Daring Bakers’ Challenge: Scones aka Biscuits January 28, 2012

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

I’M BAAACCCKKKK!!!!

And everyone rejoices, YAY!

I guess in Australia and England these are called scones, but in North America we refer to them as biscuits. Scones, biscuits, I don’t care what you call them they are straight up yummy. This recipe was actually very easy to make and came together very quickly. I have learned over the years that when you make biscuits/scones there are two important things to remember, 1) work quick because you don’t want the butter/lard/fat to melt because they make your biscuits flakey, and 2) if you want some layer action, it is like making puff pastry, fold the dough over on itself a few times during the kneading process. Both of these things have helped me make scones/biscuits that are nice and fluffy.

These scones/biscuits turned out perfect. They had a nice fluffy texture, and rose to a perfect height. No crazy hard hockey puck biscuits here. I made up a batch and we had them with breakfast this morning. Without further ado, here is the recipe. I am being summoned by my little nugget, Emma, she isn’t happy that Mommy isn’t paying attention to her Happy baking and eating.

Recipe Source: The challenge scone (biscuit) recipe has been especially formulated by Audax Artifex after a large amount of research and experimentation. It is designed to help you master the techniques involved in making scones (biscuits) exactly the way you like them.

Basic Scones (a.k.a. Basic Biscuits)
Servings: about eight 2-inch (5 cm) scones or five 3-inch (7½ cm) scones
Recipe can be doubled

Ingredients:
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (⅓ oz) fresh baking powder
¼ teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) salt
2 tablespoons (30 gm/1 oz) frozen grated butter (or a combination of lard and butter)
approximately ½ cup (120 ml) cold milk
optional 1 tablespoon milk, for glazing the tops of the scones

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.
2. Triple sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot refrigerate the sifted ingredients until cold.)
3. Rub the frozen grated butter (or combination of fats) into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.
4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add the remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be!
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. (Use a floured plastic scraper to help you knead and/or fold and turn the dough if you wish.)
6. Pat or roll out the dough into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle by about ¾ inch thick (15¼ cm by 10 cm by 2 cm thick). Using a well-floured 2-inch (5 cm) scone cutter (biscuit cutter), stamp out without twisting six 2-inch (5 cm) rounds, gently reform the scraps into another ¾ inch (2 cm) layer and cut two more scones (these two scones will not raise as well as the others since the extra handling will slightly toughen the dough). Or use a well-floured sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire.
7. Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.
8. Bake in the preheated very hot oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 minutes since home ovens at these high temperatures are very unreliable) until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.
9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.

The End – Tuesdays With Dorie: Kid’s Thumbprints December 27, 2011

Wow!
How many years has it been?
I actually have to look at a calendar just to double check. It took us 4 years to bake through Baking: From My Home to Yours, give or take. I actually joined a couple of months in so I still have some baking catch up to do. I am just in complete shock that this is the last entry for Tuesday With Dorie.
As a present to our fearless leader, Laurie, and her inspiration, Dorie Greenspan, all of the members with Tuesdays With Dorie took a picture of themselves with their cookbook. Well I missed the deadline for this  awesome opportunity because of two things: I procrastinated (as usual) and did not check my email often enough, and my little one distracts me with all her cuteness.
So, to make up for it here is the picture I would have sent in if time were on my side.

What am I going to do with my time?
Well I will be spending most of it with my little girl and then come February, we get to start another new chapter in Dorie baking. I actually am excited
So, this last recipe was chosen by Dorie herself and she picked her Kid’s Thumbprint which are located on page 163. These little peanut packed cookies were very easy to make and bake. Too bad I didn’t chop up enough peanuts. I fixed this problem by rolling the rest of the cookies in sugar. Mike didn’t seem too keen on jam in the thumbprints so we went with chocolate because who doesn’t love peanuts and chocolate

I have had some great times baking, posting, and hosting. All of the comments that people have made, even by Dorie herself, have meant so much to me and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a member of this wonderful group of people. I can’t wait to see what the future will bring. Happy baking….and eating

Tuesdays With Dorie: Unbelievably Good Chocolate Blueberry Ice Cream and REWIND December 20, 2011

WOW!!

Tuesdays With Dorie is coming to an end really fast.  I can’t believe how the time flies.  Speaking of time flying, how is my little Emma already 6 months old?  That is just plain nuts

So, last week I made the ice cream and everything on time and then with realizing Christmas was fast approaching and I had yet to start baking cookies…well needless to say I never posted, opps.  I guess that is the story of my life these days.  Without further ado, last weeks Tuesdays With Dorie was chosen by our fearless leader, Laurie of Slush, she picked Dorie’s Unbelievably Good Chocolate Blueberry Ice Cream.  This yummy recipe is located on page 433 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.  The other recipe that we could have picked was chosen by Julie of Someone’s in the Kitchen, who picked Dorie’s Puffed Double Plum Tart on page 378.  I actually wanted to make the Plum Tart, but Mike wanted ice cream.  So I figured this way I would eat less of the ice cream if I made what he wanted

The ice cream was very easy to put together and when it cooled it was like chocolate pudding.  I was very impressed at how well the ice cream churned up and then the blueberry preserves added a nice color and fruitiness to the ice cream.  It was a perfect balance and very creamy

Now we get to this week.  This week was a REWIND so we were allowed to chose  any recipes.  Since I am in the middle of cookie baking, and I usually make a couple of Dorie’s cookies for Christmas.  I actually made the Linzer Sables (pictured) and the Spicy Molasses cookies (not pictured).  This time around I made the Linzer Sables with ground almond instead of ground hazelnuts.  They turned out great.  They always bake up perfectly and are very easy to make, and they were requested from my father which is funny because I ended up choosing the cookies that my father and father-in-law like

Tuesdays With Dorie: Earl Grey Madeleines and Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie December 6, 2011

Fair warning: My computer keeps trying to take a GIANT dump on me, so something that should have taken me a couple of minutes just wasted almost an hour of my time.  Which made me miss all of Warehouse 13 and the first part of Haven.

Yes, I am a giant SyFy nerd.  I guess I will be missing the rest of Haven just so that I can accomplish what I came here to do.  Thank you Jesus for On Demand

Okay back to our regularly scheduled program….I mean post.

This is a mixture of one of last weeks recipes and one of this weeks recipes.  With that said, lets begin.

Last weeks Tuesdays With Dorie was chosen by Judy of Judy’s Gross Eats and Tracey of Tracey’s Culinary Adventures.  They picked Dorie’s Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie/Tart and Normandy Apple Tart, respectively.  I actually made the first recipe on time, took pictures, and tasted the pie.  All in a days work, and then I never posted about it.  I guess I need to work on my follow through.  For the Normandy Apple Tart, I got as far as making the apple sauce filling and then threw in the towel.  Not because I didn’t want to make the tart, but because I was getting a little Sweet Tart Doughed out.  So for the past few days I have been eating the apple sauce filling with yogurt for breakfast, or warmed up with cinnamon and Cool Whip for dessert.  Both ways are extremely yummy.

The Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie turned out fantastic except for the fact that when I poured the filling in the bottom crust floated to the top, opps.  I guess I should have cooked it more.  I figured it didn’t matter what the inside looked like as long as the outside looked good and it tasted yummy, which it did   Best advice for this pie is to let it chill in the fridge for a few hours and the filling firms up like a custard and makes it a lot easier to cut and plate, especially without a bottom crust.

This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Nicole of Bakeologie and Kayte of Grandma’s Kitchen Table.  They picked Dorie’s Earl Grey Madeleines and Honey Almond Fig Tart, receptively.  All recipes are located in Baking: From My Home to Yours.  I decided to go with the Madeleines because I knew there was no way that I was going to be able to find fresh figs in my neck of the woods and I was still not feeling Sweet Tart Dough.

The Madeleines bake up perfectly.  I didn’t really notice the Earl Grey flavor.  I think the lemon zest over powered it, but they tasted very good and lemony.  They were perfect with the Irish Breakfast Tea that I was drinking.  I always forget how easy Madeleines are to bake.  I think I should make them more often.

So far, my computer hasn’t taken its ultimate dump and I can happily say I finished the post before Haven was over

This month is a little bittersweet for Tuesdays With Dorie because it is coming to an end.  It has been a grand adventure so far.  There are still a few recipe I have been meaning to make since I joined only a couple of months after its inception.  I can’t wait for the next chapter to begin

Tuesdays With Dorie: Bittersweet Brownies and Alsatian Apple Tart November 16, 2011

Wow, we are entering the finally stretch of Tuesdays with Dorie.  It is getting kind of bittersweet.  I am sad that it is ending and they I have been neglecting my blog, but I am also looking forward to the new chapter and what is going to come next.

This weeks recipes were chosen by Leslie of Lethally Delicious chose AND Jessica of Cookbook Habit.  They picked Dorie’s  Bittersweet Brownies on page 90  and the  Alsatian Apple Tart on page 314 (respectively) in Baking: From My Home to Yours.

I think Mike was a little excited when he heard about brownies because he has been wanting some straight up fudge style brownies for awhile, and these fit the bill to the T   I baked the brownies Monday night and they came together quickly and cleanly in the one bowl or should I say pot method.

YAY!! no crazy amount of dishes to clean up.  I baked these in a 10 x 10 x 3 inch pan.  Since the recipe called for a larger pan these brownies took about 5-10 minutes more to bake.  Once they came to room temperature, I did my freezer trick.  I place the brownies in the freezer until they are almost firm, approximately 30 minutes.  I then use a hot knife to cut clean slices.  The recipes says this makes 32 brownies, which it probably does since the brownies are SO rich.  But I ended up cutting them a little larger so I only ended up with 16…opps

For the Alsatian Apple Tart, I took my sweet time making it today.  I usually don’t have much time during the day to bake anything too extensive since I am taking care of the baby.  So I did this in a few stages while she took naps and played on her play mat.  By 630pm the tart was completed and cool.  Too bad we were too full from dinner, and a couple of brownies to try the tart.  I know Dorie recommends eating the tart the day it is made because it gets soggy.  Since it is just for Mike and I, I am not going to worry about it too much It turned out very pretty, and made the house smell fantastic.  So I am looking forward to digging into it later.  This really isn’t going to help the weight loss, but I might have to make Mike make it disappear

Tuesdays with Dorie: A Fig Cake For Fall November 1, 2011

For the week of October 25th, Ursula of Cookie Rookie chose A Fig Cake for Fall, which is located on page 198 in Baking: From My Home to Yours.

I actually did this recipe on time for once but because it wasn’t Vegan I did not want to post it during Vegan MoFo.  I was trying to follow the rules and be respectful.  I was initially going to try to make this vegan, but the more I looked at the recipe…and the screw up with the brownies, I wanted to make sure it was right the first time.  So I opted to make it the omni way and forgo posting until October was over.

Funny thing is, when I decided I wanted to make this I had just been to Trader Joe’s and noticed that they had fresh figs…score.  Too bad I didn’t buy them at the time.  I went in a couple of days later and they didn’t have any.  Come to think of it, I was in there two days ago and they didn’t have any either.

After Mike heard me complaining about the lack of Fresh Figs, he ended up coming home one day with some.  I asked him where he got them and he said one of his co-workers actually has a fig tree and brought some to work.  Miracle thy name is Lisa.  I guess all the stars aligned and I got my figs   I decided to bake this cake in a pan that I wouldn’t have to turn it out of, and that was pretty.  Cut to the pie plate my mom brought me back from Poland….love it.  The Fig Cake actually fit perfectly into.  The cake came out nice and lovely, with a nice lemon and cornmeal notes in the cake.  This is a recipe that I would specifically buy figs just to make.  It showcases the fig on the top of the cake and then gives you a nice dense light lemon flavor in the cake.  Next time, I will get Mike to eat more of it, or just take it into work

Tuesdays With Dorie: Maple Nut Scones and Far Breton November 1, 2011

During the month of November there is going to be two recipes for each week for Tuesdays with Dorie.  I have decided that I am going to bake each option because Mike needs to gain weight   This will probably hurt me since I am trying to lose weight.  I am almost back to my  pre-baby weight, and then I have chosen to try to lose a couple more pounds   I am looking forward to the day when I can put back on my jeans and feel comfortable

So the two recipes chosen for this week were Honey Nut Scones, which I changed to Maple Hazelnut Scones, chosen by Jeannette of Whimsical Cupcake; and Far Breton chosen by Nicole of Cookies on Friday.  Both of these recipes can be found in Baking: From My Home to Yours on pages 31 and 202, respectively.

You ask why did I change the scone recipe, 1) I was being lazy and didn’t want to get the honey out, and 2) I was being lazy and I already had hazelnuts that were toasted (peels removed) and chopped.  It just made life so much easier.  The scones came together quite nicely, and baked up in no time.  I need to learn to not pat the dough out so thin.  I decided to dress them up a bit with some decorating sugar, which helped in the sweetness department.  Most scones that you come across today at coffee shops are doctored up to the nines in sugar, so it takes a little getting use to when there isn’t that much sweetness to a scone.  But I guess that is what toppings are for

I sat down this morning with some Irish Breakfast Tea and a Maple Nut Scone, and I was perfectly content with my choice.  I couldn’t really taste the maple, but the hazelnut flavor was very nice and the tea balanced everything out.  I had just enough time to eat my scone and drink half of my tea before Emma woke up and wanted feed.  I have to say, that it was very good timing.

The Far Breton, made my life so simple.  Especially since I was trying to make it the night before.  After I made the batter and placed it in the fridge, I decided that soaking the prunes and having them ready for today would make life easier.  So I walked over to the pantry, checked my bag of dried fruit, only to discover that I was mistaken and didn’t have any prunes…I had dates, CRAP!

I guess I will just have to drink the Earl Grey tea that I just made and wait until tomorrow since I really couldn’t/didn’t want  to do anything about it on HALLOWEEN.

Cut to this evening when my wonderful husband shows up with prunes for my recipe.  I promptly fix the tea, soak the prunes, and wait for them to come to room temperature.  The Far Breton just came out of the oven and smells FANTASTIC.  Now, it is time for the waiting game.  It must be the worst game ever when it comes to baked goods that have to cool before you can eat them.  The anticipation is excruciating, so I am trying to distract myself by writing this entry

Tuesdays With Dorie: Ginger Jazzed Brownies (vegan) October 25, 2011

Last weeks Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Hindy of Bubie’s Little Baker.  She picked Dorie’s Ginger Jazzed Brownies which are located on page 101 in Baking: From My Home to Yours.  This recipe was a little bit more involved to make Vegan, and my first attempt at making the brownies went okay.  However, I know that if I ever make them again that there are a few things that I would do differently.

First off I made the following substitutions: For the 3 eggs I used 1/2 cup of silken tofu blended until smooth.  I replaced the unsalted butter with Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks (I think this is where I went wrong).  The brownies baked up okay, but they seemed to not be baking through.  Which it isn’t like that really mattered since there was no raw ingredients in the batter.  But they did bake up a little oily, and I think that the Vegan Buttery Sticks were the problem.  I don’t really care for the flavor of the sticks, but that is currently the best thing out there.  Most cake recipes that I use usually use vegetable oil, and then the frosting might have the buttery sticks.  Buttery sticks in frosting usually isn’t a problem because you have so many different flavors it doesn’t make a difference.  Well not with the brownies, the flavor stuck out like a sore thumb.  So next time I will use 1/3 cup of vegetable oil instead of the Vegan Buttery Sticks.

I topped these brownies with a Vegan Chocolate Ganache via Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World…completely yummy by itself and it made the brownie.

Because I didn’t have fresh ginger on hand I used all ground ginger: big mistake.  I love ginger.  I love the heat, the taste everything.  But you need to use fresh ginger because wow, all that ground ginger (3/4 tsp) just made the flavor taste off to me.  The brownies were okay, but I have learned my lesson and will definitely be making changes for the next time I make them.

Tempeh BBQ Sandwiches with Vegan Cole Slaw October 24, 2011

Recently I have been cooking out of Appetite for Reduction.  A few of the recipes caught my eye they were very easy and quick.  One of them was the Buffalo Tempeh, which can be turned into a lovely sandwich with the addition of Cole Slaw, vegan of course.  I really want to try the Buffalo Tempeh, but I had one problem…Emma.  Since I am currently her main supply of food right now, anything I eat goes to her.

I LOVE spicy food, and I didn’t have any problems with it while I was pregnant.  But I guess Emma doesn’t appreciate it as much now, maybe she will when she is older.  So spicy things no go, which I learned with the Red Thai Curry Tofu (will post later).  To remedy the problem and make the sandwich more of a Carolina type BBQ, I marinated the tempeh in a homemade Caroline BBQ sauce courtesy of Tyler Florence.  It is actually one of Mike’s favorite BBQ sauces because it is vinegar based and has that kick of mustard.

Everything came together very quick, and the sandwich was fantastic.  I would have never know it was vegan if I hadn’t been cooking it.  I think the BBQ sauce made it.  For the recipe for the Buffalo Tempeh and Cool Slaw pick up a copy of Appetite for Reduction, you won’t regret it.  For the BBQ tempeh just sub in enough sauce (1/4 recipe) to marinate the tempeh and proceed with the recipe in Appetite for Reduction.

Cider Vinegar Barbecue Sauce

Source: Tyler Florence

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup yellow or brown mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.

Vegan MoFo: Oh La Las aka Vegan Oreos Halloween Style October 16, 2011

My husband is obsessed with Oreos.

I think that might have been one of the first things I learned about him besides his obsession with anything Star Wars Lego related   For his 20th birthday, almost 10 years ago, I made him a lego cake and the round connector thingies were made from mini Oreos.  I have contemplated getting the cake pan that is shaped like an Oreo, logo and all, to make him an Oreo birthday cake.  But alas, I never seem to buy the pan.

I guess the next best thing to getting an Oreo shaped cake would be getting homemade Oreos.  Granted, Oreos are vegan but I have always wanted to try my hand at them.  Considering, especially in college, Mike could eat an entire thing of Oreos in one sitting.  You would think that was impressive if you ever saw Mike because he is 6′ 2″ and 175 lbs (on a good day).  He has a great metabolism which I am jealous of everyday

Back to Oreos or Oh La Las.

Since it is October, I decided to get into the Halloween Spirit and dye the insides orange.  I think they look prettier that way.  The only time consuming part of the recipe is the rolling the dough out and cutting each cookie.  It is like make sugar cookies but the dough is a bit stickier.  I just made sure the surface I rolled these little monsters out on was well floured and that worked out perfectly.  Isa and Terry do give some good directions on how to roll these out between two sheets of parchment, which is awesome but I was running low on parchment.

These cookies turned out perfect.  Mike has been munching on them for a few days and they are almost gone.  I think he is trying to savor them before they disappear.

If you would like this recipe, stroll on down to your local bookstore or hope on over to Amazon.  It is a fantastic cookie book Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero