Articles

Jun 06 2014

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Scones

Author: Jenna
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Scones

First let me send out a huge thank you to all my new readers! The past two days, this blog has gotten over 50 hits each day! Yay! And I’ve gotten some really nice messages and comments about my last review of Steampunk’s Afternoon Tea event. Hearing from you always makes me smile, so keep the communication going!

To celebrate, let’s make more scones. How else would we celebrate?

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Scones

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Scones

My mind has been on vacations a lot lately. No, not like I’m taking a mental vacation and becoming a space cadet, but like thinking about traveling and getting away from California for a little while. Maybe it’s because all the schools are getting out right about now and people are heading out of town. Alas, I’m a poor, starving actress who has to subsist on the millions of scones in her freezer and can’t afford to go on vacation just yet. So I guess I have to make a scone into a vacation! How about Hawaii?

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May 26 2014

Vanilla Yogurt Covered Blueberry Scones

Author: Jenna

When I was in elementary school, everybody brought cupcakes for the class on their birthday. I never really understood why the person whose birthday it was brought in the cupcakes; it always made more sense to me that the class should bring cupcakes for the birthday boy or girl. But what’s done is done and we all looked forward to our classmates’ birthdays because we were allowed to eat dessert in the middle of the day.

Vanilla Yogurt Covered Blueberry Scones

Vanilla Yogurt Covered Blueberry Scones

Now I was a weird kid. I know it, I accept it, I have recovered from it. I didn’t want to bring cupcakes! Come April all I wanted was blueberry muffins. From a box. With tons of sweet yummy streusel topping. It’s funny because now I insist on making everything–cakes, brownies, scones, muffins–from scratch. But back then, it was all about those boxed blueberry muffins with a sugar topping. Forget birthday cake, bring me on some muffins!

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May 21 2014

Roasted Banana Walnut Scones

Author: Jenna

I was traumatized by two giant crows the other day.

Two giant black crows (do crows come in any other color?) were sitting on my windshield wipers when I came out of physical therapy. I had no idea what to do and the creatures were huge. If I threw a show at them or tried to swipe them away they might have attacked me. A coven of crows came after me in seventh grade so I know they do it and I know its scary as f***. I slid, shaking like a leaf, into my driver’s seat as the crows just watched me with their big orb eyes. I don’t think I could’ve gotten in if it had been my driver’s side they were creeping on.

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May 18 2014

Strawberry Vanilla Bean Scones

Author: Jenna

Let’s take a quick break from the banana, shall we? There’s only one more (for now) but it’s officially embarrassingly late to post a photo with Easter decorations so I don’t want things to get any more awkward for me. I don’t want to have to wear a paper bag over my head with ‘I’m Not a Scone Baker Anymore” (is it too late to make that joke too?).

Strawberry Vanilla Scones

Strawberry Vanilla Scones

One of my first recipes on this blog was Strawberry Vanilla Scones. I went on and on about how amazing Gaviota strawberries were and how I was afraid that my usual scone recipe would be too strong of a flavor to work with the Gaviotas. So I used a mascarpone based scone instead. Well it’s well into strawberry season again, but this time I forgot my earlier qualms and decided, “Hey! I’m going to make strawberry vanilla scones!” also forgetting that I already had a strawberry vanilla scone recipe on the blog. Oops. Shows you how many scones I make. 

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May 11 2014

Banana Nutella Scones

Author: Jenna

Remember how I made banana chocolate chip coffee cake when my mom requested chocolate swirl banana bread? Remember how I felt like a terrible daughter since it was so close to Mother’s Day and I was pressuring you to make that coffee cake for Mom? It was a dark time in my life. I love my mom more than any other person in the world, and to not give her the world–or at least the banana bread–she requested made me feel so bad, I knew I had to make it up to her.

Banana Nutella Scones

Banana Nutella Scones

These are how I did it.

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May 01 2014

Banana Scones

Author: Jenna
Banana Scones

My parents shop at Costco. And when I was growing up, I loved going on Costco runs (free samples, awesome pizza, and yummy berry soft serve “sundaes” that proved my little eyes were bigger than my tummy). It wasn’t until I grew up and started actually paying attention to what we were buying that I realized the ultimate Costco lesson: where are you going to store all those fruits and vegetables? And what are you going to do with them?

Banana Scones

Banana Scones

Fast forward to the phone call I got from my mom about a week before Easter. “We bought bananas at Costco (always a big mistake) and have a million about to go overripe (always the result of the big mistake). Can you come over and do something with them?”

SCONE BAKER WOMAN TO THE RESCUE!

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Apr 28 2014

Lemon Poppyseed Scones

Author: Jenna
Lemon Poppyseed Scones

Don’t judge me for my Easter decorations in photos that are posted after Easter. In my defense, I was inspired by Easter and spring to make these scones and made them and photographed them before Easter. So even if I didn’t post the recipe until after Easter, it is still perfectly acceptable, nay necessary, to have Easter decorations in my photos. I probably intended to post this recipe before or on Easter but was distracted by these. Have you made them yet? If you have, you can’t blame me. You completely understand.

Lemon Poppyseed Scones

Lemon Poppyseed Scones

I was never a lemon poppyseed person growing up. I think it was a combination of the poppy seeds looking like little things that should not be in baked goods, the word “seeds” being associated with savory in my head, and the episode of Mythbusters that showed that you can fail a breathalyzer test by eating a huge amount of poppyseed bagels. I’m the ultimate good girl so I probably was afraid that of what would happen if a cop happened to pull me over after the one time I would have ever eaten poppy seeds. Still have never been pulled over by a cop though so I’m just being a little overzealous.

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Apr 21 2014

Recipe: Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

Author: Jenna

Get ready for some Easter themed photos accompanying some Spring inspired scones. Yes, Easter was yesterday, but a holiday featuring a magical bunny, soft pastels, adorable baby animals, fun crafts, and lots and lots of chocolate and jelly beans should be celebrated year long, right? Or at least all Spring? Or at least until I run out of sunny scone recipe ideas (never going to happen I seriously have over 50 recipes lined up) and my mom puts away the Easter decorations photography props? Come on, I thought you were on my side!

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

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Apr 17 2014

Recipe: Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Scones

Author: Jenna

Scones–and pictures of scones–tend to evoke a happy, airy, lighthearted feeling in your day. Delicate with a touch of decadence, scones and afternoon tea are for days of sunshine and butterflies and a spring breeze and smiles.

But let’s get honest here for a minute, blog honest. Life isn’t always joyful. Days aren’t always full of sun. Lace tablecloths, embroidered napkins, and sweet cream won’t always cut it. Sometimes life is dark.

Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Scones
Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Scones

So let’s bring on the dark chocolate and the deep pomegranate for those days. Because there is a scone for every occasion and every mood. And scones help. They always help. Chocolate covered pomegranate scones most of all.

If I wasn’t an avid disliker of all things vampire (I’m looking at you Twilight), I’d make a crack about these being vampire scones, with their deep black chocolate morsels covering blood red pomegranate jelly. The photos certainly fit that style! But like I said…anti vampire…so…

Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Scones

Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Scones

Making these scones is a cinch. Basically just add chocolate covered pomegranates to my simple cream scones; eventually I’ll make a recipe with fresh pomegranate arils and various add-ins probably revolving around chocolate, but when you aren’t having the best day, you want quick and easy. Take the shortcut. I did. I don’t judge. The chocolate covered pomegranates are bigger than you’d think, so you may want to chop them up a bit before mixing them in. I chose not to and ended up with some bites of plain scone and some bites of chocolate/pomegranate chewy goodness. Either option is going to be delicious.

So when your day is a little darker than you want it to be, do something to take care of yourself and pop a tray of these in the oven.

chocolate covered pomegranate scones

Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Scones

Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Scones

ingredients

  • 200 g self raising flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 50 g ultrafine baking sugar
  • 150-200 mL heavy whipping cream (always start with the lower amount)
  • 1/2 cup chocolate covered pomegranate seeds, chopped or whole depending on preference
Preheat oven to 220°C (450°F). Place rack as high as possible in oven. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
Sift flour and salt together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the sugar and chocolate covered pomegranate seeds, mixing until well distributed.
Add 150 mL cream then work in by hand by rubbing in the cream trying to incorporate as much air as possible until fully mixed. DO NOT OVERMIX. If the mix is too dry, now add the extra cream until the dough is wet enough to hold together.
Place dough on a heavily floured surface and knead a couple of times until relatively smooth. Pat down to desired height (we did 1 cm as usual). Cut out 5 cm circles with a crimped scone cutter and place on the baking tray. HINT: dip the cutter in flour before cutting out each scone. Knead the extras back together and repeat until most of the dough is used up.

Bake for 8-10 minutes (we did 8) until they have risen and are slightly browned around the edges and on top.

Apr 02 2014

Recipes: Golden Raspberry Coconut Scones

Author: Jenna

Did you miss me? Of course you did, because everyone loves scones. So maybe it isn’t me you missed, and it’s just the scones you were pining after? Should I be concerned? Are my friends only friends with me because I bring them baked goods?!

Golden Raspberry Coconut Scones

Golden Raspberry Coconut Scones

Well, yeah I think they are, but the dictionary defines friends as “recipe taste testers”, right? Or at least that’s what all my friends tell me. I can go weeks, months, YEARS without talking to my friends, so long as when I come back I bring them yummy baked goods. Again, so they tell me through mouthfuls of scones, cookies, and cupcakes. And banana bread. Peanut butter chocolate swirled banana bread to be exact. But that’s another story and another recipe.

Why the long absence and subsequent promise to beging of forgiveness and subsequent promise to be a better friend through more frequent recipe updates? Well I made a massive career change (from science-y graduate school to artsy acting), made even more massive life changes, made some location moves (to my parents’ house sans kitchen for a few miserable months–because of the no kitchen; my parents are lovely–and then to my own apartment), and basically just took my life and shook it upside down like a bully in elementary school looking for lunch money. Unfortunately, money scones didn’t fall out. 

Golden Raspberry Coconut Scones

Golden Raspberry Coconut Scones

But I missed baking and sharing my recipes with you! So I decided to try to come back. And since berry season will be upon us before we know it, what better way to kick it off than with a hunt for golden raspberries?

Golden raspberries are like red raspberries’ shy cousin. They are less in-your-face tart and a little more delicate, but have generally the same flavor profile. And they go just as well with coconut as any summery berry! My “Berry Lady” at our local farmer’s market recommended I try them out in place of red raspberries for scones because they can be a little sturdier and hold up better to baking. She had me at “berry” though so it wasn’t a hard sell! And look how pretty and bright they came out!

Golden Raspberry Coconut Scones

Golden Raspberry Coconut Scones

You can easily sub red or black raspberries if you can’t find golden.

golden raspberry coconut scones

ingredients

  • 250g all purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 salt
  • 50 g ultrafine baking sugar
  • 1 cup golden raspberries
  • 2/3 cup shredded coconut, sweetened
  • 150 mL whipping cream

Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Toss in berries and coconut.

Slowly add in whipping cream until the dough is moistened and coming together. Turn out onto a floured surface.

Pat down to desired thickness and cut out scones in desired size rounds (1 cm and 5 cm, respectively). Place on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Golden Raspberry Coconut Scones

Golden Raspberry Coconut Scones