Posts Tagged ‘scones’





Chocolate Scones

Tuesday, August 27th, 2013







 photo TheOkieHomeMaker_zpsd701b0ad.jpg



The English Tea

Never Had It So

Good!


First order of business….I forgot to announce that we had a winner on the 17th of the month. We drew a name out of the hat for the Red Gold Tomato apron and Jalapeno Ketchup and reader, Jonni from Kentucky is our winner. She has been notified and responded with surprise and her address. Congratulations, Jonni!!


Now, I have an admission to make. I’m on a diet. Yep, I am. I’ve been on one since March but when one has thyroid disease, a diet feels pretty much pointless. Your metabolism ceases to exist and a stalk of celery adds 10 pounds to the waistline!! Actually, LOOKING at a stalk of celery adds 10 pounds to the waistline. It’s just a little depressing. Having been one who has always loved to cook and to eat what I cook, it’s been a difficult journey over this past year and a half, but there IS a tunnel and I’m seeing a light at the end of it!! I’ve lost 17 pounds! I still have a ways to go, but that’s a real achievement for me!!


And in that tunnel, there has actually been food – really good food! I have discovered that no matter what fad diet is out there – eating blue or red foods, Atkins, South Beach, HCG, low carb, high carb, low protein, high protein, juicing, you name it – the reality is that the secret to losing weight is this formula: Calories In minus Calories Out. That’s it. So the way that I track that is by a free website called SparkPeople.com. It is wonderful. It even gives me a pie chart to try to match my perfect amounts of fat, carbs and proteins per day. And I get to eat whatever I want. It is the Dave Ramsey course in calorie budgeting! I have my 1200-1300 calories to spend and it is my choice how I spend them. If I make up a recipe, I can enter the exact recipe and how many servings I get out of it. The site then figures up all of the nutritional info plus calories per serving. Then, I can put a serving into my daily budget easy as pie. Well, sorry, didn’t mean to be thinking about pie.


So today, was my baking day. I always keep something sweet in the freezer for me and Mr. Fix-It to enjoy in the evening with a cup of one of our tasty teas. I usually bake some type of scone or cookie to be heated in the toaster oven. I leave 200 calories open for that possibility. This afternoon, I made my usual round of cranberry scones and still had 1/2 cup of heavy cream left. I thought, “Hmmm. I wonder what would happen if I added cocoa and chocolate chips to the basic scones recipe?” I guess you know that I had to try.


I did. Yummy!! Chocolate scones. I have a feeling that High Tea in England does not include chocolate scones, but here in America, we believe in chocolate in everything!! So here is the recipe that I concocted. They are a true English scone – heavy and flaky – but have a little bit of the flavor of an American brownie. And they are 186 calories each! I stayed under my 200 calories and so I am one happy camper. So here you go. If you want detailed instructions on making scones, you can hop over to that post at English Scones.


Double Chocolate Scones

Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached flour or all purpose
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
7 Tbsp cold butter cut into cubes
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg white (reserve the yolk)
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. half and half

Glaze
1/2 Tbsp butter melted
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Just enough milk to mix into a medium-thin glaze

Printable Recipe



 photo 1cutinbutter_zpsed3f9713.jpg



Preheat oven to 400º. In a mixing bowl, add flour, cocoa and butter that has been cut into cubes. Either by hand with a pastry cutter, or with a mixer, cut butter into the flour mixture, until the mixture is like tiny crumbs. Add sugars, salt and baking powder. Mix. Add the chocolate chips and mix.


 photo 2mixuntilstiffdough_zps19fd1a15.jpg



Add the cream, vanilla and egg white and mix until a very stiff dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Divide dough in half and put onto a floured surface – you need an Oklahoma Pastry Cloth™ here!! Pat out first half to about a 4″ circle. Cut into 8 triangles. Repeat with the second half. Place scones onto a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Mix leftover egg yolk with 2 tbsps. half and half and brush the tops of the scones with the mixture. Bake at 400º for 13 minutes or until done. While scones are baking, mix melted butter, powdered sugar and milk to make a glaze. Dip tops of scones into the glaze and place onto a cookie rack.


 photo 3scones_zps3dfd58f5.jpg






Serve the scones warm. I bet raspberry jam would be great with these!! This picture is of the two different scones that I made this afternoon. Oh! And the china is my grandmother’s Thomas Ivory Bavarian china, made by the Rosenthal company, that my grandfather bought in Germany during WWII – paid for with cigarettes!!



Happy Baking!



 photo DoughlightfullyYours_zps6d6bcd4d.jpg

MB
I really love to hear from my readers so please
Click Here To Comment

Scroll to Comment Box


Please join us on FaceBook!!


Image and video hosting by TinyPic
THUMBTACK.COM

for the Oklahoma Pastry Cloth™ Company


NASE




Orange Scone Recipe

Thursday, April 21st, 2011





An English Scone

Ain’t Nothin’ But A

Fancy Oklahoma Biscuit!






 photo PICT0308_zpsb1b7eacd.jpg


Yep, that’s what I tell anybody who says to me, “A scone? What’s a scone??” when I am showing off the three scones mixes that I carry at the shopping page. The Victorian House Original Recipe Scones are especially good because you can add anything you like to them like 1/2 cup of white chocolate and 1/3 cup of Craisins to create “addiction from a bag”! They are handy because you can make them ahead of time and either freeze them raw for baking later, or keep them in the frig raw for baking the next day. And one bag makes 16 big scones – a bonus! Packaged scones are a great thing to have on hand for a quick tea with the neighbor, a relaxing treat for your afternoon or a wonderful “thank you” gift in a pinch. The Victorian House Scones are an authentic Scottish scone, made with buttermilk.


But for those who like to say, “I make MY scones from scratch” – you know, the: “I grew the wheat, dried the wheat, ground the wheat, milked the cow, churned the butter, separated the cream AND got the eggs from our chickens” kinda gals – ok, so you got the ingredients at the store and put them into the mixer! Whatever – it’s homemade! – here is a recipe for you. These scones are fluffy and light and just keep you wanting more. This recipe is my own recipe that I have developed over many, many attempts at scones. And yes, if I should ever decide to market the mix, I WILL have to kill you. 🙂 This recipe uses the dried orange zest from a couple of posts ago. And these are the English type of scone. So here you go:


English Style Orange Scones


  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar or 1/2 cup splenda + 1/4 cup powdered milk
  • 1 tbsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tbsp Dough Enhancer (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • fresh zest of orange or 1 tsp dried zest
  • 2-3 tbsp orange juice concentrate
  • 6 tbsp cold butter cut into pieces
  • 1 egg white (reserve the egg yolk)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream


  •  photo PICT1338_zps36627fb6.jpg



    Add flour to mixing bowl


     photo PICT1339_zpsbdc493ad.jpg



    Add Baking Powder


     photo PICT1345_zps9d827960.jpg



    Add sugar or Splenda. If using Splenda add powdered milk.


     photo PICT1351_zps6e26ba86.jpg



    Add dough enhancer – this is optional


     photo PICT1353_zpse715ed64.jpg



    Add salt


     photo PICT1355_zps7d43bdf4.jpg



    Cut butter into pieces


     photo PICT1357_zpse5b740d3.jpg



    Using mixer or dough blender, cut butter into flour until the mix resembles small peas.


     photo PICT1359_zpsb377a25a.jpg



    Add orange zest.


     photo PICT1363_zpse0cca0f1.jpg



    Add 2 -3 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate to the mix depending on how much of an orange flavor you prefer. Stir in


     photo PICT1366_zpsf0b63504.jpg



    Add egg white and stir (you can use a whole egg if using Splenda for more moistness)


     photo PICT1370_zps865d5202.jpg



    Add cream


     photo PICT1372_zps0600d704.jpg



    Mix until dough just holds together


     photo PICT1374_zps95a44d09.jpg



     photo PICT1378_zps733dc5dd.jpg



    Place dough on a floured surface like the The Oklahoma Pastry Cloth™. Pat the dough out into an 8″ circle and cut into 8 triangles


     photo PICT1380_zpsfc3769e9.jpg



    Place scones on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper and brush with a mixture of the reserved egg yolk and 3 tbsp cream.


     photo PICT1381_zpsa806c5cd.jpg



    Sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes depending on how fast your oven is. You want them to be golden brown. If you would like, dip the tops of the freshly baked scones in the following icing:


    Orange Flavored Icing


  • 1 Tbsp melted butter
  • 2 Tbsp frozen Orange Juice Concentrate
  • Pinch of orange zest
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 Tbsp milk


  •  photo PICT1383_zpsc7771e20.jpg



    Stir orange juice concentrate into melted butter


     photo PICT1387_zpse1a87e2e.jpg



    Add powdered sugar and stir. Add milk and continue stirring until smooth. Add more powdered sugar if it is too runny.


     photo PICT1390_zpsf85c695e.jpg



    Add vanilla


     photo PICT1392_zpsf31946e4.jpg



    Add pinch of orange zest. Stir and then dip the tops of the scones into the icing.


     photo PICT1397_zps4afcc5c9.jpg






    Serve warm or cold. The scones in the forefront are the ones made with Splenda. They are a little heavier and hold their shape. The ones in the background are made with sugar and are lighter and more puffy. Serve with tea and lemon curd and you are set!!




    Happy “Ta-Ta” and “Cheerio”!



    MB
    Please join us on FaceBook!!


    Join in the conversation by leaving a comment below!


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic




    Dried Orange Zest

    Monday, April 18th, 2011





    Orange You Glad I Dried?






     photo PICT1241_zps5961295d.jpg


    I don’t know about you, but one of the worst things I know of in cooking, is zesting lemons, limes and oranges. I have, in the past, posted the tip to freeze your rinds in freezer bags to whip out in your time of need and zest with much greater ease. However, no matter fresh or frozen fruit hulls, the zester makes no distinction between the rind and your knuckles. More than once, I have let go a yelp because I got too close to those nasty little teeth that rip the skin.


    Now, I’m a great fan of oranges and it seems that the ones recently have been extra good. Oranges are like candy to me and so Mr. Fix-It says nothing when he finds me typing away at the computer with sticky fingers and juice dripping from my chin. Yes, yes. My momma taught me better. I just grin and hand him a quarter and say, “Wanna slice?” He always takes it.


     photo PICT1238_zpsc3ee4d4a.jpg



    So I’m munching on an extra sweet citrus and I’m staring at the pile of peels on the cutting board. My mind clicks and I think, “So, why couldn’t I dry the peels and chop them up for zest?” And so my experiment began.


     photo PICT1271_zps9d6537e4.jpg



    Now, the whole point of zest is to basically just take the outer rind of the fruit. No fibrous, white, inner rind. I know that when I’m zesting, though, I get some of that white lining and so I figured a little wouldn’t hurt. Therefore, I used a sharp knife and slid it under the inner skin and carefully cut between it and the outer orange rind.


     photo PICT1276_zps5d22add3.jpg



    I laid the cut rinds out in the air to dry. I decided not to use a dehydrator because I was concerned that the heat would change the flavor of the orange rind zest.


     photo PICT1282_zpsfd7b9d4e.jpg



    After a week, the skins were so dry they were leathery/brittle. I popped them into the blender and pulverized them!


     photo PICT1286_zps56d63e47.jpg



     photo PICT1289_zps08197cac.jpg



    The result was wonderful! I figured out that I could put the “zest” into a jar and then just keep adding as I dried more oranges. I did the same with lemons. Actually, I found lemons for 33¢ each and so I bought a boatload. I brought those home and juiced them, froze the juice in ice trays as 1 oz cubes and then quartered the rinds to easily slice the white inner skin from the outer rind. I dried those too. In the picture, the lemon zest is to the left and the orange is on the right.


     photo PICT1397_zps0d4e97cd.jpg



    I used the zest in my basic scones recipe and wow. They were wonderful. That’ll be my next post – the recipe! All I know is that now I have a new “zest for life!” 🙂





    Happy Zesting!



    MB
    Please join us on FaceBook!!


    Join in the conversation by leaving a comment below!


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic