Chocolate Chip Scones

In my mind scones used to equal dense British tea biscuits. But, on a whim, I decided to give a new scone recipe a try. How could a recipe with heavy cream turn out dry? I was not disappointed. These scones turned out beautifully, fluffy and moist on the inside with nuggets of chocolate to sweeten it up a bit. 

Begin by combining flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. 

Cut in cold butter until you have a crumbly mixture. Freeze for five minutes. Add 3/4 cup plus 2 T heavy cream and chocolate chunks until everything is just moistened.

Press into a pie pan. Cut into 8 wedges.

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush each scone with remaining cream until moistened. Sprinkle with some course sugar.

Bake at 450 degrees for 13 to 15 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Chocolate Scone Recipe

adapted from Food Everyday 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 T baking powder 1/2 t salt

1/2 cup cold butter

1 cup heavy whipping cream (divided)

6 oz chocolate chunks

course sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

 Combine first four ingredients. Cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly. Freeze for 5 minutes.

 Add 3/4 cup plus 2 T cream until moistened. Add chocolate chips.

 Press into pie pan and cut into 8 wedges. Placed on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush with remaining cream and sprinkle with course sugar. 

Bake at 450 for 13-15 minutes. Serve warm or cool with tea or coffee!

Oatmeal Strawberry Cake with a Lemon Glaze

I guess I'm on a fruity dessert kick, which is fine by me. I had left over lemons and a bunch of plump, juicy strawberries, so I created a dessert. And like most desserts I create, I combine a bunch of my favorite ingredients and try to get them to work together, enhance each other. Sometimes it's a complete disaster. My mom would always be nervous when her middle school aged daughter was 'creating' something in the kitchen. but I think I've reached an age where I understand what works a little better. 

Start by pureeing strawberries with a little whole milk.

Set aside the strawberries and cream. Try not to drink, although it would make a perfect smoothie.

Ok. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla, yogurt, vanilla, and whole milk. In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt. Slowly stir flour mixture to  liquid mixture. Stir in sliced strawberries, not pureed.

Spread onto a greased 13x9x2 in baking pan.

Spoon strawberry puree evenly over the top.

Sprinkle with some sugar. I used some raw cane sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, slice some lemons for the lemon glaze. 

 Whisk 3 T fresh lemon juice with 1 cup powdered sugar. I like my glaze super lemony so the ratio will depend on your taste buds.

Once the cake has cooled, pour lemon glaze over the top and sides. Don't skimp. The more glaze, the moister the cake, the happier the guests!!

For more of a lemony kick, sprinkle the whole cake with some freshly grated lemon zest.

Recipe

1 1/2 flour

1 cup oats

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c yogurt

1.2 t vanilla

1/2 cup milk

1 cup sliced strawberries

3/2 c. strawberry puree

Sugar for sprinkling

Lemon glaze

3 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup powdered sugar.

lemon zest

Directions

1- In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

2- With an electronic mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs vanilla, and milk. 

3- Stir in flour mixture and sliced strawberries until moistened. 

4- Spread onto a greased 13x9x2 baking pan.

Spoon the strawberry puree over batter.

Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 350 for 30 min.

5- Once the cake is cooled, spoon the lemon glaze over the top and sides. Sprinkle cake with lemon zest.

Lemon Pudding Cake

Summer bring to mind bright colors, sunshine, and refreshing lemonade. So in anticipation of that glorious season I made these moist, refreshing lemon cakes. 

First, separate three large eggs.

Whisk together egg yolks and room-temperature butter cut into small pieces.

Add milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

In medium bowl, combine flour and sugar. Then add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until smooth.

With an electronic mixer beat egg whites and salt for 2-3 minutes on medium-high until peaks form.

Gently fold egg whites into lemon mixture.

Prepare the ramekins by placing them in a deep pan and filling pan with water half way up the ramekin.

Sprinkle course sugar over mixture.

Cover with foil.

Bake @ 350 for 40-45 minutes or until tops are golden.

You can eat them warm or, like me, you can wait until they cool and refrigerate them for a few hours. I think the lemony flavors really stand out that way and it's very refreshing especially if it's hot outside.

Recipe

Real Simple 

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

2 T unsalted butter at room temp, cut into small cubes

1 cup whole milk

1 t lemon zest, plus 1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 t kosher salt

turbinado or other coarse sugar for sprinkling

In a medium bowl whisk together egg yolks and butter until combined. Whisk in milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. 

In another medium bowl combine flour and sugar. Add lemon mixture to flour mixture and stir until smooth.

With an electronic mixer, beat egg whites and salt until stiff peaks for (2-3 min.)

Gently fold egg whites into lemon mixture. Spoon into 4 large ramekins, placed in a deep baking dish. Fill baking dish with water half way up the ramekins.

Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes for until golden brown.

Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

If, in my future life, I ever open up a bakery I would like that bakery to smell like rosemary. Baking this filled my kitchen with lively flavors and a fresh aroma that could make anyone happy. It definitely filled my craving for a savory bread. Ever since the cheddar chive bread I made at Christmas, I've been anxious to use some more herbs. Sooooo when my sister-in-law posted a rosemary bread recipe to my facebook wall I couldn't resist. 

The best part is that this bread is HEALTHY. It's made with white whole wheat flour, which isn't as dense and bitter as plain whole wheat flour.

You will need to make an Italian seasoning by combining garlic powder, oregano, and basil. 

The yeast needs to be fed with some sugar. Sugar also increases the tenderness of the bread and helps brown the crust. But warning to all those with a sweet tooth: Don't add too much sugar because it can inhibit gluten development, which is necessary for the bread to have a nice rise. I know in a lot of baked goods I tend to increase the sugar amount but we're in a different world with this yeast/gluten stuff. Sometimes sciency and boring, but I'm convinced the best bakers have a good understanding of chemistry.

Combine salt, Italian seasoning, black pepper, and sugar.

Chop rosemary.

Mix seasoning mixture, rosemary, and olive oil in a large bowl.

Add the white whole wheat flour, bread flour, and knead on a floured surface for around 5 to 7 minutes until smooth. You can use bread flour to prevent sticking.

Place in a greased bowl, cover, and place in a draft-free area. Let rise for an hour and a half. 

Prepare the coating: whisk one egg and 1 T of water. Chop extra rosemary. 

Place on a floured baking pan, form into a loaf and coat with egg wash and rosemary.

Bake at 400 degree for 20-25 minutes or until hollow sounding when tapped.

Recipe

from http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2011/04/rosemary-olive-oil-bread.html

 1 cup warm water 

1 Tbsp. raw cane sugar

1 1/2 tsp. instant yeast

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped

1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning (or pinch of each ground garlic, dried oregano, and dried basil)

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup bread flour + extra for kneading

1 egg, whisked + 1 Tbsp. water, for egg wash

dried rosemary, for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS

Combine salt, sugar, Italian seasonings, and black pepper. 

Mix olive oil, chopped rosemary, and seasoning mixture in a large bowl. 

Add white whole wheat flour. Add the bread flour and stir until the dough forms a ball. Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 5-7 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to prevent sticking, until smooth.

 Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl; cover; and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hour.

 Punch down the dough and form it into a round loaf. Place on a floured baking pan.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 F. Once the dough has risen, gently brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with dried rosemary.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.

Makes 1 round loaf.

Buttery Garlic Knots

We're switching from sweet to savory this week and today's post is all about the garlic and sea salt combination. If you're in the mood to make some rolls with dinner why not try a garlic knot. No pun intended. One thing I'll say about these rolls is that it's pretty difficult tying the knot but you have to start somewhere, right. I just won't show you my most pitiful ones.  If you're making this for a dinner party, I would suggest doing a trial run and practicing tying the very soft dough.

Ingredients: flour, sugar, yeast, olive oil, sea salt and warm water. For the garlic coating you'll need four garlic cloves and some butter.

Grind 1 tsp. sea salt. Side note, this salt also pairs excellently with Nutella. I made Sea Salt Nutella Fudge the other weekend for my friends baby shower and let's just say there weren't a whole lot of left-overs.

Combine 1 3/4 c warm water, 3/4 c. olive oil, 1 tsp. sea salt, 1 T sugar, 1 1/2 T active dry yeast. Stir until everything is pretty well dissolved.

Mix with approx. 5 1/2 c. All-purpose flour. You'll want to start with three cups. Then incorporate 4th and 5th cup and use the last 1/2 cup as needed. The dough will be soft and a little sticky so try not to use too much or the knots will be dense instead of light and fluffy. Oil your hands and knead for a couple minutes or so. It doesn't have to be long.

Place in a bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours. Then, if you have the time, refrigerate the dough for an hour so it's easier to work with. It can also be left overnight if you want to make it ahead of time.

Divide dough into two parts and roll out into a long rectangle shape on an oiled countertop.

With a pizza cutter slice strips of dough. Take each strip, roll into a rope and to the best of your ability tie into a knot. You can use some extra flour so the dough doesn't stick to your hands.

Place a layer of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and line your knots up. Cover with plastic wrap and place a clean dish towel over the plastic wrap. Let rise another 40 minutes or so. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

While the knots are baking. Saute your minced garlic cloves in 4 T butter. Add 2 tsp. sea salt and stir mixture. When the knots are still warm out of the oven. Coat each on in a layer of the garlic mixture. The more generous, the better! Cool and serve. 

Recipe

from http://whiteonricecouple.com/recipes/garlic-knots/

Dough
1 3/4 c (415ml) Warm Water (@115°F)
1/4 c (55g) Olive Oil
1 t (5g) Sea Salt
1 T (15g) Sugar
1 1/2 T (20g) Active Dry Yeast
approx. 5 1/2 c (750 g) all-pupose, unbleached Flour

Garlic Coating
 4 T (30g) unsalted Butter
4 cloves Garlic, finely crushed

Sea Salt to taste

Combine water, olive oil, sea salt, sugar, and yeast. Combine with aprox 5 1/2 cups flour, a few cups at a time. 

Oil hands and knead into a ball. Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 2-3 hours. Refrigerate the dough for another hour to make it easier to hand.

 Roll the dough out into a long rectangle and cut strips with a pizza cutter. Rolls into a rope and tie into a knot. This is pretty difficult so don't worry if they look less than ideal. Place on parchment paper covered cookie sheet. 

Cover with plastic wrap and a dish cloth. Let rise another 40 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. 

While the knots are baking: mince four cloves of garlic and saute them with the butter. Add approx. 2 tsp. sea salt and stir. Coat on warm knots as liberally as you wish.