i've done an absolutely horrible job updating this with pictures, haven't i? well, too bad. laziness is a virtue.

i'm not just a junk food connoisseur, i'm also a junk food creator. this weekend, i whipped up* another batch of my absolute favorite coffeecake, aka "Blueberry Boy Bait." yes, that's really the name. no, i'm not making that up. really. i swear.

actually, this recipe is slightly altered from it's original incarnation, because that's how i roll. here's my version:

1 cup all-purpose flour + 1/2 cup cake flour + 1/2 cup almond flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup butter
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup oats

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, stir together the flours, sugars and salt. Cut in butter with a fork (or your grubby hands) sandy-textured. For the topping, measure out 3/4 cup of the mixture, add 1/2 cup oats, and set aside.

Stir baking powder and cinnamon into the remaining mixture. Lightly beat eggs with milk. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.

Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle blueberries over the batter, and top with reserved crumb'n'oat mixture.

Bake for 40-50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched in the center.

* do not under any circumstances "whip" batter containing flour. that's a great way to end up with disgustingly tough baked goods.

-jfj

omg omg omg! i finally found the Elvis Reese's Peanut Butter Cups at my local Long's Drugs. first off, be aware that these are not normally-sized peanut butter cups. they are (hyuk hyuk) King Sized, and as such, they are enormously caloriffic.

the banana creme is not really "creme" so much as... uhh... i don't know what it is. it is quite firm, almost the same texture as the chocolate coating. it is easily separated from the rest of the cup, if that's the naughty sort of game you like to play with your candy.

the good news is, these are pretty damn tasty. the banana flavor is authentic, not that cloyingly artificial banana flavor you'd find in, say, a Laffy Taffy. and it really works with the slightly salty peanut butter glop. you know, i've also had the Reese's with Marshmallow and the Reese's with Caramel and i thought both of those tasted pretty much exactly like a regular PB cup. this one's probably my favorite, because it's different enough to be interesting but not so bizarre that it no longer resembles one of America's favorite fatty sweets.

the bad news is, presumably these are a limited edition, so get 'em while you can!

-jfj

i have an unusual fascination with limited edition products. i guess it's the only potential source of "unusual" flavors in the US. while folks in England enjoy stuff like this and our friends in Japan go crazy for this, we are stuck with an endless number of candy bars featuring some combination of chocolate, peanut butter and/or caramel.

so while i wait for Elvis Peanut Butter Cups to show up around here (i must've checked a dozen stores over the past week), i'll take a moment to reflect on the international kit kat phenomenon.

to be fair, we've seen some limited edition kit kats here, including Mocha, Orange & Creme and Cherry. but check out this wikipedia link for an idea of what the rest of the world (primarily japan) is blessed with.

it may not surprise you to learn that i've tried most of these. i'll upload a pic later. this is an embarrassingly expensive habit, since i usually have to resort to ebay for my fix. the best ones are usually the fruity flavors, like raspberry or blueberry cheesecake. the worst ones? pumpkin (not surprising!) and chestnut (smells like play-doh, tastes like... play-doh).

and now i see they're coming out with a kiwi fruit version... off to ebay i go :P

-jfj