Dreamy Creamy Scones

Some time ago, one of the ladies I work with bought a house with a meyer lemon tree.  With the abundance of lemons, she's made plain and blueberry lemon marmalades.  So that we could all try the marmalades (which are delicious) at work, it was decided I would make scones.  Since lemon (and blueberry lemon) is a strong flavor, I decided to just bake some plain scones.  I found a recipe from America's Test Kitchen on SmittenKitchen and knew it would be a good one because a) America's Test Kitchen, and b) Smitten Kitchen.  The recipe is quite easy and the result is a perfect scone, which could be dressed up any which way you'd like or could dream of.   

Sorry, I don't have a picture.  I forgot to snap one before I brought the scones to work. 


Dreamy Cream Scones
America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
•  3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup currants (I omitted this)
• 1 cup heavy cream

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425F.

 Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl or work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Whisk together or pulse six times.

If making by hand, use two knives, a pastry blender or your fingertips and quickly cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps. Stir in currants. If using food processor, remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times, each pulse lasting 1 second. Add currants and pulse one more time. Transfer dough to large bowl.

Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Form scones by pressing the dough into an 8-inch cake pan, then turning the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, cutting the dough into 8 wedges with either a knife or bench scraper.  (I didn't bother pressing the dough into a pan; I just formed it into a circle.  I like the rustic, uneven look).

Place wedges on ungreased baking sheet and bake until scone are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Amaretto & White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Happy Mardi Gras, y'all!  Today, I made a gumbo since the weather has been cool and stormy lately.  As we had a friend over for dinner (and to watch the season finale of Downton Abbey), I felt compelled to make a dessert.  What goes well with gumbo?  Immediate answer: bread pudding.  This past Christmas, I experimented a bit with a bread pudding using amaretto and white chocolate for our Christmas day dessert, and it was delicious!  Sadly, I couldn't remember the recipe.  That's what I get for not writing it down as I go.  Tonight, I decided to just wing it (again), and luckily the recipe came back to me as I went through the motions.  I am super glad for that because everyone really enjoyed this bread pudding, hubby included (and he doesn't like boozy treats).  

 

(Notice the little top in the background? Hubby made that for me on his lathe.  He's actually started a blog, Metallic Tang, documenting his metal and wood working adventures)

Now,  many bread puddings are served with a sauce (traditionally rum, sometimes amaretto) but I wanted to skip that step and make one that was moist and flavorful on its on.  Yay for me because I succeeded.  That being said, hubby and I did have a scoop of ice cream served over the warm bread pudding, which while not traditional, was delicious.   Also, the chunks of melty white chocolate add nice creamy accents.  I won't deny it; I'm pretty impressed with myself. 

Amaretto & White Chocolate Bread Pudding

• 1 loaf french bread, cut into 1" cubes
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup white, granulated sugar
• 1 cup cream
• 1/4 cup amaretto
• 4 oz white chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly spray a 9 inch casserole dish with cooking spray.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until fully combined and light yellow.  Whisk in cream, then amaretto. 

Place the bread cubes in a large bowl; pour the liquid mixture on top, evenly distributing it.  Toss to coat.  Let sit for 5 minutes, then toss to coat again.  Stir in white chocolate chunks, then pour into prepared casserole.  (Throughout this process, you want to expose as much of the bread to as much of the liquid as possible, allowing the liquid to be absorbed.)

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the top pieces of bread begin to brown and crisp.  Serve warm.

Homemade Pizza

A little while ago, hubby's mom invited us over for homemade pizza.  We were unable to make it, but homemade pizza sounded like a fun idea so a few nights later we made some ourselves.  I have a million different pizza crust recipes saved up, but hubby was already hungry by the time we were getting started, so I went with a crust that didn't require a lot of time to rise.  Hubby was in charge of the sauce, and he did a fantastic job.  The great thing about doing pizzas at home is that you don't have to try to find a topping combo everyone will enjoy; we made two smaller pizzas personalized to our own liking.

 My pizza, with shrimp, roma tomatoes, caramelized onions, artichoke hearts, and fresh basil.

 Hubby's pizza with shrimp, pepperoni, bacon, mushrooms, and caramelized onions.  Notice the folded edge? He rolled cheese into two edges, creating a stuffed crust.  That man can be quite handy. 

I got the pizza dough recipe from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.  It was a decent crust, though a bit bland.  I would use it again if I didn't have time for a proper dough to rise, but I would add some salt and herbs.  This dough does have a nice texture though; soft and slightly chewy. 

Pizza Dough
(page 150, BH&G New Cookbook)

• 2 1/2 -3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 pkg active dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup warm water, between 120F to 130F
• 2 tbsp olive oil

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups of the flour, yeast, and salt; add warm water and oil.  Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Beat on high speed for 3 minutes.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes).  Divide dough in half.  Cover; let rest for 10 minutes.  Will make two 10-11 inch pizzas. 

Pizza Sauce
(modified from this Serious Eats recipe)
(please note: hubby likes to wing it and ad-lib when he's following recipes, but refuses to write down what he does, so this is as close an approximation as we can remember)

• 1 - 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 medium cloves garlic, grated on microplane grater
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp red pepper
• kosher salt
• 14 to 16 leaves of fresh basil 
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 tbsp sugar

Puree tomatoes, with juices, until mostly smooth.  Set aside.

Combine butter and oil in medium saucepan over medium low heat until butter has melted.  Add garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and a large pinch of salt.  Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, but not browned.  Add tomatoes, basil, onion, sugar, and red pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half (about an hour).  Use an immersion blender or food processor to blend the basil and onions into the sauce.  Season to taste with salt. 
  
Assembly

We baked the pizzas on our pizza stone.  To do so, place pizza stone in the unheated oven.  Preheat oven to 400F.  Roll pizza dough on parchment paper into 10-11 inch circle (or square).  Prick dough all over with a fork.  Gently slide dough onto baking stone and bake for 10-15 minutes or until light brown.  Top as desired and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Snickerdoodle Scones

Lately it seems that snickerdoodle recipes have caught my eye.  I had decided that this weekend I would either try a pumpkin snickerdoodle cookie recipe or one for snickerdoodle scones.  When I woke up hungry for something sweet this morning, the decision was made: scones would be had.  

I'm a fan of scones; to be honest, who isn't?  They are easy enough to make for breakfast without having to be up for hours before anyone else (cinnamon rolls, I'm looking at you) and when done right have a nice somewhat dense texture that makes them satisfying.  You can have just about any variety of flavor combinations.  What isn't to love?

Snickerdoodle Scones

(original recipe found over at Craving Comfort)

• 1/2 cup sour cream*
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup cinnamon chips. (optional)
• cinnamon sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. 

Combine sour cream and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt in another bowl.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
 

Mix egg and cinnamon into sour cream mixture.  Gently stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until moist.  If using, gently mix in cinnamon chips.
 

Place on baking sheet and pat into a 3/4 inch thick circle. Cut into 8 wedges.  Move slightly so they are not touching. Dust with cinnamon-sugar.
 

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

* I didn't have sour cream and wasn't willing to run to the store.  Instead, I substituted 1/2 cup Greek yogurt and added an additional 1/4 tsp baking soda.  This seemed to be a common substitute on many websites.  When I was combining all of the ingredients, it was a bit too dry to incorporate all of the flour, so I added in some cream until the mix was moist enough to incorporate it all.  Milk would have been fine; I used the cream because I had it and it needed to be used.   It all worked out in the end.  Hubby and I both really enjoyed them.