crushed pecans, mashed bananas and crushed pineapple – which makes it extra moist. Of course, topped off with cream cheese frosting (and more pecans!) which makes it extra delicious 😋

Hummingbird Cake

Cake Ingredients

2 cups chopped pecans

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 and 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3 large bananas

One 8 oz can crushed pineapple (do not drain the juice)

3 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

16 oz cream cheese (2 bricks), softened to room temperature

4 cups Confectioners Sugar

1 + 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

A pinch of salt, if desired

Directions for the Cake

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 8-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients. Set the bowl aside.

In a medium bowl, add the mashed bananas, crushed pineapple, eggs, vegetable oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vegetable extract.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Fold in 1 and 1/2 cups of the pecans into the batter. Set the rest of the pecans aside to use later to garnish the cake.

Spread the batter evenly into the
three prepared cake pans.

Bake for 26-29 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove cakes from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pans before removing. Place the cakes on a wire baking rack to cool completely before frosting.

Layer and top the cakes with the cream cheese frosting and garnish with the remaining pecans.

Directions for the Cream Cheese Frosting

In a large bowl, use a hand held mixer and beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until smooth – about 2 minutes.

Add the confectioners sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt (if needed).

Mix for at least 3 minutes until completely combined and creamy.

Add more confectioners sugar if frosting is too thin or a little bit of milk if frosting is too thick.

I just love a good chocolate chip cookie 🍪 and these did not disappoint my taste buds.

Former First Lady Hillary Clinton submitted this wonderful cookie recipe to Family Circle Magazine in 1992 and 1996 for their First Lady Bake Off. For several years the potential First Ladies would submit a cookie recipe during the Presidential election season and the voters would pick which cookie was their favorite.

It was said that whoever won the cookie contest – their husband’s would win the Presidency.

In 1992, it was Hillary Clinton’s Chocolate Chip Cookies vs. Barbara Bush’s Chocolate Chip Cookies.

In 1996, Hillary Clinton submitted the her Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe once again and Elizabeth Dole submitted her recipe for Pecan Roll Cookies.

Hillary Clinton won both times and as we know…the rest is history 🇺🇸

Today in American history…former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890 in Denison, Texas.

So we are celebrating by enjoying Apple Pie and used his own personal recipe 🇺🇸

One of former First Lady Lucy Hayes favorite recipes to make was homemade Crumpets. While doing some research, I came across her personal recipe from The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum:

And here’s the modern recipe that I used today:

Homemade Crumpets

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole milk

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

11/2 cups lukewarm water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Oil for the pan, cooking spray or melted butter

Directions

Warm the milk in a saucepan. Make sure that it is warm but not boiling. Otherwise, it will kill the yeast.

In a large bowl, add the warm milk, flour, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and whisk together until all incorporated.

Once combined, add half (3/4 cup) of the water and beat into the batter.

Continue to add more water (3/4 cup) until the batter is thick and smooth. Add more water if needed. Stop adding water once it reaches the consistency of thick cream.

Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm, draft-free place until the dough is doubled in size. This should take about 1 hour but can take up to 2 hours.

Once the dough has doubled in size, add in the salt and baking powder into the batter and whisk together.

Heat a large heavy-duty non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat until hot.

Moisten a paper towel with a little oil and grease the base of the pan and crumpet (or pastry) rings – use rings that are approximately 3 inches wide by 1/2 inch tall.

Place 1 ring on the heated pan and pour in enough batter to fill just below the top of the ring – about 1/4 cup of batter or a little more if needed.

Cook for at least 5 minutes until there are many tiny holes on the surface and the crumpet is setting around the edges.

Flip the crumpet over (in the ring) and cook until the crumpet is light brown and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes more.

Repeat with the remaining batter, greasing the pan and rings in between each batch.

Remove the crumpets and place on a wire rack until cooled completely.

Toast a crumpet and add butter and jam if desired.