Simple Scones

This winter will never end. A few days away from March and we just got about five inches of snow. Yes, this is normal, but I am just downright over it.

And I absolutely love winter, but this year it's really been getting me down. I've never experienced seasonal affective disorder before, but I've been not too sunny the last few weeks. Grouchy moods and lazy attitudes have made me dull in mind and spirit, and my healthy eating kick, while doing wonders for my body, isn't so good for my mental health.

At least, that's what I'm telling myself to justify these absolutely delicious scones.

Sometimes you need some butter, sugar, flour, and heavy cream to put a smile back on your face. And with this recipe, you can experience this artificial sunlight in about twenty minutes. Oh yes.

So essentially, you can make any kind of scone you'd like. It's best to stick with simple formula of two mix-in ingredients. Pictured are some dried cherry and almond scones with orange glaze, but I've made cranberry white chocolate and hazelnut chocolate chip with equally delicious results.


But it's that tart-sweet fruit and butter-tender dough that makes my heart melt. I love it. These aren't your typical dry, crumbly scone that inevitably disappoints. It's light and flaky and just sweet enough. In short, it's perfect.

Put some summer back into your life. Treat yourself and share with friends. I did, and I definitely felt the love.

Recipe (Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

2 cups all purpose flour (Wheat will probably work but may be a bit denser)

1 Tbsp baking powder

3 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

5 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" chunks

1/2 cup dried fruit of choice, cutting up large pieces if necessary

1/2 cup nut or chips of choice, smaller nut pieces, the better (optional)

1 Cup heavy cream

*I had to make an orange glaze because I forgot to add 1 Tbsp of orange zest, and I really wanted cherry orange scones. So, if you want glaze, just mix the zest with a few Tbsp of powdered sugar and a bit of milk for your desired sweetness and consistency. 

Method:

You can either do this by hand or use a food processor to whip everything together. Food processors make this super quick, but I have done it by hand several times with equal results, just a bit more work!

Preheat oven to 425 F. Put flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in large bowl or in bowl of food processor. Wisk or pulse together quickly until combined. Cut in butter- if by hand with fingers, a pastry cutter, or a fork; and with a food processor pulse quickly about 12 times. You want the mixture to resemble a coarse meal, but some larger butter chunks are just fine, and encouraged. 

Add additional dry ingredients (fruits, nuts, etc). 

With both methods, stir in heavy cream until a dough just begins to form. Turn out dough onto work surface and knead quickly to form a rough ball. (or just do it right in your bowl for less mess). To make evenly shaped triangle scones, press dough ball (and any dried scraps) into an 8x8 baking pan. Turn out onto work surface and cut into 8 equal triangles. Place on baking sheet and bake about 12-15 minutes, until scones are lightly browned.

Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes (if you can wait that long) and serve warm or at room temperature. Store in airtight container, but best eaten immediately or within one day.

Caramel Chocolate Ganache (for anything)

This post was originally going to be about cupcakes topped with this beautifully simple chocolate creation. After thinking about it for about a week, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I don't even like cupcakes.

I once told someone I didn't make cupcakes as a rule, because I find them fundamentally flawed. The above cupcakes were for that person. Luckily he didn't remember that.

They appear to be handy, utensil-free treats. I do not find this to be the case, as they usually crumble everywhere and leave my face full of frosting.

It's all about the toppings. And in this case, it was about the ganache.

Do you know my friend ganache? Ganache is basically chocolate melted with a fat, like butter or heavy cream (or both). This is what gives a truffle that smooth, creamy, melty center that is just completely addicting and decadent. And it’s description is also the method. You literally melt stuff together. Don’t tell anyone though; they can’t know that it’s easy. It ruins the illusion of your skills.

 And while I’ve made my fair share of truffles, I’ve never really used the ganache component outside of that. Using it as a frosting is truly revolutionary. So while you will see cupcakes throughout this post, ignore the cake part.

 This one does have the extra step of making a simple caramel before adding it to the chocolate, but it’s essentially fool proof and doesn’t even require a candy thermometer, something I truly appreciate. Just some sugar and water at a boil for about 10 minutes, then mixed with heavy cream before poured into the shaved chocolate.

But don’t forget the cupcakes entirely. I made these cupcakes for a friend’s birthday, and he absolutely raved about them, praising the ganache and calling me a “wizard.”

So if you really want to show off, it is almost Valentine’s Day! This gives you the perfect opportunity to whip up this simple treat. Even boxed mix cupcakes will transform into bakery-level delicious. Roll into balls and dip in some melted chocolate. Top a cake or frost in between two cookies. Put it on some broccoli. Whatever, it won’t matter. It’s that good.

RECIPE (adapted from Food and Wine February 2013 issue, pg 58):

12 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped/grated

2 ounces bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped/grated

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1 cup heavy cream

pinch sea salt

Place chopped chocolate into a large bowl. In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar, cooking on medium-high heat, bringing to boil. Do not stir during cooking process, not even to dissolve the sugar. Just let the heat work its magic. You may want to wipe down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming on side of pan. 

Cook until the mixture turns a deep amber color, 8-10 minutes. It took almost the entire time to turn a color. Just be patient, but don't cook past the 10 minute mark.

Reduce the heat to low and wisk in your heavy cream slowly and carefully. Do not pour and then whisk- the caramel will start to clump, so make sure you are continuously wisking as you pour. Sprinkle in salt (the salt is just to bring out the flavors and cut the sweetness a bit, so you really only need a sprinkle or two). 

Pour the caramel over the chocolate and let stand for about a minute. Stir to incorporate, until smooth. Refrigerate. 

*If you plan on making truffles out of this mixture, refrigerate until totally set, around 4 hours. 

*If you plan to use this as a frosting, shoot for a 2 hour refrigeration period. You want it to be cool yet spreadable. 

Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Ah, Pie. Pie is a weird form of dessert to me. You can throw anything into a pie crust; it seems nothing is off limits. People put weird things in pie, and it makes me nervous. "What's going to happen when I cut into this thing?" is what I'm usually thinking.

I have a thing against cooked fruit. It's weirdly sour and is usually not cooked all the way through (I'm looking at you, apples). However, pumpkin pie is a mainstay at the holidays, and one I enjoy. But, it's a little boring and expected, so at thanksgiving I took this baby out for a spin.

It's rich. It's decadent. It has just enough pumpkin flavor without being just pumpkin, and has a rich, chocolatey, velvety texture and a yummy, perfect graham crust.

It had a tough time at thanksgiving competing with the 4 other desserts we had going on, so I suggest making this as a stand-out dessert, with no competition from all those bars and cookies floating around this time of year.

Oh, and did I mention this thing is pretty easy? Let's get going!

After baking the spiced crumb crust, you put a layer of chopped chocolate on the warm crust, popping it back in the oven to melt it. Genius.

In another genius move, you melt more chocolate and blend it with the pumpkin mixture. YUM.

Let this cool in the fridge, at least 6 hours or until totally set and firm. 

It was a very good pie, and again, easy enough to throw together the day before your event but different enough to impress your guests (and your mouth.)

RECIPE (adapted from Closet Cooking)
For the crust:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 16 crackers)- I used a mix of ginger cookies and graham crackers.
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent cacao), finely chopped
• For the filling:
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate (preferably 55 percent cacao), chopped
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 can (15 ounce) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1 can (12 ounce) evaporated milk
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• Topping:
• 1 ounce milk chocolate, melted
• whipped cream, optional

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugars, salt, cinnamon and ginger and press into bottom of a 9 inch pie plate and bake until lightly golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.
• Sprinkle the bittersweet chocolate over bottom of crust, return to oven until it melts and spread it in a thin layer over the bottom of the crust, for about 5 min. It won't look like it has melted, but it will be spreadable.
• Melt the semisweet chocolate and butter in a double boiler until smooth and set aside.
• Mix the pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl. Mix the chocolate into this mixture.
• Turn the oven down to 325. Pour the mixture over the crust and bake until the center is set but still jiggly, about 50-60 minutes. I had quite a bit of filling left over. 
• Let cool, refrigerate overnight.  Then, before serving, melt the milk chocolate, drizzling in a semi-artistic fashion.