Tag: scones

Berry and Buttermilk Scones

Berry and Buttermilk Scones // Serious Crust

Berry and Buttermilk Scones // Serious Crust
Berry and Buttermilk Scones // Serious Crust

Tis the berry season. I feel like everywhere I go, I’m seeing piles of raspberries, blackberries, even some late season strawberries. I baked these scones about a month ago, but I haven’t quite had time to post it. The time is now! Amongst all the food my mom sent home with us from the beach, were a pint of marionberries and some buttermilk.

The weekend we came home, we had a three hour band practice, and I knew I was going to need some sustenance. And who can resist warm, freshly baked, delicious scones? No one. So I whipped some up in the morning, and brought them to band practice.

I feel like my bandmates are still not used to my bringing baked goods. When I bring them, they’re there to share. Why would I bring a basked of a dozen scones all for myself? I wouldn’t. With a little nudging, I finally got the guys to snack on some. They were still warm, and smelled like sugar and berries. They were really delicious. I only wish I’d had some lemon curd to slather on them.

Berry and Buttermilk Scones

Ingredients

3/4 – 1 cup fresh berries (I used marionberry, but raspberry or blackberry would work well too)
4 3/4 cups flour
1 Tbl baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon zest
1 cup plus 1 Tbl cold, unsalted butter, cut into chunks.
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons melted butter
brown or turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix in the sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Using a pastry knife or a fork, cut the butter into the dry ingredients. You want the butter to be evenly mixed into the dry ingredients, in about pea-sized chunks.

Add the buttermilk and the berries, and mix the dough gently with a wooden spoon until it holds together well. If it seems a little dry, add a little more buttermilk to the dough, a couple tablespoons at a time. Flour a cutting board or countertop, and turn the dough out onto it. Pat the dough into a rectangle about an inch and a half thick. Using a circular cookie cutter (or a water glass, if you don’t have a cutter), cut out as many circles as you can, gather together the scraps, pat them out, and repeat. Place on the lined pan, brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with sugar (brown or turbinado).

Bake scones for 20-35 minutes, until the tops are golden brown at the edges. Transfer to a cooling rack, and allow to cool for a few minutes until they’re nice and warm, but won’t scald your mouth. Serve with butter, lemon curd, jam, or any other toppings you like.

Weekend Finds 5:11:14: Rhubarb Edition

I was thinking about giving this weekend finds post a Mother’s Day theme, but let’s face it: If you haven’t already figured out what you’re giving your mom for mom’s day, you are way late. Maybe you could make her one of these recipes instead? Yeah, I bet she’d like that.

1. Spicy Rosemary Rhubarb Margarita

Spicy Rosemary Rhubarb Margarita on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Not only do these margaritas sound delicious, but if I can get mine to look anything close to this beautiful, I’ll be happy.

In case last week’s margaritas weren’t quite intense enough for you, give these ones from Adventures in Cooking a try. Spruced up with a little heat and some rosemary, they seem nice and earthy, while still being fruity and light.

2. Strawberry Rhubarb Salad with Hazelnuts and Mint

Strawberry Rhubarb Salad on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Salad with Hazelnuts and Mint.

I love this refreshing take on the classic combo from Bon Appetit. No baking, No roasting. Just a little marinating in some sugar and adding some freshness with the mint and some crunch with the hazelnuts.

3. Rhubarb Curd

Rhubarb Curd on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
I only wish this curd had more of the beautiful blush color.

I am in love with the toast plate with lemon curd they serve at The Sugar Cube, and I think I might have to recreate it at home with this rhubarb curd. Yum.

4. Rhubarb Scones

Rhubarb Scones on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
One of my favorite breakfast baked goods studded with rhubarb.

I think scones are my favorite breakfast baked good. I love the crumbly sweetness of them. And I imagine I’d love them studded with beautiful gems of rhubarb. Picture it slathered in the above curd. Muahaha. Yes.

5. Rhubarb Vinegar

Rhubarb Vinegar on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Use this vinegar to jazz up your spring and summer salads.

If you’re looking for something to bring a little life to your springtime salads, this rhubarb infused vinegar from Thrifty Jinxy is probably it. I think it’d be perfect tossed with some oil on a spinach salad with strawberries and hazelnuts and goat cheese.

6. Literally 100 more rhubarb recipes

MORE RHUBARB on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
This is just a pretty picture of rhubarb. In case you forgot.

In case none of those are tickling your fancy (that’s a saying, right…?) here’s a list of so many more things you can do with this beautiful ingredient. It’s not all pie, friends!

Easy Peasy Cranberry Scones

Cranberry Scones

Cranberry Scones
Cranberry Scones

The other morning, before Jonah went to work, I decided to whip up some cranberry scones. There is no better way to start your day than with a fresh, warm, baked good. I found an easy recipe on Martha’s website (marthastewart.com) that didn’t require me to go out and buy anything, so it’s the one I went with in the end. Although, I’ll tell you it did call for fresh cranberries, but I substituted dried because it’s what I had.

Cranberry Scones

Makes 8 scones

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more rolling out
5 Tbl sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling atop
1 Tbl baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbl chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon milk or half-and-half
1/2 cup cranberries (halved if fresh, or dried)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. I used my food processor, and combine flour, 5 Tbl sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add in the butter and pulse until you’ve got coarse crumbs. Now pour in 2/3 cup milk and pulse again until the dough comes together.

At this point, I dumped my dough out onto a floured surface and folded in the cranberries by hand by throwing them on top in a pile and then kneading the dough a few times. Now pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick disc. Cut the disc into 8 wedges and put the wedges on a baking sheet a couple of inches apart. Brush the tops of the scones with the remaining milk and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Bake them for 12-15 minutes or golden brown.

After removing the scones from the oven, transfer them to a wire rack to cool. But don’t wait too long to eat them! These are best warm with some butter, jam, and accompanied by a nice mug of tea. Enjoy!

Eggnog Scones

Eggnog Scones

Eggnog Scones
Eggnog Scones

Thanksgiving is over, it’s Christmas time. I think it’s a little silly sometimes how much I love Christmas and the things that come with it (Christmas cookies, Christmas trees, Christmas music, etc.) given that I’m Jewish. My family has some weird hybrid holiday traditions: a few years ago we started getting a “Channukah bush,” which at this point has just devolved into a Christmas tree. Last year my mom knit a miniature Santa Claus outfit, long underwear and all, to hang on her tree. My dad, on the other hand, has started doing a “tree of irony” with weird, goofy ornaments and silly lights. My sisters (my little sister especially) are big fans of Christmas cookies, and we usually spend a few days of the winter in the kitchen covered in flour and sugar baking like 20 different varieties.

My mom has been making these eggnog scones for as long as I can remember. They’re a delicious wintertime treat, especially right out of the oven with a little butter and jam… oh man, my mouth is watering.

Eggnog Scones

Makes 16 scones

Ingredients

3 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar, plus a little for sprinkling
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup eggnog
2 tbl milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in food processor. Add butter, pulse until course. Add eggnog, pulse until dough forms a ball. Dump dough out onto lightly floured surface, cut it in half, and form two 1-inch-thick rounds.

Cut each round into 8 triangles. Place the scones on a greased baking sheet. Brush them with milk and sprinkle them with sugar.

Now just stick them in the oven for 12 minutes, or until they’re puffed up and a little golden (see pictures below).

Also, my mom sometimes added cranberries, but I can’t remember if she used dry or fresh… Hopefully she’ll let me know and I’ll update the post. Enjoy! (These would be delicious on Christmas morning…)