Cranberry-Orange Scones

This is another recipe from the America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) geniuses. They have many, many scone variations so I decided to use what I had on hand to make my first scones! What’s great about these is you can use any mix-ins you have. Plus, you can freeze the scones instead of baking them right away and have warm, bakery style scones whenever you want them!

I chose the cream scones as a base because I wanted a creamy, yet flaky breakfast (or any time of the day, really) treat. Then, I also decided to do the “cakey scone” variation. This adds an egg and slightly reduces the butter and cream. I loved the overall texture and cakey-ness of the scones. They would have turned out much more biscuit-like had I not gone this route.

Also, I loved how easy shaping these scones were. Using the cake pan and pressing the dough to form a disk made cutting perfect scones so simple! They look really impressive but are truly simple to pull together.



Cranberry-Orange Scones

2 C. all purpose flour
1 T. baking poweder
3 T. sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 tsp. salt
4 T. very cold butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 C. dried cranberries
3/4 C. heavy cream, plus more for brushing – about 1 Tb.
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. orange zest
Juice from 1 orange

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Zest an orange and set aside 1 tsp. to use later. Place cranberries in a small bowl. Juice the orange over the cranberries and allow them to plump up while you work.

Place the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process with six 1-second pulses, until combined. Sprinkle the orange zest and butter evenly over the dry ingredients. Process with twelve 1-second pulses.

Drain the cranberries. Add them to the food processor bowl and pulse together with one quick pulse. Stir in the egg and heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until the dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

Transfer the dough and any remaining dry flour bits to a countertop that has been lightly dusted with flour. Knead the dough by hand just until it comes together – do not over knead!

Lightly dust an 8-inch cake pan. Press the dough evenly into the cake pan. Turn the dough out on to the countertop. (You should have a nice, flat, and even disk to work with!) Cut into 8 equal wedges. (At this point you can flash freeze the wedges in the freezer for 20 minutes. Then put them in a ziplock bag and freeze until needed).

Place wedges on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with heavy cream. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until the tops are light brown. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes (ATK recommends truly letting the scones sit for the 10 minutes. It firms them up and improves their overall texture).

Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy with coffee or tea!

Lemon-Blueberry Yogurt Loaf Cake

I was looking for a recipe to use up some blueberries that I had. When I came across a lemon-blueberry yogurt loaf, I knew I had to try it. I LOVE lemon. Because of my lemon obsession, I decided in this recipe to use lemon flavored yogurt (instead of plain) to add to the lemon flavor and, also, because it's what I had in my fridge! The result is a very moist, lemony loaf cake that perfectly compliments the blueberries. It's a rich loaf cake that's not overly sweet and it works equally well as a muffin paired with your morning coffee.

When it comes to blueberries, I highly recommend using fresh, so wait until they go on sale at your grocery store! You can certainly substitute frozen, but they tend to be mushy and stain the batter purple when you fold in the berries.

Next time, I plan to experiment with other yogurts and fruits, just to see if they turn out as fabulous as this! If you try it, or another combination, I'd love to hear about it!!

Lemon-Blueberry Yogurt Loaf Cake

1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup lemon yogurt (you can also substitute vanilla or plain yogurt if that's what you have)

1 cup plus 1 1/2tablespoons sugar, divided

3 eggs

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups blueberries, fresh (if you only have frozen, make sure that they are thawed and patted dry)

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

powdered sugar, optional for garnishing

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 60 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, use a toothpick to poke holes all on the top of the loaf. Then, using a pastry brush, brush the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Allow the loaf to cool and top with powdered sugar just before serving.

Adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I really like to eat bananas, but I am really picky about how yellow they have to be to eat by themselves. I only like them when they are nice and yellow without any spots. Needless to say, last week I couldn't get to them fast enough so they started to brown. Usually when that happens I will put the browning bananas in the freezer to save for baking. Today it was rainy and dreary, so I wanted my husband to have something sweet to come home to after work (besides his lovely wife, of course!). I found a similar recipe for banana muffins at Allrecipes.com and combined it with my vanilla chocolate chip bread recipe.

Let's just say this recipe is so good it's bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S :)

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 3/4 c. flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 package instant vanilla pudding

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

2/3 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. shortening

2 eggs

2 Tbs milk

1 Tbs vanilla extract

3 large extra ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare muffin tins. In medium bowl, combine 1 3/4 cups, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pudding mix. Whisk to combine and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine shortening and sugar. Beat on high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time until well combined. Add milk and vanilla, then bananas to mixture and combine well.

With mixer on low, add flour mixture until just combined then fold in chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and place in oven to bake.

Bake muffins for 20-23 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.