Double-Chocolate Pecan Scones

Double-Chocolate Pecan Scones

Their very name suggests sophistication.  These little pastries are not as sweet as cookies; but they are sublime with peanut butter spread on top.  You may notice that I did not cut them the traditional triangle shape; this is because in my research into scones I saw a comment from a Brit that traditional British scones are actually round like American biscuits.  If anyone knows better, please correct me.  ☺  And now, the recipe.

The first thing I do when baking with nuts is to toast them.  This brings out the flavor and makes them yummier.  Simply spread them on a baking sheet and pop them in your preheating oven.  Watch them carefully; they burn quickly.  Five minutes should do the trick.

Set them aside to cool while preparing the dough.  After they cool, chop them.

Yummy toasted pecans

Combine the dry ingredients.

Cut in the butter.

If you don't have buttermilk on hand, place ½ T. vinegar in a measuring cup and add milk to the ½ c. line.  Let it sit for 5 minutes or until the milk curdles.

Combine the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla. 

Add to the dry mixture.

Add pecans and chocolate.

Combine thoroughly.

Place on a floured surface and dust with flour.  (My dough was very wet, so I kneaded in more flour at this point.) 

My hands were floury at this point, so I didn't photograph the rolling/cutting/placing on the cookie sheet part.

Bake for 15-20 minutes....

...and enjoy!

Double-Chocolate Pecan Scones

2 c. flour

⅓ c. firmly-packed brown sugar

1½ t. baking powder

¼ t. baking soda

¼ t. salt

½ c. butter

½ c. buttermilk

1 egg

1½ t. vanilla extract

⅜ c. pecans, toasted and chopped

½ c. chocolate chips

¼ c. white chocolate chips

Flour for rolling

Preheat oven to 375°F.  In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, egg, and vanilla.  Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine.  Stir in pecans and chocolates.  

Place on a well-floured surface and roll to desired thickness (I think about 1 inch).  Cut with biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter and place on baking sheet.

Bake 15-20 minutes.  

Enjoy with a hot cup of tea, and imagine yourself in a London tea room....

(This is, in fact, a variation of Triple-Chocolate Chunk Scones.)

Whipping Cream Biscuits

The best biscuits you'll ever taste!

These are so easy and so delicious!  Don't tell me you haven't the time to make them....

2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 c. whipping cream

Combine dry ingredients (or use 2 c. self-rising flour).  Add whipping cream.

(Dough will be stiff.)

It's really yummy at this point; but it's better baked!

Shape into biscuits and bake at 450° F for 10-12 minutes.

They're so delicious, they don't even need butter!

Special thanks to my cousin D who gave the recipe to me.  ☺

Pie Crust

This is a handy recipe to keep around, and so easy to make!

6 T. unsalted butter
¾ c. flour
¼ t. salt
1½-2½ T. milk

Using a fork or your fingers, mix butter with flour and salt until it resembles peas and crumbles.  Drizzle the milk in bit by bit, using the fork or a spoon to blend the crust until it just sticks together. (It may not require all the milk.)  Pat into a disc shape and wrap in plastic.  Chill at least 20 minutes.

On a floured plastic cutting mat, roll into a circle slightly larger than your pie pan.  Invert into pie plate.  Adjust to center; trim edges till even.  If desired, flute or pinch edge to make it fancy.  Bake the scraps and serve them with honey, jelly, or whipped cream.  :)

Makes 1 9-inch pie.  Double for a two-crust pie.

Zucchini Bread/Muffins

3 heaping cups shredded zucchini
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
4 cups whole-wheat flour
2 t. baking soda
cinnamon to taste
cloves to taste
1/2 c. walnuts

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Shred zucchini and cover.  Cream butter and sugar; add eggs.  Stir in remaining ingredients except zucchini; add zucchini last.

Spread in greased pans:
2 standard loaf pans
OR
24 muffin cups and 2 mini loaf pans

Bake in preheated oven:
Loaves: 1 hour
OR
Muffins: 20 minutes
OR
Mini loaves: 25-35 minutes

Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

2 c. flour
4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
4 T. unsalted butter
3/4 c. sour milk
Butter, softened
Garlic and/or Italian seasoning
1 package Canadian-style bacon*
1 1/2 to 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
*can use thinly-sliced ham

Preheat oven to 450° F.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add milk all at once; stir only until dough follows fork around bowl.

Place dough on a lightly-floured surface.  (Knead in extra flour if mixture is too sticky.)  Roll into a rectangle--approximately 15" x 12".  Gently spread with soft butter; sprinkle with garlic and/or Italian seasoning.  Place Canadian bacon edge-to-edge on dough; sprinkle with cheese.

Starting at a long edge, roll dough up like cinnamon rolls.  Cut into pieces approximately 1-inch or so; place cut-side down on a paper-lined baking sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden-brown.  Brush tops with butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Serve warm.

Triple-Chocolate Chunk Scones

I don't know why I haven't made scones before--they are so simple!  In fact, they are very similar to biscuits in the combining part.  It is only fitting that the first post in three months should contain our blog's name in three varieties.  :)

2 c. flour
1/3 c. firmly-packed brown sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 egg
1 1/2 t. vanilla
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2" pieces (I used semisweet chips)
3 oz. milk chocolate, cut into 1/2" pieces (I simply broke it into chunks)
3 oz. white chocolate, cut into 1/2" pieces (I used chips)

Preheat oven to 375° F.  In a large bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, egg, and vanilla.  Add to the flour mixture and stir to combine.  Stir in chocolate chunks until they are evenly distributed.  Using a 1/4-cup measure, drop the dough onto an un-greased baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between scones.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Hint of Mint Double Chocolate Cookies

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
3 drops mint extract
2-ish c. flour
cocoa powder to taste (approximately 1/4 c. or so)
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
chocolate chips (probably a cup or so)

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and flavorings and beat well.  Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  Add chocolate chips to taste.  (Taste dough to make certain it is yummy.)  Drop by teaspoon onto papered cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly underbaked.  Cool approximately 1 minute before transferring to a plate to cool.  While cookies are warm, enjoy one--or two--with a glass of milk.  Take the rest with you to the fireworks display on July 4th to win instant friends.  ;)

Apologies for the approximations.  K and H developed this recipe from a regular chocolate chip cookies recipe, so we added the cocoa powder until it looked right.  And H never measures chocolate chips--whatever looks good is what I add.  So have fun with it and let us know how it turns out!  ~H & K

Blueberry-Pecan Biscuits

2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 T. raw sugar, plus more for topping
4 T. unsalted butter
1/2 c. blueberries
1/4 c. chopped pecans
2/3 c. sour milk

Preheat oven to 450°F.  Sift flour, baking powder, and salt; stir in sugar.  Cut in butter until crumbly.  Gently add blueberries and pecans.  Add milk all at once, gently stirring until dough follows fork around bowl.  Be very gentle with the dough to avoid crushing berries.  Drop by tablespoon onto lightly greased baking sheet; sprinkle top with raw sugar.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.  Serve with yogurt or eggs.

Total prep time: approximately 1 hour.

Easy Lemon Drop Cookies

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. white sugar
2 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 (3-oz.) package lemon-flavored gelatin dessert
poppy seeds (optional)
2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Beat in gelatin and poppy seeds.  Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Chill dough for approximately 20 minutes.  Drop by teaspoonful 2 inches apart on paper-lined cookie sheets.  Bake 8-10 minutes.

This is a great way to use the package of gelatin which has been sitting in your cupboard for two years, which expired last October, and which you don't think you will use any other way.  Feel free to experiment with other flavors of gelatin.

Super Quick Dinner Muffins

1 c. flour (can use all or half whole-wheat flour)
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 T. mayonnaise
1 c. milk

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Grease a regular-sized 6-cup muffin tin.  In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients; add mayonnaise and milk.  Spoon into muffin cups.  Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until nicely puffed and browned.

Dinner Rolls

4 to 4 1/2 c. flour
1 T. dry yeast
1 c. milk
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. butter
1 t. salt
2 eggs

In a large mixing bowl combine 2 c. flour and the yeast.  In a saucepan heat milk, sugar, butter, and salt until just warm (115° to 120°) and butter is almost melted; stir constantly.  Add to flour mixture; add eggs.  Beat at low speed of electric mixer for 1/2 minute, scraping sides of bowl constantly.  Beat 3 minutes at high speed.

Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can mix in with a a spoon.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes total).  Shape into a ball.  Place in lightly greased bowl; turn once to grease surface.  Cover; let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 hour).

Punch down; divide dough in half.  Cover; let rest 10 minutes.  Shape into desired rolls (normal rolls, crescents, clover-leaves, etc.).  Cover; let rise until nearly double (about 30 minutes).  Bake at 375° for 12 to 15 minutes or until done.  Makes 2 to 2 1/2 dozen.

(Who knew fresh bread could be so simple?)

Cinnamon Crunch Muffins

Muffin:

1 c. oatmeal

1 c. flour

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 c. milk

1 egg

1/4 c. melted butter

Struesel Topping:

2 T. butter

3 T. oatmeal

2 T. brown sugar

2 T. chopped nuts

2 T. flour

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400° F. Place muffin papers in a 12-cup muffin tin.

Mix first 5 ingredients. Add milk, egg, and melted butter. Mix until dry ingredients are just moistened. Using 1/4 c. measure, fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Mix topping ingredients. Sprinkle evenly atop muffins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve immediately.

Note: I discovered the 1/4 c. trick this morning when making these muffins. Usually, I cannot fill them evenly and I have unevenly-sized muffins. The 1/4 c. measure is less messy than a spoon, and the muffins are more closely uniform.

Best Apple Pie

CRUST:

1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature (3/4 c.)

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 t. salt

3-5 T. milk

Using a fork, mix butter with flour and salt until it resembles crumbs. Drizzle in the milk bit by bit, blending with a fork until it just sticks together. (You may not need all the milk.)

Divide the dough in two pieces, one a bit larger than the other, to be the lower crust. Pat the pieces into disc shapes and cover with plastic wrap. Chill at least 20 minutes.

FILLING:

4 c. chopped, peeled apples (about 6 small apples)

3/4 c. frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed (1/2 of a 12-oz. can)

2 T. flour

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 420° F. In a large bowl, combine the apples, juice, flour, and cinnamon. Roll out the larger crust and press into a 9" pie plate. Add the apple mixture. Dot with butter bits. Roll out the smaller crust for the top. Moisten the edges of the lower crust with a little water and add the top crust. Press down the edges with a fork or your fingers (or crimp as desired). Make several slits in the top crust. Bake at 420° for 30 minutes; check pie and cover rim with foil if already brown. Reduce oven heat to 335° F and continue baking for about 30 minutes, or until a little juice is coming out of the slits.

Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

NOTE: Depending on your apples, this pie might taste a bit sour.

Courtesy of Penzeys Spice catalog

CCMM Cookies

1/2 c. butter
1 c. butter substitute (I used this because it's cheaper than butter; if you want to use 3 sticks of butter, go right ahead.)

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. packed brown sugar

3 T. vanilla (okay so I like a lot of vanilla--the original recipe calls for 2 T.)

3 eggs

5 1/2 c. flour (again, I increased this amount--the original calls for 4 c.)
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips
1 1/2 c. miniature M&M's

Cream butter and butter substitute; cream in sugar, then brown sugar. Continue creaming and add eggs and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; fold in chocolate. Cover tightly and refrigerate for two days. (I'm serious: this is important!)

Heat oven to 375°F. Remove dough from refrigeration; allow to warm while oven is heating. When oven is hot and dough is workably warm, drop by teaspoonful 2 inches apart on paper-lined cookie sheets. Bake for 8-12 minutes; watch carefully to ensure proper baking time. (My first batch was underdone and the next was overdone. And then there were some WAY overdone cookies; and finally the last batch I baked were perfect. But I froze some of my dough, so we'll see how they bake up.)

Yield: 5-8 dozen, depending upon size of cookies--and how much dough you eat while baking them!

Note: K and I made this original recipe together, once upon a time. It inspired this blog post.

Because of Jesus Christ,

H

Simple Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie-Bars

Read my comment on this post to see the modifications necessary to make these bars.

Banana Nut Bread

This is my new favorite banana bread! It seems that after a while, my stand-by recipe gets old. Then a quest for a new b-bread recipe begins. That may end now. The last search began because my then-present recipe had too many ingredients. So I looked for something simpler, and here it is! This recipe is from ELT, the 1930's cookbook. I didn't change a thing. (I didn't even correct the grammatical errors!)

1/2 c. fat

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

3 crushed bananas

2 c. whole-wheat flour

1 t. soda

1/4 c. nut meats

Crush bananas and whip until very light. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, then flour, soda and nuts. Add bananas. Turn into a well greased bread pan. Bake in a moderate oven at 350° for 1 hour.

I never used to like nuts in banana bread. But in the spirit of following the recipe precisely, I added them as directed. It was so delicious that way! Although I may add cinnamon next time, this recipe is definitely a keeper.

Because of Jesus Christ,

H

Cheesecake Bars

1/3 c. butter

1 c. flour

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. chopped nuts (SO yummy with hickory nuts!)

chocolate chips*

1/4 c. sugar

1 egg

1/2 t. vanilla

8 0z. softened cream cheese

2 T. milk

1 T. lemon juice

chocolate syrup*

Cream butter with brown sugar in a small mixing bowl; add flour and nuts; mix to make a crumb mixture. Reserve 1 c. for topping. Press remaining mixture into bottom of an 8"-square pan.

Place sugar, egg, vanilla, cream cheese, milk, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Mix well and beat until creamy. Pour over crust. Add chocolate chips (to taste) to remaining crumb mixture; sprinkle evenly over filling.

Bake at 350° F. for 12-15 minutes. Drizzle chocolate syrup over the top in a pretty zig-zag. Cool completely; chill for a day or two before cutting into bars and serving.

*Chocolate was not originally a part of this recipe. I added it because the bars sounded boring without. But if you don't like chocolate, feel free to leave it out--but then, if you don't like chocolate, why are you reading my blog?

Almond-Cherry Cake

1 c. softened butter
1 3/4 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. almond extract (I think; I sort of forgot how much I actually put.)
2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. almond meal/flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 can cherry pie filling

Chocolate chips (optional, but recommended)

Preheat oven to 350° F. In a bowl, cream butter and sugar; add eggs and beat well. Sift dry ingredients, except almond flour, in a separate bowl. Stir in almond flour. (The almond flour will get stuck in your sifter. Most of it will go through, but there will be larger pieces that do not. You can still try it if you wish--but consider yourself warned.) Add to egg mixture and beat until well-blended. (Dough is thick.) Spread half of the dough in a greased 9"x13" pan. Top with pie filling (and a sprinkling of chocolate chips); spread remaining dough over filling. (This step is difficult; I had to use two spoons and kind of stretch it over the filling.) Bake 45 minutes or until done. While cake is warm, spread with powdered sugar icing to form a glaze. (I mixed a drop or two of almond extract into my glaze.)

This cake was originally called "Cherry Slices." Adding almond flour and flavoring was my idea. If you don't like almond, but do like cherry, the original recipe calls for 3 c. flour and nothing almond at all. Also, the chocolate chips were my own addition--because, as we all know, everything is better with chocolate. =)

Deep, Dark, Chocolate Cake

This is traditionally our family's birthday cake, every time someone turns a year older. It is dark, rich, and moist--and decidedly better than any store-bought or box-mix cake! The first picture is this cake this year, and the second is the cake with no decoration. The third picture is this cake a few years ago, decorated with whole almonds, slivered almonds, and chocolate stars.

1 3/4 c. flour
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. cocoa
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. baking powder
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. shortening
2 t. vanilla
1 c. boiling water

Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients except water; beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Remove from mixer; stir in boiling water. (Batter will be thin.) Pour into two greased and floured 9x9" layer pans, one greased and floured 9x13" cake pan, or papered cupcake pans. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes for layers; 35-40 minutes for sheet cake and 12-15 minutes at 400° for cupcakes. Cool completely; frost with Chocolate Fudge Frosting.

Strawberry Brownies

Although the flavor is not overtly strawberry, these brownies are moist and delicious.

1/2 c. flour

3/8 c. (6 T.) cocoa powder

1/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. butter

3/4 c. sugar

2 large eggs

1 t. vanilla extract

3/8 c. strawberry preserves

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease an 8"-square pan. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. In a 1 1/2 qt. saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Remove from heat; stir in sugar with a wire whisk. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in preserves and vanilla, whisking until thoroughly combined. With a flat spoon, stir in flour mixture just until blended.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until toothpick inserted 2 inches from edge comes out almost clean, 30-35 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack; cut into bars.