Monday 28 January 2013

Cream Cheese & Chives Scones

The third scone recipe comes here. This is a very delicious savoury scone and it goes perfectly together e.g. with a spicy soup or simply as a snack on its own.




Cream cheese & chives scones (6 large or 9 medium)

60grams butter, cold and cubed
1cup plain flour
half a cup of rolled oats
half a cup of wholegrain flour
pinch of salt
1tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarb of soda
1tsp brown sugar
185grams cream cheese (natural or with chives)
150ml buttermilk, cold
+handful of chopped chives

1. Start by mixing the flour, oats, leavening agents, salt and sugar together in a large bowl.
2. Take the cold butter and quickly rub it into the dry ingredients. Using a knife or your hands (I was hands on!) keep rubbing (without over working it and softening the butter too much), until it is a sandy crumb like mixture. Add the cream cheese and chives firstly and then the buttermilk. Give it a good mix, but do not over mix, that will only make for hard scones.
3. On a floured surface, knead the dough a couple of times, then pat it into a plump rectangle piece of dough and using a metal cutter, make the scones. (for nice high scones, make sure not to twist the cutter when cutting out the scones, just press down once.)
4. Place the scones on a lined baking tray, brush them with some milk (only the tops, not the sides) and bake for ~15mins at 175-200degrees, until golden and fluffy. Cool the scones on a wire rack and once cooled, keep covered.


Thursday 17 January 2013

Cranberry Scones

I made these scones with dried cranberries and oats, mainly because I wanted to try different combos and to keep things simple. The scones with lavender, were fragrant enough as is and adding more flavour would have just been an overkill in my opinion. Both the lavender and cranberry scones are on the sweet side, but I think they are an ideal choice any time - for breakfast, high tea with friends or just simply with your favourite hot beverage as an evening snack.



Cranberry Scones (6 large ones or 9 medium ones)

80grams cold butter, cubed
250ml milk or cream (this recipe uses half and half)
300grams plain flour
0,5dl rolled oats
0,5-1dl dried cranberries (these ones were sweetened with apple juice)
1tbsp brown sugar
1tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarb of soda
+milk to brush the tops



1. Start by mixing the flour, oats, cranberries, leavening agents and sugar together in a large bowl.
2. Take the cold butter and quickly rub it into the dry ingredients. Using a knife or your hands (I was hands on!) keep rubbing (without over working it and softening the butter too much), until it is a sandy crumb like mixture. Add the milk and/or cream and mix, but only just to bring it together.
3. On a floured surface, knead the dough a couple of times, then pat it into a plump rectangle piece of dough and using a metal cutter, make the scones. (for nice high scones, make sure not to twist the cutter when cutting out the scones, just press down once.)
4. Place the scones on a lined baking tray, brush them with some milk (only the tops, not the sides) and bake for ~15mins at 175-200degrees, until golden and fluffy. Cool the scones on a wire rack and once cooled, keep covered.




Mmm!





Wednesday 16 January 2013

Lavender & Vanilla Scones

I finally got to do some relaxing baking to bring a bit of comfort to these cold winter days. It really has been busy, with the little ones not feeling entirely well and the bigger boys going back to school and nursery. I fancied something homely to start the new year off with and here is the first recipe out of three.



Lavender and Vanilla Scones (6 large or 9 small)

80grams cold butter, cubed
250ml milk or cream (I had half and half)
300grams (2cups) plain flour
1tbsp brown sugar
1tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarb of soda
2tsp vanilla extract (actually had some homemade this time)
1 tsp dried lavender buds
+milk to brush the tops

1. Start by mixing the flour, leavening agents and sugar together in a large bowl.
2. Pour the milk/cream into a jug and add the vanilla extract and lavender. Leave it to infuse while continuing with the dough.
3. Take the cold butter and quickly rub it into the dry ingredients. Using a knife or your hands (I was hands on!) keep rubbing (without over working it and softening the butter too much), until it is a sandy crumb like mixture. Add the vanilla and lavender infused milk&cream and mix, but only just to bring it together.
4. On a floured surface, knead the dough a couple of times, then pat it into a plump rectangle piece of dough and using a metal cutter, make the scones. (for nice high scones, make sure not to twist the cutter when cutting out the scones, just press down once.)
5. Place the scones on a lined baking tray, brush them with some milk (only the tops, not the sides) and bake for ~15mins at 175-200degrees, until golden and fluffy. Cool the scones on a wire rack and once cooled, keep covered.