Search Results for: scones

lemon ginger scones

01/24/2013 By bridget

I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while now, years actually, that scones would be a perfect treat to bring in to work. I could do most of the work the night or weekend beforehand and then just bake them in the morning before work. It would be easy for me, and my coworkers would have fresh scones to go with their morning coffee.

It sounds good in theory. In reality, it was a harried morning of showering, emptying the dishwasher, making smoothies, chugging my morning tea, skipping a couple makeup steps, hoping the blue of my scarf didn’t clash too much with the blue of my shirt, oh and garnishing, baking, cooling, and snapping a few very quick pictures of lemon-ginger scones.

So I was wrong about the convenience of baking scones in the morning before work. But I was right about my coworkers loving them. It was a nice morning of compliments – not on my outfit with its clashing blues, obviously, but the tender and slightly spicy scones made up for the unavoidable shortcomings that resulted from my rushed morning.

One year ago: Pasta with Tiny Meatball Sauce
Two years ago: Stromboli
Three years ago: Baked Ziti
Four years ago: Twice-Baked Potatoes with Broccoli, Cheddar, and Scallions
Five years ago: Deviled Eggs with Tuna

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Lemon-Ginger Scones (inspired by Bon Appetit’s Lemon Cream Scones, but when I realized I didn’t have nearly enough cream, I adapted Tartine’s Buttermilk Scones instead)

Serves about 8

As always, you can freeze scones after shaping, before baking. Bake directly from the freezer, adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time.

2½ (12 ounces) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (1.75 ounces) granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
3 teaspoons lemon zest, plus 1 teaspoon
1½ teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes, very cold
2 ounces crystallized ginger, chopped fine
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2.Pulse the flour, ¼ cup sugar, 3 teaspoons lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a food processor until evenly mixed. Scatter the butter cubes over the dry ingredients and pulse until the largest bits of butter are no larger than peas. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the ginger, then the buttermilk. Knead a few times to bring the dough together.

3. On a lightly floured work surface, pat the dough out to ½-inch round. Cut the round into 8 wedges or use cutters to cut other shapes.

4. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet. Rub the remaining 1 teaspoon of zest into the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Brush the scones with the melted butter and top with the sugar mixture. Bake until lightly browned around the edges, about 16-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, citrus, fruit, quick bread

raspberry ricotta scones

03/15/2012 By bridget

I’ve largely gotten out of my scone phase from a few years ago. Back then, I was making a new scone recipe almost once a month. One batch of scones, frozen before baking, would last a couple weekends, which made for some wonderfully relaxed weekend mornings, with nothing to do but turn the oven on, transfer the frozen scones to a baking sheet, and boil water for the French press. Twenty minutes later, I’d sit down with a scone, a mug, and a food magazine.

The problem with this scenario is that there’s very little nutrition in a scone. I’m not against a little butter for breakfast, but as we’ve become more active lately, we require breakfasts that fill us up and provide energy. I don’t want to imagine Dave on one of his weekly racquetball marathons with nothing but butter, flour, and sugar for fuel.

On quiet mornings when we don’t have a busy day ahead though, scones hit the spot. And this one is even better, because it does have some extra health benefits from protein-rich ricotta and fiber-rich whole grains. Moreover, this is one of the best scones I’ve ever made.

I’ve admittedly become more and more enamored with whole grains and the nutty depth of flavor they add to baked goods, and this was a perfect example of how a portion of whole wheat flour isn’t a sacrifice to be made for health reasons, but an improvement in flavor. I think this recipe has me headed toward another scone phase.

One year ago: Corniest Corn Muffins
Two years ago: How to adapt any bread to be whole wheat
Three years ago: Lemon Cup Custard
Four years ago: Spaghetti and Meatballs

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Raspberry Ricotta Scones (slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Makes 9

Baked scones are best fresh out the oven. If you want to make these in advance, form and cut the scones, then transfer the unbaked scones to a ziploc bag to freeze. There’s no need to defrost before baking, but you will need to add a few extra minutes to the baking time.

I used whole wheat pastry flour, which I prefer in quick breads. But if you only have regular whole wheat flour, I’m sure it will be fine.

¾ cup (6.5 ounces) whole milk ricotta
⅓ cup heavy cream
1 cup (4.8 ounces) whole wheat flour
1 cup (4.8 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ cup (1.75 ounces) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 cup (4.75 ounces) raspberries, fresh or frozen

1. Adjust a rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. In a large measuring cup, combine the ricotta and heavy cream.

2. Combine the flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt in the food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is cut into pea-sized pieces. Add the raspberries and pulse a few times to break them down. Add the ricotta mixture; pulse just until the dough is evenly moistened but still looks crumbly.

3. Transfer the dough to a work surface and pat into a ball. Knead the dough a few times, then pat it out into a 7-inch square that is about 1-inch thick. Cut the dough into 9 squares.

4. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden brown around the bottom edges, 16-20 minutes. Transfer the scones to a wire rack and cool about 10 minutes before serving.

Filed Under: cheese, fruit, quick bread, summer, whole grains

honey nut scones

11/02/2011 By bridget

I made these for the first time almost three years ago, in the beginning of my scone phase, which has now become a scone way of life. While it is undeniably convenient to keep a stash of unbaked scones in the freezer that just need to be popped in the oven, my favorite part of scones is how easy they are to eat, not just to bake. A warm scone, a cup of coffee, and a food magazine make for a perfect weekend morning.

I’m under no illusions that a smidgen of whole wheat flour in place of white makes these scones healthy; instead, the whole grains, plus the use of honey as the only sweetener, provides a wonderful earthiness to the scones, making them the ideal vehicle for jam or apple butter. These are so good they might not even require a food magazine to make a perfect weekend morning – but the coffee is non-negotiable.

Jeannette chose these scones for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has the recipe posted. The only change I made was to double the salt, since I like my baked treats saltier than Dorie usually recommends.

Two years ago: Sandwich Rolls
Three years ago: Phyllo Triangles with crawfish and mushroom fillings

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, nuts, tuesdays with dorie, whole grains

coconut scones

07/19/2011 By bridget

The first half of this year was downright lazy for me. Of course I went to work, exercised, did laundry, cooked, and kept my house from turning into a cesspool, but I managed to do all that while spending the majority of the weekend, every weekend, outside in the backyard reading books and drinking margaritas. I love reading books and drinking margaritas, but I admit that I was starting to get the slightest bit bored.

And just in time, because the pace is picking up. The second half of the year is packed with vacations, from a weekend in Colorado over 4th of July, a week on the beach later in the summer, Italy in the fall, Thanksgiving with Dave’s family, and then finally Christmas. It’s getting busy, and I’m still adjusting.

That’s my excuse for not being on top of things and making these scones for breakfast a few weekends ago, since we spent this weekend in Albuquerque. On the other hand, I knew I wouldn’t be able to find chestnut flour in my little town, but I was pretty convinced I could get it at Whole Foods in the “big” city. I was wrong; they didn’t have it.

So no chestnut flour and no breakfast opportunities. Then I remembered that scones are really dessert disguised as breakfast, so there was no reason not to eat them after dinner. And while grinding almonds would have been a better substitute for chestnut flour than coconut flour was, I chose the easier option: coconut flour is already ground. I doubt coconut flour and chestnut flour result in a similar scone, but I can assure you that coconut flour, at least, makes a light scone with a texture somewhat reminiscent of a sable. One little scone made a nice dessert.

Andrea had some chestnut flour in her kitchen that she bought a while ago, so she chose this recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie. I simply substituted coconut flour for the chestnut flour in the original recipe. I also doubled the salt, added ¼ cup of unsweetened flaked coconut, and topped the scones with shredded sweetened coconut right before baking.

One year ago: Lots of Ways Banana Cake
Two years ago: Blancmanger
Three years ago: Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler

Filed Under: breakfast, quick bread, tuesdays with dorie

peaches and cream scones

07/12/2011 By bridget

Scones are just an excuse to eat dessert for breakfast. It’s a better disguised excuse then chocolate muffins, I will grant you, but in the end, equally bad for you. I think I might sound like I’m complaining. I’m not complaining.

Cream scones are one of my favorite weekend morning accompaniments to coffee. The cream makes them so tender, and when they’re only lightly sweetened, like these, they’re perfect either topped with jam or baked with fresh fruit. A sweet biscuit, peaches, and cream – you can’t tell me that doesn’t sound like one heck of a dessert.

Lynne chose the cream scones for Tuesdays with Dorie, and she has the recipe posted. I left out the currants and added one peach, peeled, chopped, and frozen, to the dough after the liquids were partially mixed in.

One year ago: Brrrownies
Two years ago: Brioche Plum Tart
Three years ago: Chocolate Pudding (comparison of 2 recipes)

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, fruit, summer, tuesdays with dorie

grapefruit honey yogurt scones

06/09/2011 By bridget

Here’s what scones mean for me: Either I wake up on Saturday and immediately get out the butter, flour, and sugar so I can start mixing and making a big mess of the kitchen. Or, I wake up on Saturday and pilfer my time away on the internet, or, if I’m really smart, relaxing reading a book while scones go straight from the freezer to the oven. Either way, scones = Saturday = things that make me happy.

I wasn’t completely sure that cooked grapefruit would make me happy, but it turns out that grapefruit pieces in the middle of a scone create a nice pocket of juiciness. The honey flavor, which is often overpowered, was distinct. The yogurt keeps the scones tender, along with the butter and careful mixing of course. I’m generally already happy on Saturday mornings, but good scones certainly don’t hurt.

One year ago: Eggs in Tomato Sauce
Two years ago: Anadama Bread
Three years ago: Baba Ghanoush, Falafel, and Hummus

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Grapefruit, Honey, and Yogurt Scones (adapted from Joy the Baker)

Makes 6 scones

I used nonfat Greek yogurt, and it worked fine.

This was my first time segmenting citrus. It wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. Branny has detailed instructions in her blog.

As always, you can freeze scones after shaping, before baking. Bake directly from the freezer, adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time.

½ cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup (1.75 ounces) granulated sugar
1 grapefruit, zested, then segmented and coarsely chopped
1½ cups (7.2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into ¼-inch cubes

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven; heat to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. In a measuring cup, combine the yogurt, honey, and vanilla. In a small bowl, rub the sugar and the grapefruit zest together until the sugar is moist and fragrant.

2. Place the flour, 2 tablespoons of the sugar mixture, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the butter; process in 1-second pulses until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Pour the yogurt mixture over the flour mixture; pulse until the dough is crumbly. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and fold in the grapefruit pieces.

3. Turn the scone dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Form it into an 8 inch circle, about 1 inch thick. Use a knife or a bench scraper to cut the dough into six triangles. Place on the prepared baking sheet; top with the remaining grapefruit sugar.

4. Bake the scones for 15 to 17 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before serving. These scones are best served the day they’re made.

Filed Under: breakfast, citrus, fruit, quick bread, spring

oatmeal nutmeg scones

05/24/2011 By bridget

For most of my life, I didn’t think much of nutmeg. It was just one member of the pumpkin pie consortium, of which only cinnamon could stand on its own, as far as I knew. The rest were generically fall-flavored. It wasn’t until I met Dave, professed nutmeg lover, that I started considering nutmeg as its own entity.

Now I think of nutmeg as warm, cozy, complex. (Or maybe the association I have between nutmeg and Dave has caused me to describe my husband instead of the seasoning?) Its spice adds richness to any dish, sweet or savory, and has become one of my favorite flavors.

Oatmeal reminds me of Dave too, as it was his staple breakfast – no sugar, no salt – when he lived alone. (It was bland, mushy, gross, but these aren’t words I associate with my husband.) I may not need complex, cozy scents to make me warm out here the desert, but I certainly won’t turn down a nutmeg oatmeal scone. You can bet Dave wouldn’t either.

Patricia chose these for Tuesdays for Dorie, and she will have the recipe posted. I didn’t make any changes.

One year ago: Strawberry Chocolate Ice Cream Pie
Two years ago: Chipster-Topped Brownies
Three years ago: Pecan Honey Sticky Buns

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, fall, quick bread, tuesdays with dorie, whole grains, winter/holidays

toasted almond scones

02/21/2011 By bridget

My parents are visiting this weekend (Hi Mom!), so of course I want to figure out the perfect menu that will taste amazing, fit everyone’s food preferences, reflect how I like to cook, and magically prepare itself while we’re out doing touristy things. Wish me luck!

My dinner plans are coming together, but I’ve been stumped at breakfast. Until I remembered that I have almond scones the freezer. Perfect! My mom loves scones and has been eating a lot of almonds lately. I’m sure my dad would rather have bacon (or sausage or ham or really any form of meat) and eggs, but when is it ever about the dad when your parents visit?

I believe my mom started really enjoying scones while she was visiting New Zealand several years ago. Unlike my retired world-traveling parents, I have never been to New Zealand, but I’m guessing the scones there are less sweet than we usually make them here in the US. If that’s the case, my mom will especially love these lightly sweetened biscuits. For eating plain, I might add a bit more sugar next time, but with a generous smear of jam, these were perfect.

Mike chose this recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie, and he has the recipe posted (as a link to the pdf; don’t miss it!). I doubled the salt.

One year ago: Honey Wheat Cookies
Two years ago: Caramel Crunch Bars

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, freezer friendly, nuts, quick bread, tuesdays with dorie

maple oatmeal scones

01/14/2010 By bridget

I got scooped! I was just about to write an entry on these scones a few days ago and decided to go with the apple muffins instead. The next day Michelle posted about them. What are the chances?

Actually, considering that these first appeared on Barefoot Contessa Saturday morning, and by the time I baked them the next day there were already a handful of reviews on the Food Network’s site, the chances might not be so bad. Apparently I wasn’t the only one tempted by maple oatmeal scones.

Maple seems like an underused ingredient, considering how delicious it is. Perhaps the problem is that it’s an easily overpowered flavor once it’s mixed into dough and baked. These scones overcome this problem by adding additional maple in the form of a glaze.

I often think that glazes on scones make them too sweet, but since the scones themselves are only lightly sweetened, these have just the right level of sweetness. They’re also light and tender inside and crisp on top, and really just the perfect way to start out a weekend morning. I can see why Michelle was so eager to post about them!

One year ago: Twice-Baked Potatoes with Broccoli, Cheddar, and Scallions
Two years ago: Lasagne Bolognese

Printer Friendly Recipe
Maple Oatmeal Scones (adapted just slightly from Barefoot Contessa)

I used traditional rolled oats, which worked just fine.

As always with scones, you can freeze the dough after shaping it, then bake the scones straight from the freezer.

Scones:
1¾ cups (8.4 ounces) all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup quick-cooking oats, plus additional for sprinkling
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
¼ cup cold buttermilk
¼ cup pure maple syrup
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Glaze:
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt. Blend the cold butter in at the lowest speed and mix until the butter is in pea-size pieces. Combine the buttermilk, maple syrup and eggs and add quickly to the flour-and-butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough may be sticky.

2. Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface and be sure it is combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough ¾ to 1 inch thick. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut into 3-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly knead the scraps together and cut more scones.

3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are crisp.

4. To make the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. When the scones are done, cool for 5 minutes, then drizzle each scone with 1 tablespoon of the glaze. For garnish, sprinkle a few uncooked oats on the tops of the scones.

Filed Under: breakfast, freezer friendly, quick bread

pumpkin scones

11/07/2009 By bridget

Oh, did you want to see something besides scones? I’m sorry, it turns out that the ol’ crumblycookie has become all scones, all the time.

No, just kidding. This is the last scone recipe. I just wanted to get through them in one fell swoop, which is what’s kind of fun about NaBloPoMo.

Like most of us, I love pumpkin. The thing is though, that you can’t just add pumpkin into whatever your favorite baking recipe is, because it changes the texture quite a bit. It adds a moist, cakey…I want to say gummy texture, but that sounds negative, and it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But it also isn’t what you want in scones.

So even though I have two great basic scone recipes, I didn’t even consider just adding pumpkin into one of them and seeing what happens. (Although now I’m curious.) So I had to start my search for recipes from scratch, and I settled on this Joy of Baking recipe because the picture shows tall scones with flaky layers.

And I nailed it! I can’t imagine a better pumpkin scone. This has everything I want in a scone – the texture walks the line between tender and flaky, it’s sweet but not too much, and the pumpkin and spices are noticeable but not overwhelming. Yet another perfect scone recipe.

One year ago: Gratin Dauphinois

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Pumpkin Scones (adapted just a bit from Joy of Baking)

Makes 8 scones

I left out the nuts and raisins, just because I wanted a smooth texture this time. And instead of using the egg wash and turbinado sugar for sprinkling, I brushed the scones with milk and sprinkled them with a mixture of about 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. It gave the scones a really nice thin crisp layer after baking.

I’ve also tweaked the order in which the ingredients are added to the dough, because I’m full of myself and I think I know better than the professionals. Or something.

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
⅓ cup (50 grams) raisins
¼ cup (30 grams) toasted and chopped pecans (optional)
⅓ – ½ cup buttermilk
⅓ cup (72 grams) light or dark brown sugar
½ cup fresh or canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Egg Wash:
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk or cream
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling the tops of the scones (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins and pecans, if using. In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, sugar, pumpkin puree and vanilla, and then add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not overmix the dough.

3. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 1½ inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 4 pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash and sprinkle a little Turbinado sugar on top, if desired.

4. Place the baking sheet inside another baking sheet to prevent the bottoms of the scones from over browning. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, fall, freezer friendly, quick bread