I'll start by saying when I made this recipe last week I thought that it was a disaster at first. I was so frustrated at myself because I thought that I hadn't read the directions well enough. The recipe said to "pour" the batter into an 8 x 8 inch baking pan, but the mixture was no batter, it was a dough. I struggled with the dough by adding flour to my hands and trying to spread it into the pan that way. But when the coffee cake came out of the oven and cooled down I took my first taste. I was shocked to learn that the coffee cake was completely delicious.

I added a bit of nutmeg to the recipe but I wouldn't do that again. It was a bit overwhelming, but even still it was a treat. I got this recipe from Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything. He recommended choosing pecans or walnuts. I couldn't decide so I used both.

This is a great treat for a brunch or to make over the weekend and have for breakfast all week. It goes perfectly with some fair trade, organic coffee. I wrote yesterday about the huge impact that learning to cook can have on reducing your carbon footprint.

INGREDIENTS