World's Easiest Coffeecake

Well, I think so anyway. I knew my mother-in-law would be stopping by this morning after a physical therapy session, and figured she would be ready for a cup of coffee and a little "smackerel of something" as Winnie-the-Pooh would say. I decided to make this coffeecake, which takes almost no time at all to mix up from scratch.

FRENCH COFFEE CAKE

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, plus milk to equal 1 cup
1 stick of butter, melted (1/2 cup)
Cinnamon-sugar

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a flour sifter; sift into a medium bowl. Break the egg into a 1-cup measuring cup. Add milk to come up to the 1-cup line on the measuring cup. Stir this egg/milk mixture into the flour mixture, using a fork. Stir in the melted butter. Scrape the batter into a greased 9-inch square pan. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar generously over the batter. Bake 25 minutes at 350º, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, with no uncooked batter clinging to it. Yield: One 9-inch square coffee cake.

This easy recipe is from the Cook & Tell newsletter. It is so quick to make for unexpected guests, or easy enough to whip up for a company breakfast, even on a busy morning.