Christmas Coffee Cake

Happy December! During this month every year, I make a delicious coffee cake that I can never get enough of. I was obsessed with this streusel-filled cake, and only this cake, as a child – especially around the Holidays! It's the perfect side with your coffee on Christmas morning, but it's so scrumptious you'll want to have it every single day! It's not exactly the most healthy cake I've ever had, but every once in a while, you just got to treat yourself. With all the running around I need extra calories to burn! :P

Christmas Coffee Cake

Serves 9-12

Ingredients:

Batter:

1 ½ cups AP Flour

¾ cup sugar

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

¾ cup milk

1 egg

Streusel filling:

½ cup brown sugar (packed)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ cup finely chopped nuts

2 Tablespoons melted butter

 

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 375°F.

2.       Grease 9 -10” springform pan

3.       Mix batter ingredients together, then add only half of the streusel filling in with the batter.

4.       Pour mixture into pan, sprinkle remaining ½ streusel mixture on top

5.       Bake 25-30 minutes. Let the cake sit for 5 minutes before serving.

I used walnuts for my chopped nuts, but you can use a variety of nuts if that's your thing. You can also substitute the butter with shortening, or to make it less fatty, substitute the butter with some applesauce! It's a great trick for those who are wanting a more healthy option when baking a cake!

I used a 10" springform pan to bake the batter in, but you can also use different sized baking pans such as 9x9x2, 8x8x2, or 9 x 1/2 round. From my experience the squarer the pan, the fluffier the cake will be! If you are into making it a more round shape, the cake will be more compact but still as yummy as ever!

Don't be surprised when you want a second (okay, maybe even a third) serving in one sitting! I'm not kidding when I say how truly good this cake is! Not a coffee drinker? This cake also goes perfect with tea or a glass of milk!

You can also add some dried fruit like apricot, cranberry, etc. but I'm not really into it because it reminds me too much of fruitcake, which I am soooo not a fan of! But it's always nice to mix things up!

What are some of your favorite Holiday baking recipes? I love sharing recipes and would love to see your version of a coffee cake! Stay tuned for more baked goodies coming up on the blog this month! Look out for gingerbread cookies and a Matcha pie! Yummy :)

Love & xx's,

maQ + Suz

Source: www.suzannespiegoski.com

Sunday Hiking Adventure

To close the long holiday weekend, I took the liberty to stop everything I was doing and to escape the city, even if only for the day. Life has it's unexpected twists and turns in every chapter of a person's story, and since we haven't been able to get away for a while, we just wanted, and more importantly, really needed the break.

Yesterday we went to Harriman State Park, the second largest state park in New York. With over 200 miles of hiking trails, it is a haven for hikers and paradise for dogs! We've been up to Bear Mountain last year and wanted to mix the trail up with a new path, taking the Blue Disc Trail. 

The trail climbs two mountains (!), Almost Perpendicular and Pound Mountain, and passes two major rock formations, Elbow Rush and Claudius Smith Rock. It's crazy, the trail dates back to the 1920s! It wasn't the hardest hike I've ever done but it was steep and all together we trekked around 7 miles! We played with MaQ's Hawaiian Flyer Frisbee, and of course, he chased around one of his Chuck It balls, his ultimate favorite toy. All the exercise was a great way to burn off all the turkey from this weekend. :)

Take a look at our photos from our hiking adventure below! I love when my hubby and I go somewhere because the photo results always speak for themselves, but the making of memories are what are instilled within us forever. And for every day I'm alive, I'm am utterly grateful. And, any time spent with those two hooligans is always a plus! At least to me it is! ;) ♥

How 'bout it, New Yorkers? What are some of your most memorable scenic trails in New York? There's so many to choose from, I know! What are some of your ways of staying fit with all the Holiday food ready to entice you? 

Love & xxs,

maQ + suz 


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Our Thanksgiving Spread

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope your day was filled with warmth, love & full bellies! I am thankful for every day. Every sunrise or sunset I get to see makes me filled with gratitude. However I'm thankful most for my husband, Gilles and our fur baby, MaQ. They are my family and without them I'm not sure where I would be today. Their love makes each day worth getting up for. I love these two more than anything else in the world. Thank you both for always having my back.

Today's post is all about my cook-a-thon from yesterday's feast! I've been cooking our turkey's for the past 7 years and I must admit, this year's turkey was the best yet! I got a decent-sized bird to last us for days, just shy of 14 pounds! I panicked the first time I handled a turkey. The idea of cooking the darn thing was intimidating enough, let alone preparing all the side dishes and appetizers, cocktails, etc. Secondly, I was honestly grossed out. But now, with persistent practice in the kitchen, I prep faster and with more confidence, therefore with much more ease. It's a breeze now and I relish the idea of cooking a 20+lber one day, ha ha! This year was also the first time where I never felt overwhelmed! My cooking skills are improving, and I'm so happy to share with you my progress thus far! Here are a few tricks of the trade I've learned from the many Thanksgiving dinners I've made in the past years:

ALWAYS PREP IN ADVANCE! I can't tell you how many times I was that dingdong who'd rush to the market on the day of Thanksgiving. BAD Suz! BAD. Life is continuously hectic in New York, and I never could seem to manage to prepare anything beforehand and made everything on the actual day! This year in particular, I bought everything I needed the day before. Lol. I also made the pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Eve, which definitely helped take off a little pressure from all the cooking on the day of.

BUTTER, BUTTER & MORE BUTTER. What's the secret to French cooking? That's right, folks, the more the better. If you want your turkey to have a super moist, rich taste, the key is where you put the butter. I like to season mine first with a variety of herbs & seasonings, then take the mixture and place it under the skin. The trick is to not to rip the entire skin off though. I will poke a hole through each end on both sides, and will especially be generous with the butter when it comes to the breast. I put most of the butter in this section because this part of the turkey has a tendency to be the most dry.

COVER TURKEY WITH FOIL. Remove the foil when there is only 1 hour left to finish cooking the bird. This is the time to baste the turkey from the cooked juices, I usually try to do this every 10-15 minutes (for an hour), giving it a nice brown on the skin. Doesn't it look delicious?!

USE UNFLAVORED DENTAL FLOSS TO TIE THE LEGS. It's easy to remove and even easier to tie if you have an extra pair of hands. (Thanks, hubby bear for the awesome teamwork!) I'm not sure what everyone else uses, but I've been using this method for years and it's never failed to secure them tightly!

A VARIETY OF SIDES GOES A LONG WAY. Some of my favorite trimmings are mashed potatoes and stuffing (or dressing as the South calls it). I could literally survive on the stuff! But you never know who's going to show up, so it's a good thing to mix it up and try different and new recipes. I also made my version of candied yams & apples, which is on the sweeter side comparatively to the other dishes. Salad is also a great starter. I mixed mine with mushrooms, red & yellow peppers, onion, cucumbers, tomatos and shredded carrots. I also will normally have some kind of bread at the table but I totally forget about it in the photo! Last are the cranberry sauce and green beans which are always winners.

HOW TO GET THE FLUFFIEST MASHED POTATOES. A whisk! Just whip those taters up like you're whisking eggs and it'll be the airiest potatoes of your life! Secret's also in the right amount of butter and milk. Don't forget the salt too!

APPEARENCE DOES COUNT. Any kind of decorative effort brings liveliness to a place/setting. Whether it's flowers, funky-looking squash and pumpkins, or a fabulous table runner, I try to keep the spread looking simple yet appealing. Plus, you'll still have all your decorations after which will still keep your place looking fun and festive, unless you like to jump into Christmas right away.  :)

What are some of your favorite tricks for Thanksgiving dinners? Favorite sides? What about your least favorite dish you still come across? Like fruitcake during Christmas? Ha ha! Have a safe rest of your Black Friday and enjoy the Holiday weekend! <3

Love & xx's,

maQ + suz

The Writer's Desk

I don't know about you but I am so glad it's a 3-day work week. Life has been busy and stressful, so the idea of a cook-a-thon of some of my most favorite eats is more than thrilling. Yes, I mean this in the most non-sarcastic way. It relaxes me. And by celebrating and giving thanks, though we should be thankful every day, it's always so nice to reflect during this time of year. Because we do have so much to be grateful for.

New York City is pretty chilly today. The perks of working from home as a writer and blogger has it's pros and cons, and I will still take a break and get out of the apartment. I'll go for a run or a walk with MaQ and some of his other dog friends, or grab something to eat, or just to people watch. These daily activities are constant but today, I don't know; maybe because it's awfully cold (supposedly these are normal temps for Nov, or is it? Can't keep track anymore thanks to global warming) or because in my mind it's already Hump Day, but it was one of those days where it felt like Sunday. A case of the Monday's if you will.

So I stayed in my Calvin's, or rather PJ's I guess, and wrapped myself up in one of my hubby's shirts, then went to work. Can't get cozier than that! Along with comfort, as a writer, I also need seclusion. Here are a few more of my daily essentials I always need at my desk - the writer's desk.

My Microsoft Surface Pro Tablet. This little guy packs a mean punch. I do all of my blogging, writing, research, editing, and even conference calls on it. It is vital in my every day life. Without out, I don't know how I'd be organizing my crazy life!

Paper. Lots of paper. Sometimes I'll use my trusty ole' typewriter, but it's for rare occasions. I use paper to jot down ideas, timelines, research/case studies, or just to make a checklist or to-do list of some kind, whether it's blog-related or a simple grocery list, as a writer, I've always been constantly around the stuff.

Music. Not just any type of music. If it's just getting the day started or building a rough draft of a blog post, I'll usually listen to what's new in the music world. I do, however, appreciate every genre in music. When it's time to buckle down and work on my novel, it'll always be a certain theme in tune with what I'm writing about. I have a deep passion for Classical music, but also go for original soundtracks or instrumental music. Lyrical music while trying to write a chapter doesn't work well for me.

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Candles. Any time of the year, I adore candles. I think aromas and scents can set a tone or deliver a certain essence in the environment you want to create. Plus, they bring warmth and light to any room, which is always a good thing especially being a writer. We spend a lot of time alone! ;) All kidding aside, I have been using Yankee Candles since college. They're my favorite besides Diptyque.

My Leica Coffee Mug. We received this as a gift in our first year of marriage from a dear friend. I love the size because it holds more coffee than any other mug we own. A writer's dream, or rather, fuel to burn the midnight oil! Ha ha!

Greenery or Flowers. Visually they are pretty to look at. I write a lot about how to kill people. I need something that'll bring me back from those sometimes dark places. Plus it's the girly girl in me. Now older, I've become quite fond of plants and the idea of growth. It's also just another great way to style up your place without looking like you're trying too hard.

My i-Phone 6. I know... BAD idea to ever have a phone near you while trying to get some work done. But it's my way of staying in touch with the world. And I do give myself time intervals. Every two-three hours, depending how much writing I do, I'll take a small 15 minute break.

My Ray-Ban eyeglasses. What can I say. I'm getting older. I need these around me more and more. I'm near-sighted, so it's not a matter of not being able to focus at a close object but rather one that is at a distance. I leave CNN on mute in the background. I'm addicted to what's going on in the world because I think it imperatively matters. So, from time to time, I'll need them to see what's going on the TV screen. :)

I would've asked MaQ to join me in the photo but he was far too busy sunbathing closer toward the windows. I didn't want to wake up my angel bear. He sends is love though! <3

Have a short and happy work week everyone!

Love & xx's,

maQ + suz