I made this scones the other week for a book club, and they were a big hit. As I sent all of them home with the ladies for their husbands (or themselves if they didn't want to share), I don't have one picture of them. What a failure I am!
Regardless, they were a hit, and if you can get past the copious amount of butter (2 sticks!), they are worth the effort.
Source: Dahlia Bakery Cookbook
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
14 tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped
1 cup cold buttermilk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Maple butter:
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
1/2 cup butter, softened
Instructions:
Hazelnuts:
1. Toast the hazelnuts at 350ºF for about 5-10 minutes, shaking the tray periodically. (Nuts go from toasted to burned very quickly, so keep an eye on them!) When they are just starting to smell toasted and looking a little browned, remove from the heat. To remove the skins from the nuts, pour the toasted nuts, still warm, onto a clean, dry dish towel (probably one you don't care about staining), and rub the hazelnuts with the towel. The skins will flake off, and you'll can pick out the clean nuts.
Scones:
1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a large bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.
2. Add the vanilla extract to the buttermilk and set aside.
3. With a pastry blender work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Add the chopped nuts to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
5. Add the buttermilk and extract and stir until just combined.
6. Turn out onto a lightly floured countertop and knead for a brief minute so the dough sticks together. (At this point, I had to add a bit more buttermilk to my scones.)
7. Flatten into a large round and divide into eight triangles with a knife or a bench scraper. (You can alternatively break the dough into two pieces and cut each round into six triangles to yield 12 scones.)
8. Place scones on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet and bake until golden on top, about 20-25 minutes.
9. While scones are baking, make your Maple Butter in the mixer. Beat the softened butter until uniform and fluffy, and then add the 2 tablespoons of maple syrup (or to taste).
10. Remove scones from oven and allow to cool on a cookie sheet for a few minutes. Serve warm with the butter.
Results:
As I said, these were a big hit. I wanted to try this recipe, so I made it for a day when I had people visiting, since I don't care for nuts other than almonds. They're a little more work-intensive than scones I usually bake, but for a special event, I might try them again. The Maple Butter was pretty yummy, after all...
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Cherry-Almond Scones
My good friend gave me a cookbook for Christmas this year (and yes, I opened it already, but with her permission), and there were some scone recipes in it that I just had to try out. The first one, a cherry-almond scone recipe which was pretty good. I didn't take pictures this time, so you'll have to just make do with picturing it in your mind. Despite the long list of ingredients, these were simple to throw together.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp grated lemon zest
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
10 tbsp cold, unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces (or non-dairy margarine or butter)
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1/2 cup sliced, blanched almonds, toasted
1 cup buttermilk (or soymilk)
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
About 1/4 cup heavy cream (or soymilk), for brushing
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Whisk all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, salt and baking soda together in a large bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl or large measuring cup, combine 1 cup buttermilk, the vanilla and almond extracts and set aside.
3. Add the chopped up, cold butter to the dry ingredients and work in with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Add the sliced almonds and dried cherries to the butter and dry ingredients mixture.
5. Add the buttermilk and extracts to the dry mixture and stir until the ingredients just come together. Then turn out onto a lightly floured countertop, give it another knead so that it sticks together, and flatten into a 10-inch round. With a knife or bench scraper, cut into eight triangles.
6. Place the scones on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet and brush generously with the heavy cream. If desired, you can sprinkle some sugar on top.
7. Put in the oven and bake at 425ºF for 10 minutes. Rotate the baking pan, then reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF and bake until golden brown on top, about 15 more minutes.
8. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
Results:
I was pleased with these scones. They were simple to throw together, and had a great taste. A bit chunky what with the almonds and cherries, but not overly so. If I made them again, and I probably will, I would omit the lemon zest. I'm not a fan of lemon, personally, and I could just taste the lemon in there. It didn't add to the flavor for me, so I would definitely leave that out next time.
Dairy-free Update, 2013:
I made these scones for a friend with a dairy allergy by substituting soy milk and Nucoa for the buttermilk/cream and butter, respectively. They turned out just as good as the dairy version.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp grated lemon zest
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
10 tbsp cold, unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces (or non-dairy margarine or butter)
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1/2 cup sliced, blanched almonds, toasted
1 cup buttermilk (or soymilk)
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
About 1/4 cup heavy cream (or soymilk), for brushing
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Whisk all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, salt and baking soda together in a large bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl or large measuring cup, combine 1 cup buttermilk, the vanilla and almond extracts and set aside.
3. Add the chopped up, cold butter to the dry ingredients and work in with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Add the sliced almonds and dried cherries to the butter and dry ingredients mixture.
5. Add the buttermilk and extracts to the dry mixture and stir until the ingredients just come together. Then turn out onto a lightly floured countertop, give it another knead so that it sticks together, and flatten into a 10-inch round. With a knife or bench scraper, cut into eight triangles.
6. Place the scones on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet and brush generously with the heavy cream. If desired, you can sprinkle some sugar on top.
7. Put in the oven and bake at 425ºF for 10 minutes. Rotate the baking pan, then reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF and bake until golden brown on top, about 15 more minutes.
8. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
Results:
I was pleased with these scones. They were simple to throw together, and had a great taste. A bit chunky what with the almonds and cherries, but not overly so. If I made them again, and I probably will, I would omit the lemon zest. I'm not a fan of lemon, personally, and I could just taste the lemon in there. It didn't add to the flavor for me, so I would definitely leave that out next time.
Dairy-free Update, 2013:
I made these scones for a friend with a dairy allergy by substituting soy milk and Nucoa for the buttermilk/cream and butter, respectively. They turned out just as good as the dairy version.
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