Thursday, July 22, 2010

And the Chocolate Chip version....



Round 2 - the original chocolate chip recipe (see previous post).  Second set of scones, second office that got to enjoy them.  At this point its conclusive....these scones kick ass.  I still think the cinnamon version is better, but its all a matter of taste.  Enjoy!
Thursday, July 15, 2010

Cinnamon Scones - KAF does it again!

 Has everyone heard of King Arthur Flour?  If not - here ya go:  www.kingarthurflour.com   You're welcome and I'm sorry.

For anyone who loves to bake, this website will be your new BFF.  This is the second scone recipe I have tried from them and both were amazing.  Light, fluffy, not too dry and just the right amount of sweetness.  And if you're in a pinch, their bagged mixes are also delicious.  While I always advocate for making things from scratch, sometimes there is just not time....in those cases, go for the sour cream blueberry!

But seriously, KAF is the best.  They have hundreds of products you never knew you needed but now will feel you can't live without (hence my earlier apology for the strain you're about to have on your wallet!).  You can email them with all sorts of baking or even cooking questions and they will do their best to answer.  I wrote once asking about substituting one herb for another and I got a very friendly response back from someone named Irene in less than 24 hours.  Perhaps its time I just quit my day job, move to Vermont and work for them - god that would be awesome!!  But alas, I'll hang out here for now and continue fawning over them from afar.

OK - on to the recipe:

Ingredients
Adapted from King Arthur Flour magazine

Scones:
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour  (I used 1 ¾ cup AP and 1 cup white whole wheat)
⅓ cup granulated sugar
¾ tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pats
1-2 cups mini chocolate chips  (I used about ¾ cup of mini cinnamon chips and it was plenty)
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ to ⅔ cup half & half or milk  (I used 1% milk)

Glaze:
3 ½ cups confectioners sugar
7 tablespoons water or enough to make a thin glaze
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp ground cinnamon  (My addition since I was making cinnamon rather than choc chip)

Instructions

Whisk together all the dry ingredients.  Work in the butter just until the mixture is unevenly crumbly.  Stir in the chips.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and ½ cup half & half (or milk).  Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry adding more half & half if the dough seems dry (you want it to be a little sticky).

Scrape the dough onto a well-floured work surface and pat it into an 8" square, about ¾" thick.  Cut the square into 16 2" squares then cut each square in half diagonally to make 32 small triangles.  Transfer the scones to a parchment-lined or well-greased baking sheet.  Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered.

Preheat the oven to 425ยบ.  Bake the scones for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and cool completely on rack. *The recipe says you can then cut them in half again to make 64 tiny triangles - personal opinion is that they are already small enough, but do as you will.

Stir together the glaze ingredients.  Coat each scone with glaze and place on a rack to set.
**I happen to have one of the cute little mini-scone pans (yes, sold at KAF) so I skipped this whole shaping and cutting part.  My pan holds 16 mini-scones and I had just enough dough to fill it.  I baked them in the pan for 13-14 minutes and they were perfect.  Enjoy the raves from your co-workers, I have been!
Thursday, July 8, 2010

Hummus - Best Ever!


 This is "probably the best hummus I've ever had in my life".  That is the reaction I got when my friend (thanks WC!) had some of this hummus last Friday at our little jazz picnic.  Wow, what a compliment, huh??  Knowing this friend, I can tell you outright, it was the amount of cayenne pepper I added that made him like it so much....but that aside, this is truly some delicious dip.

I got this recipe from my co-worker.  I love hummus and have wanted to make my own.  I had hers at a party a couple years ago and coveted the recipe ever since.  When she gave me the recipe I immediately went home and made a batch....in a blender.....and it was a disaster.  Let me tell you what is not fun - trying to scrape thick pasty hummus out of a big blender with a sharp blade stabbing you in the hand every time you go in to scoop more out.  So, there went the hummus making for the time being.

Then, I was given a food processor for Christmas - woohoo!  This was my first batch using my new machine (I know, what the heck took me 7 months?) and it came out fabulously.  Here are the details along with my little tweaks:

Ingredients

1 15oz can chickpeas (reserve some liquid)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
½ cup tahini
¼ cup chopped yellow onion
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin
⅛ tsp ground cayenne pepper (I use about a ¼ tsp for that extra kick!)
½ tsp salt
¼ to ½ cup nonfat plain greek yogurt (my addition and trust me, its essential for consistency)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in food processor until smooth.  Use additional liquid from chickpeas, olive oil or yogurt until you reach desired consistency.  Refrigerate 3-4 hours.