Cookies, Cookies, Cookies!

Coconut Macaroons

1 (14) ounce Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk ( I didn't have any on hand, so I made my own) *Recipe below*
1 egg white, whipped
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 (14) ounce packaged flaked coconut

1.Preheat oven to 325*
2.In large bowl, combine the condensed milk, egg white, extracts and coconut; mix well. Drop by teaspoons onto foil-lined greased & floured baking sheets; slightly flatten each mounded with a spoon.
3. Bake 15-17 mins or until lightly browned around the edges. Immediately remove from baking sheets. ( Macaroons will stick if allowed to cool on baking sheets0; cool on wire racks. Store loosely covered at room temperature. Makes about 4 dozen.

SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK SUBSTITUTE
2 eggs
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Mix all ingredients and use as a substitute for sweetened condensed milk in recipes for pies, bars and desserts.

*Pecan Pie Cookies*

Cookie
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup land O Lakes butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Filling
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup firmly packe brown sugar
1/4 cup Heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350*
Combine all cookie ingredients except flour & baking powder in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour & baking powder. Beat until well mixed.

Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Make indentation in each cookie with thumb; rotate thumb to hollow out slightly.

Combine all the filling ingredients in small bowl; fill each cookie with 1 rounded teaspoon filling.

Bake 8-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.

It's that time of the year!!

We had our family pictures taken on Saturday by the amazing Live View Studios : http://www.liveviewstudios.com/

Here some of our pictures:











We have family newsletter that I will be posting in the next couple days! Be on the look out for that! Have a blessed Monday!

Love never fails,
Sarah Nicholson


"Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men"
Psalm 07:8

Throw Pillows~

Last night I stayed up super late, but it was worth it to make these super cute throw pillows! I ended up using some curtains that I found at local thrift store for the fabric!

You will need:
fabric
pillow stuffing
ruler
pencil

I cut two pieces of fabric 15x15 right-sides together & doubled sewed all the sides together so they wouldn't come undone in the wash. Then I stuffed them with pillow stuffing & sewed the final hem!

My favorite Pizza Crust

Ingredients

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar I have used Honey in place & it taste just as good.
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
Directions
Very easy to make in kitchenaid or any other mixer.
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar or honey in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
Stir the salt and flour all together in the bowl. After the yeast has set, add in the oil. Then add spoons of flour until its all mixed together. Let it knead in the mixer until the dough isn't sticky
Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.
Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

2 new favorite recipes of mine!

Yummy Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
Ingredients

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions

Mix the mayonnaise, yellow mustard, Dijon mustard, honey, and lemon juice together in a bowl. Cover and chill in refrigerator overnight.


I made this & was in love with it! It's amazing to dip your french fries, or chicken into! Recipe for chicken is right below!


Honey Grilled Chicken
Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Directions

Preheat a grill for medium heat.
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in honey and lemon juice. Reserve half for basting, and brush the other half onto the chicken breasts.
Lightly oil the grill grate, and place chicken on the grill. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes per side, turning frequently. Baste often during the last 5 minutes. Chicken is done when the meat is firm, and juices run clear.




Along with the chicken, I made french fries, & sautéed apples! I just took about 3 tablespoons of butter, melted in a fry pan & threw the apples into the pan. Then I added about 2 Tablespoons of sugar & a few dashes of cinnamon & about a dash or two of nutmeg! Delish I tell you!! Delish!

New Recipe & Mini Update!

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted in a long time! We went on vacation in August to the beach here in NC=) It was amazing & much needed!






Then September consisted of preparing to move & moving!


Our new house = )



Onto the goodies now!
The other day I made these amazing scones that were so simple to make & very yummy!


Cranberry Orange Glazed Wheat Scones



Makes 15 scones

Ingredients
2 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter (soften)
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries (i.e. Craisins®)
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup orange juice ( I used fresh squeeze orange juice from oranges that I took off the zest from)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, wheat germ, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Mix in shortening until everything looks crumbly. Stir in the cranberries and orange zest. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg, milk and orange juice. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Stir until dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead briefly to get the dough to hold together. Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness and cut into circles with a biscuit cutter. Place scones 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Then after they baked, I took some fresh orange juice , added some sugar & boil it for about 5 mins & pour it over the scones! It sure was yummy!



Have a blessed Sunday,

Love never fails,
Sarah

A little bit of me~being real.

I'm trying to get my routine back in order & start back my weekly menu again! I'm the type of person that likes having routine, instead going around daily not knowing. Each morning I make my little family breakfast & have Bible time with Emma. Afterwards we like to "play school", I'll pull out a book & try to teach her new words, or simply let her do a craft such as coloring or painting.

I like to start my Monday by attacking the mountain pile of laundry & giving the house a good head-to-toe house cleaning! It's nice starting the week off with a clean house & all the laundry put away! Lately Emma has shown a great interest in helping me clean! I'll hand her the wet clothes from the washer & she will grab them from my hands & place them in the dryer! It sure is the cutest thing ever!

This past month my husband & I celebrated 3 years of marriage!

I still can't believe it has been that many! Sadly we forgot to bring the camera with us, so I have no pictures of our evening out. I would love one day soon to get pictures done of us & with Emma. I love snapping pictures whenever we go out, so we can remember those precious memories! I have tons of pictures that I need to sit down & put them into my scrapbooks!


Right now my latest craft I'm working on is curtains for my bedroom! It's been hard to find time to work on them, but I'm getting close to having them finished!




Well, I'm going to get going since my little lady woke up from her nap!!

Love never fails,
Sarah

Wrislet

Made this simple easy wrislet this morning! I'm making a matching iPhone case to go with it! Already tried it out today, while I was out & about & loved it!

What have you made lately?! I would love to hear about it!

What happens when you have..

....a pair of jeans that have a rip, that you can't fix or a piece of lace from some pass gift laying out?





I know you can't keep everything but I try to give a really good look at something before I throw it out. Those jeans weren't able to be fix, and my daughter love's purses, so I said " Hey why make a purse out of those jeans!

I encourage you to look around your house, there could always be something you can reuse & recycle!

BlueBerry Muffins~

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 egg
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons butter *melted*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon


In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Combine the egg, milk, oil and vanilla; add to the dry ingredients just until moistened. Gently fold in blueberries. Fill greased or paper-line muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Tonights Dinner~Fantastic Lemon Butter Fillet +++++

Fantastic Lemon Butter Fillet

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 (4 ounce) fillets cod
2 tablespoons lemon pepper
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Mix in lemon juice, salt, pepper, parsley flakes, and garlic. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir about 10 minutes, until thickened.
Arrange cod fillets in a single layer on a medium baking sheet. Cover with 1/2 the butter mixture, and sprinkle with lemon pepper. Cover with foil.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until fish is easily flaked with a fork. Pour the remaining butter mixture over the fish to serve.

One of my top favorite fish recipes!

Easy purse tutorial~

I took some fabric that I had & measure it out.


I took some pretty white ribbon I had & cut 2 long strips, that you'll use for the straps. You always want to burn the edges on the ribbon so you don't have to worry about it fraying sometime later on. Once you have burnt the edges off, measure exactly where your gonna apply the straps, then sew!



Then I made a ribbon flower out of white thick ribbon & had a cute jem stone button that I used for the center of the flower.


Here is a link to where you can learn how to make flowers out of ribbon! So easy & so cute!


Then I centered it & sew it on.


Inside I hand sewed a button clasp, so nothing would fall out. I didn't get a picture of that but their super easy to sew on.

Here is the finish product!

Busy Busy!

Today I was feeling the best but still went on with my day instead of bumming it. Today I made hamburger buns for tonights dinner:


They actually came out great & rose nicely = ) I am very happy with the recipe I used this time. All the other ones never turn out good for me & I was really pleased with the dough! It would really make a great pizza crust in my opinion!



I also been working on apron for sometime now, that I haven't had the moment to sit down & finish sewing it! While Emma was napping today, I got the moment to finish it!






Here's the recipe that I followed for the hamburger buns.

Hamburger Buns

ingredients
1 cup milk
1 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) envelope active dry yeast
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
Directions

directions
1. Combine the milk, 1 cup of water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat and let stand until lukewarm. If the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and yeast. Pour in wet ingredients and stir until the dough starts to pull together. If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook to mix for about 8 minutes. If not, knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 portions They should be a little larger than a golf ball. Make tight balls out of the dough by pulling the dough tightly around and pinching it at the bottom. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. After the rolls sit for a minute and relax, flatten each ball with the palm of your hand until it is 3 to 4 inches wide. You may want to oil your hand first. Set rolls aside until they double in size, about 20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Mix together the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water in a cup or small bowl. Brush onto the tops of the rolls. Position 2 oven racks so they are not too close to the top or bottom of the oven.
5. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the rolls from the oven and return them to different shelves so each one spends a little time on the top. Continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until nicely browned on the top and bottom.

Have a blessed evening. = )

Craft Idea: Shabby Chic Picture Frame!

One of my favorite things to do is to recycle lately. I love finding things for really cheap at thrift store or dollar store & making something really pretty out of it. I never throw out cards that were giving to me, because you can always re-use them, like how I did this evening.

I bought a really pretty picture frame at the dollar store for a dollar. Can't beat that! Then I used a really pretty card that I got from my Dad for mother's day this year. It came with pretty ribbon on it & flowers that I cut out, to use for the picture in the picture frame.

I took the picture of flowers & glued it on pretty rink rose paper, so it would have a pretty back-round. Then I used the ribbon from the card & hot glued it around the edges to frame it more nicely. Then I found these pretty pink flowers from AC.Moore on the clearance rack few months back for cheap & glued them on the corners!

Here it is :

My two new favorite things!

This is called a " Drink Master" It works great for beating eggs, making up pancake batter or any type of smoothie or milkshake you like! I am in love with this as well. I just throw my ingredients in and boom!




"French Press Coffee"
My husband recently got me this while we were in Nj visiting family. The flavor is amazing, and out beats any regular coffee maker. I told my husband that I don't think I could go back to using my other coffee maker haha, it is really that amazing!

Ribbon necklace~

Handmade flower sewed by hand attached to ribbon with glass beads.

Mother's Day!

My sweet husband made me his amazing " Bajan French Toast", followed by a card, chocolates, matching earrings & necklace! Afterwards we spent some time over his parents house & had a great time! Later that evening we went on a date with just him & I! I sure did miss my little lady! We went to our favorite hibachi place in town! Afterwards he suprised me & took me to where we went on our 1st date! It was a beautiful evening!

In the picture of him & I, I'm wearing one of my latest hair clips I made! I made the flour out of ribbon & attached a beautiul pearl to it.

Irish Coffee Cake

I ended up making this back in March for Saint Patty's Day. I actually messed up the recipe and was able to fix it and my whole family loved it! I made it again this past week the same way I did the 1st time when I messed up get that same texture! It was a hit again!


Irish Coffee Cake
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup self-rising flour ( recipe below)
4 Tb Black coffee
2 TB Irish Whiskey
2 tsp of vanilla

Preheat your oven to *325 & grease 1 springform cake pan.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, adding a little of flour after each egg. Beat in the coffee & vanilla, then fold in the rest of the flour. If it's too wet , add in some more flour till just a little thick.

Syrup
2/3 cup of black coffee
1/4 cup sugar
1Tb whiskey

Bake for 40 mins, once cool prick the cake all over and mix together the syrup & pour all over the cake.

Frosting
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp Irish Whiskey
3/4 chip of confectioners' sugar

Smear all over the cake & for finishing touches, I drizzled some coffee over the whipped cream decoration.

A whole lot of baking!

Banana Bread

I decided to change this recipe up from where I got it. I ended up adding more eggs and some vanilla = )



Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten
4 mashed overripe bananas
1 tsp of Vanilla, well I never really measure it just pour some in!

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack

Sarah's Cranberry Upside-Down Coffee Cake

/>


I kinda threw this together with taking idea's from some other recipes I found & change it up = )


2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 1/4 cups cranberries or use however much you like = )
1/2 cup chopped nuts , pecans or walnuts will work

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract * I never measure when a recipe calls for vanilla, because in my opinion you can never use too much!
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt



Turn on the oven too 350 degrees. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar and 1/3 cup butter. Bring to a boil, then pour into bottom of springform pan. Sprinkle with cranberries and nuts,

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the heavy whipping cream. Once mixed together, pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then invert onto serving platter and carefully remove pan. Serve warm.

Italian Bread~Take 2

I made this recipe on Sunday and my it flopped, although it still did taste very good! The only problem I had was it , that it didn't rise. Make sure that your using a good yeast, that is fresh & that hasn't been sitting around either. This time I used rapid rise yeast it work really well with the recipe. The active yeast I used on Sunday didn't work at all, and I just bought it the day before I made the bread!












Here's the recipe:

Italian Bread from Taste of Home

Yields 2 loaves

32 servings.

2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast or rapid rise yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoon butter
3 cups warm water 110* to 115///8
8 to 10 cups all-purpose flour divided.
1 tablespoon salt
1 egg, beaten
Melted butter.

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add the sugar, butter, salt, egg, remaining water and 4 cups flour; mix well. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Turn out onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hr.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divided in half. Shape each portion into a loaf place seam side down on greased baking sheets. With a sharp knife, make four shallow diagonal slashes across the top of each loaf. Cover and let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Bake at 350* for about 37-42 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Brush with melted butter.

Easy Teriyaki Chicken-Crock pot recipe.

Ingredients

2-3lbs skinless chicken pieces
20-oc can pineapple chunks
dash of ground ginger
1 cup teriyaki sauce

1.Place chicken in slow cooker. Pour remaining ingredients over chicken.
2. Cover. Cook on low-6-8 hours or on high 4-6hrs.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

1 (16 ounce) package confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon milk
8 (1 ounce) squares semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon shortening (coconut oil<----I used coconut oil instead to make it more ( healthy)

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter and milk (if needed for moisture) until blended. Shape mixture into two 1/2 pound eggs or make a bunch of smaller eggs. Freeze eggs for 1 hour.
While the eggs are freezing, cut semi-sweet chocolate into small pieces and place in top of double boiler with shortening. Melt over medium heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Stick a long-tined fork in top of each peanut butter egg, dip it in melted chocolate to cover then drain on waxed paper. When the eggs are cooled and set, decorate the eggs to suit your fancy.


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Peanut-Butter-Easter-Eggs/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

Chocolate Dump Cake

!

Ingredients

1 (5 ounce) package non-instant chocolate pudding mix
2 1/3 cups milk
1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
Combine chocolate pudding and milk in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick, stirring frequently.
Remove pan from heat and add in dry cake mix. Mix together and pour into the lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Evenly spread the chocolate chips over the top of the cake.
Bake at 350 degrees F(175 degrees C) for 40 to 45 minutes. Let cake cool and serve.

Home-style Yeast Bread = Amazing..

Here is a new recipe I tried yesterday that I really enjoyed & was super easy to make!


Ingredients

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs, beaten
7 cups bread flour
Directions

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, butter, salt, eggs and 4 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface. Divide into thirds. Shape into loaves and place in three greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Cough Syrup

Whenever my husband or I come down with a cold, I try to make this cough sryup but don't always get the chance! Today I had that chance I made it! It's not great tasting but it helps stops you from having coughing fits & soothes your throat.


I got it from Amish cookbook called " Recipes from the Heart Yoder Family and Friends. Here's the link to where you can buy it.

http://www.yodersmart.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=185_187&products_id=4688

Cough Syrup

1 lemon, sliced thin
1 cup flax seeds
1 qt. water
1/4 cup honey

Simmer the lemon, flax seeds and water for 4 hours. Do not boil. Strain and add honey. If there is less than 1 pint, add water to make a pint.

Dose 1 Tablespoon 4 times a day after each fit of coughing.

A recipe & a new look.

This is my hope chest that I reupholstered yesterday! I decided that I'm going to use it to store Emma's toys in, so the living room wouldn't look so junky.



My husband reupholstered this stool for me! The fabric I found it at the local thrift shop in town for .25 cents!!



One of my favorite things to do, is taking something & use it to make something else with it! Right now I'm destroying 2 beautiful bed shams that I once used for my bed & turning them into throw pillows! This week I've been working really hard on giving my house a good spring cleaning & dejunking! Man, I can't get over how much junk we have collected over the past almost 3 years!





Then I cut it , filled it & sew it all up. It didn't look as full as I wanted, so I decided to attach the end of the sham, to give it a more fuller look. This step I had to sew on by hand.





My adorable 13 month old!





Oh yes! I promised to post a recipe as well! Well tonight I'm making "Cream Cheese-Filled Coffeecake With Fruit Preserves and Crumble Topping"



ingredients
Original Recipe Yield 1 (9 inch) square cake
Ingredients
Crumble topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter, melted but not hot
Optional:
1/2 cup of your choice - coarsely chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds), old-fashioned oatmeal or sweetened flaked coconut
Optional cream cheese filling:
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Coffeecake batter:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose bleached flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
Optional fruit (or chocolate) filling:
1/2 cup of your choice - raspberry or strawberry jam; peach, cherry, or pineapple preserves; apple butter; orange marmalade or mini chocolate chips

directions
1. Directions 1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9-inch square metal baking pan with cooking spray. Fold a 17-inch length of heavy-duty foil to 8 1/2 inches wide and fit in the pan bottom and up 2 sides, so you can use the foil overhang as a handle to pull the baked cake from the pan.
2. Topping: Use hands to thoroughly mix ingredients in a medium bowl, pressing together to form large clumps; set aside.
3. Cream cheese filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until thoroughly mixed. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth; set aside.
4. Cake: Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
5. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer set on medium-high until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until smooth. Beat in half the dry ingredients, then the remaining yogurt. Beat until ingredients are fully incorporated.
6. Spread batter evenly over prepared pan. Spread cream cheese filling over batter. Dollop fruit filling (or sprinkle chocolate chips) over cream cheese filling. Finally, sprinkle evenly with crumble topping, pressing on it lightly to adhere.
7. Bake until batter is fully set and topping is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a thin-bladed knife around the sides, then use foil handles to pull cake from pan onto the wire rack. Cool to room temperature and serve. Can be covered with foil and stored at room temperature for one day.