Honey Nut Scones – TWD

Happy Belated Halloween!!

Did you dress up? Did you throw a nifty party that only cool people could go to? Did you steal your kids’ candy? Did you buy a giant bag of different chocolates (because you know that’s what the kids REALLY want)? Did you turn off your porch light early so you could keep the rest of the chocolate for yourself? Are you most likely going to eat candy for breakfast?

If so, we could be great friends.

But just in case you frown upon chocolate bars for breakfast, I made you scones. It has good for you things in it like whole wheat flour, nuts and honey. Have one of these babies warm out of the oven with a glass of milk (for calcium) or orange juice (for vitamin C) or tea (cus it’s warm and yummy and what goes better with warm scones than tea??)

And don’t forget to drench your scone in more honey. If your immediate thought after reading that was something along the lines of “Duh, Jeannette… way ahead of you,” then we could be besties. For serious.

Scones are notorious for being fussy. You can’t overwork the dough or you’re guaranteed tough scones, and the dough is very easily overworked. The best advice that I have ever read regarding making scones (aside from work quickly) is this “Use your hands.” You hands are your best tool here: they are softer and gentler than any rubber spatula or wooden spoon could be; which means they will be gentler on your scone dough and agitate the dough less resulting in fluffy scones. Just be sure to have a napkin handy to turn on the faucet to wash your hands. Unless you think random bits of dough hanging out on your faucet handle-thingies (omg, what the heck are they called?!) is a decorative statement… in which case, I’d have to give you the look -_-

The only change I made to the original recipe was to use pecans instead of walnuts and I made 8 medium scones instead of 12 small-ish scones. That was a direct result of my laziness in not wanting to divide the scone dough so I just patted it into a larger circle and baked for about 2 minutes more. Next time I’ll brush with some cream and sprinkle some raw sugar on it for extra texture. There are a lot of good scone making tips here. Ya learn something new everyday 🙂

Honey-Nut Scones
from Baking: from My Home to Yours

Ingredients:

1 large egg
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup cold whole milk (I used 2%)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Stir the egg, honey and milk together.

Whisk the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Drop in butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (my favorite method) or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You’ll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between — and that’s just right.

Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir with a fork (or by hand) just until the dough, which will be wet and sticky, comes together. Don’t overdo it. Stir in chopped walnuts.

Still in the bowl, gently knead the dough by hand, or turn it with a rubber spatula 8 to 10 times. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it in half. Working with one piece at a time, pat the dough into a rough circle that’s about 5 inches in diameter, cut it into 6 wedges and place on the baking sheet. (At this point, the scones can be frozen on the baking sheet, the wrapped airtight. Don’t defrost before baking — just add about 2 minutes to the baking time.)

Bake the scones for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are deeply golden and firmish to the touch. Transfer them to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before serving, or wait for the scones to cool to room temperature. Enjoy : )

Head on over to the LYL page to see everyone that baked scones and Far Brenton with us this week. You can find the recipe for Far Brenton (which I sadly didn’t get a chance to make) on Nicole’s blog, Cookies on Friday.

Tuesdays with Dorie is sadly coming to an end. I joined a bit late in the game but I have learned so many things and made so many great friends through this experience. I’d like to thank you all for making this something to remember.

Cream Scones with Cinnamon Chips – TWD

I am just not a fan of scones. This isn’t news to you, I’ve said it before. There are only two other scones recipes on this blog. Scones just aren’t my thing.

I make them and I try and try again thinking that one day I am going to change my mind (like I hoped I would with brussel sprouts, that NEVER happened). Hoping maybe one day I’ll happen upon a recipe or technique that works and gives me scones that I just can’t resist.

   

Well, I’ve found it. The recipe is really simple and tasty. I think the magic is in the technique: use nothing but your hands and work quickly but gently. Seriously. That’s it.

You know how lots of recipes say ‘a little unmixed flour is ok’ …well, turns out that it IS ok. Just grab a paper towel and set it next to your sink (trust me on this), mix the flour and sqeeze/rub the butter until it is pebbly, add the cream and WITH YOUR HANDS (not a spoon or spatula or your favorite nifty gadget) swoop under and around no more that 10 times. By then a good portion of the flour should be mixed in. Dump you dough and flour on your counter and knead together no more than 3 times, quickly pat it into a circle, cut and place on your baking sheet.

Your hands are a mess. I know. Turn on your faucet, wash your hands and dry with that paper towel and wipe down your sink handles. Told you that paper towel will come in handy.

You should really listen to me more often.

So be sure to listen when I say these scones are AMAZING. And made even better with a mix in (dried fruit, chocolate, or cinnamon chips).

I am happy to say that I LOVE these scones. I am professing my undying love to these scones. Want proof? I ate TWO of these fresh out of the oven. TWO. I don’t think I’ve ever so much as finished a scone before.

Thank goodness I fell upon this easy technique that changed by scone-y life. If only my hips would thank me…

For this amazing recipe, head on over to Cafe Lynnylu (or click here)

Bacon Cheddar Scones

I don’t like bacon.

There, I said it. Save your gasps, your looks of disbelief, and your monologues about how bacon is America’s greatest food. It’s just not my thang. And I’m ok with that, thankyouverymuch.

But that’s not to say that I am opposed to baking with it. I’m not going to be eating it anyhow, so I might as well experiment. I will say that I tried a corner of a scone and as far as overall flavor goes, it was good. But I wouldn’t choose to eat it because of the bacon. But I taste tested the scones anyway because I won’t post something I can’t get behind.

And if I were a bacon lover, these would be phenom. Seriously. A whole pack of bacon, enough cheddah to sedate a small horse and pepper enclosed in a flaky, crumbly scone dough? Yep, it’s a winner.

So grab a pack and get baking. Just don’t share it with bacon haters of the world. Although I’m pretty sure that I’m the only one in that club 😉

Bacon and Cheddar Scones
source: Rebecca Rather, The Pastry Queen

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 stick well-chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 1/2 heaping cups grated Cheddar cheese
10 slices bacon, cooked nice and crispy and chopped into 1 inch pieces
3/4 to 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (I needed 1 full cup)
1 large egg
2 tsp water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl on low speed. With mixer running, gradually add cubes of butter until the mixture is crumbly and studded with flour – butter bits about the size of small peas. Alternatively you could prep the scone dough in a food processor, pulsing a few times to cut the butter in. Add grated cheese and mix just until blended. (This can also be done by hand: In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Gradually cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles small peas. Stir in cheese.)

Add bacon and 3/4 cup of the buttermilk to flour and cheese mixture. Mix by hand just until all ingredients are incorporated. If dough is too dry to hold together, use remaining buttermilk, adding 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is pliable and can be formed into a ball. Try not to overwork the dough, the longer you handle it the tougher it will be. Remove dough from bowl and place it on a lightly floured flat surface. Pat dough into a ball. Using your hands, flatten dough into a circle about 10 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. Cut dough into 8 to 12 equal wedges, depending on the size scone you prefer.

Whisk egg and water in a small mixing bowl to combine. Brush each wedge with egg wash. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until golden brown and no longer sticky in the middle. Serve warm, fresh from the oven.

Toasted Almond Scones – TWD

It’s Tuesday and a million thoughts are running amok in my head.

Like how good Activia Desserts yogurt is with a dollop of whipped cream… for lunch. Or how I should really be finishing book 1 of the Harry Potter series instead of click-clacking away on this. Or how I’m kicking myself for having eaten my very last sweet potatoes last night. Or how I’m too lazy to go to the store today to get more. Or trying to remember what day Big Bang Theory comes on, I just love Sheldon! Or how I really need to find a scone that I absolutely love.

Scones, to me, are more like a sweet biscuit. Maybe I’m just making them wrong but mine usually come out on the crumbly side and lack…. something. Maybe it’s oomph? Maybe if I added chocolate…

Orrrr, maybe I’m overworking the dough and not measuring my ingredients correctly. *shrugs*

Either way, the flavor of these were great! I ran out of almonds so I subbed the rest for pecans. I used all almonds to make “almond meal” (which was chunkier than that which you can buy at the store, but hey… I love texture) and I used a mixture of almonds and pecans to make up the difference. I skipped the almond topping and opted for a coating of heavy cream and a sprinkling of turbinado sugar. Best decision of my life.

Straight out of the oven, these were pretty good. Fagrant and certainly nutty. Tender and barely sweet. (As the days passed, they did not maintain their tender texture but rather yielded to the crumbly side. Otherwise known as the dark side *enter heavy breathing*)

All in all, they were good. Not enough to WOW me and make me sing the scones song from the mountain tops, but good.

I guess I’ll just have to continue my search for my perfect scone. Oh, woe is me 😉

I’d like to thank Mike of Living Out West for choosing this recipe. It certainly is nice to have not only a variety of recipes within the month but that the recipe is simple with minimal ingredients.

For the recipe head on over to Mike’s blog (or simply click here)