Paula Deen's blueberry coffee cake and Alison's apple adaptation

Update 6/16/2010:  Stephanie Lynn from Under the Table and Dreaming is featuring our coffee cakes this week here.  That's two features in a row from her!  Thank you, Stephanie Lynn!  :)

Now back to 6/10/2010...
A homemade breakfast prepared by management has become an employee appreciation week tradition.  Usually I bring bacon but this year I wanted to make something using fresh blueberries instead.  I thought a coffee cake would be easy to share so I googled "blueberry coffee cake" and found Paula Deen's Granite Steps Country Blueberry Coffee Cake.  Jake was setting out all the ingredients for me while I checked emails Monday night but I was too slow so he followed Paula's directions and made the blueberry coffee cake himself.  He even took photos for us!  Then, I did my own thing and made an apple version.

Paula Deen's Granite Steps Country Blueberry Coffee Cake

 (click here for her recipe)

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 can buttermilk biscuits dough (not Grands)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
• 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup sugar

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a baking dish (Jake used 13 x 9).

•  Step 2:  Mix brown sugar and cinnamon with a fork in a small bowl.

Step 3: Cut each piece of biscuit dough into quarters.

Step 4: Dip each biscuit dough quarter into the melted butter, roll them in the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture, and place them in the bottom of the greased baking dish.

Step 5: Sprinkle 1/2 the rolled oats on the dough quarters in the baking dish.

Step 6: In a bowl coat the blueberries with a 1/2 cup of sugar.

Step 7: Spread the sugar coated blueberries over the dough quarters and oats, sprinkle on the remaining 1/2 cup of oats, and pour on any remaining melted butter.  This baby is ready for the oven!

Step 8: Bake for 20 minutes or until the center is done.  Serve warm and enjoy! Try adding a small scoop of vanilla ice cream for a simple dessert.

Alison's Apple Adaptation (shake n bake style!)

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 can buttermilk biscuits dough
• 1 stick melted butter
• 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 1/2 apples sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup sugar

 Step 1:  Check emails while your husband makes a blueberry coffee cake, the oven preheats to 375 degrees, and your husband greases the baking dish (use a glass pie pan for this apple version).

•  Step 2:  Ignore the printed recipe on the table and gather the ingredients you remember reading about hours earlier (except exchange blueberries for two apples and a lemon).  Note the cinnamon pile in the bowl on the right.

Step 3: Mix brown sugar and cinnamon with a fork in a small bowl then lay out the biscuits.

Step 4: Cut the biscuits into quarters.  Then, realize that you used 1 tablespoon of cinnamon instead of 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in your brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.  Oops!  Toss this mishap into a ziploc bag and figure out a way to use it another day (what would you do with this?).  Get another 1/2 cup brown sugar, toss 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon onto it, and proceed to step 5.

Step 5:  Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar.  Dip each biscuit dough quarter into the melted butter, roll them in the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture, and place them in the bottom of the greased baking dish.  That's dough floating in the butter in the measuring cup. 

Modified Step 5: Going one piece at a time is boring so dump all the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture into a gallon size ziploc bag.  Then, toss half the dough quarters into the melted butter, swirl them around, pull them out and toss them into the ziploc bag too.  Shake the ziploc bag around until all the dough quarters are coated in brown sugar and cinnamon.  Repeat this process with the remaining dough quarters and cover the bottom of the pie plate with coated dough quarters.

Step 6: Sprinkle 1/2 the rolled oats on the dough quarters in the baking dish.

Step 7: Thinly slice 1 1/2 - 2 apples, toss them into a quart sized ziploc bag, toss the sugar on top, add a dash of cinnamon, and shake it up.

Step 8: Dump the sugar coated apple slices over the dough quarters and oats, sprinkle on the remaining 1/2 cup of oats, and pour on any remaining melted butter. This baby is ready for the oven!

Step 9: Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the center is done. Serve warm and enjoy! Try adding a big scoop of French vanilla ice cream for a new twist on apple pie a la mode.

Some people were scrapping the bottom of the empty pans to get more so I'm calling both versions a success!  Yum!

Let me know if you try this recipe.  :)
 

P.S.  The lemon was not harmed in the making of these coffee cakes.  I intended to squeeze a little juice on right before the cakes hit the oven but I forgot.