Cranberry Orange Scones

I like scones. They are my favorite item to order with coffee, so it's about time I mastered them for myself instead of spending 1.95 for mass produced breakfast biscuits. Lemon walnut is a close tie so I'll be attempting this one soon.

These scones turned out really well. I found a recipe by Ina Garten (what a funny man, but I love her) and I changed it to suit my style. I liked this one because it had a glaze that wasn't overpowering like some can be. The dough was a little sticky and I was a bit concerned that they wouldn't rise, but they rose beautifully! I haven't had great success with some scone recipes in the past, but this one is worth keeping. I was thinking it might make a good base scone for fruity additions like lemon or blueberry.

Of course they were best the night I made them, but they kept fairly well the next four days we ate them. Oh, scone you make me happy in the morning.

Cranberry Orange Scones

adapted from Ina Garten, Food Network

2 C flour + 1/4 C and more for shaping

2T sugar

1 T baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt (or sea salt)

1 1/2 tsp orange zest

1 stick butter diced

2 eggs + 1 yolk + enough milk to make 1 C

1/2 C cranberries

1 egg beaten with 2 T water

glaze

1/2 C powdered sugar

3 tsp fresh orange juice

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. In the bowl of a mixer, add dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add orange zest and mix well. Add butter cubes and mix until the butter pieces resemble peas (or a little larger). Add eggs and yolk to a measuring cup and add enough milk to make 1 cup. I used soy milk because we had some. Using a higher fat milk is good too. Add this mix to the flour mix on medium speed until it just comes together. Add the cranberries and the 1/4 C flour and stir to combine. Plop the dough out onto a well floured surface and shape it into into a 8-9 inch round about 1 inch high. Cut the dough with a sharp knife into 8 pizza wedges. Place all of these onto a baking sheet. Mix the egg and water and brush across the tops of each scone. Place them into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. They should be a lovely shade of golden brown and Ina says firm to the touch.

Wait for them to cool a little on a wire rack and drizzle some glaze on top. Eat them right, hovering over the rack until they are cool enough to handle. They are best this way, otherwise you could be a little more civilized and put them on a plate or serving dish for guests. Serve with coffee or tea (or take them to work with you and eat them at your desk while savoring a morning latte).

Little Bits of Heaven

I made some cookies to share at a superbowl party last weekend. If I were a man, I might daydream heaven has something like unlimited cookie dough and football... but since I'm no where close to manly, I'm happy just baking in celebration of helmet cracking and dog piling (my heaven includes puppies). I intended to make something really kitschy like a football cake or little helmet shaped sugar cookies - then I realized I didn't have time for all of that. Instead, I made cookies. Seems it may have taken the same amount of time to make three different cookies as rolling sugar cookie dough and decorating... it may have also helped if I had white granulated sugar on hand when I started. oops. That extra bag in my baking cabinet turned out to be a mystery bag of flour, not sugar. Bummer. Two cookies out, new cookies to come.

I was able to make Coconut Macaroons on Saturday night and subbed sweetened coconut and a tablespoon of brown sugar for the granulated. Interesting combo. Very chewy. I'm not sure if I like coconut macaroons or not. I might like this one more if it didn't taste so much like almond extract/marzipan. Next time I'll switch for coconut extract. Pretty, but super almondy. Don't come to the wrong conclusion - people did like them - I would like them with less almond.

[insert: sleep, wake up early, go to race, watch M run a half marathon, go home, fast trip to grocery store for sugar, make cookies.]

If I had made more cookies on Saturday rather than wait till the last minute Sunday, you may never have been exposed to a favorite of mine, The Orange Snowball. I know it is not snowing here, but these cookies are like little magical white puffs dotted with orange zest and rolled in sugar. They sparkle. Snowball-esque. Pretty. Tasty. You must try them. They do make a nice addition to a Christmas cookie box, but you shouldn't wait that long. They go just as nice with tea and coffee (or beer while watching football). They are simple to make and do not require a lot of ingredients. And unlike my description, they are more like a shortbread cookie than puffs of air.

Third cookie. I found this recipe while scouring the net for a cookie recipe that used solely brown sugar. After reading some recipes, I decided to wait for regular sugar, it seemed appropriate. And I stumbled onto a chewy chocolate chip recipe by Alton Brown I thought I should try. The other 600 people who tried it seemed to like it a lot - and baking with bread flour seemed interesting enough. The science behind extra gluten in the flour is supposed to make a chewier cookie. Unless I did a side by side taste test I couldn't really say how chewy these were but they were definitely good. I'd make them again. If you have bread flour on hand try them out.

Coconut Macarons

2 2/3 C shredded coconut

1/2 C sugar

1/3 C flour

1/4 tsp salt

4 egg whites

1/2 tsp almond extract - or coconut extract

2 oz semisweet chocolate

1/8 tsp shortening

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Mix ingredients together in a medium bowl. Scoop dough into balls and place evenly on a greased and floured cookie sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden. Cool on a wire rack. Melt chocolate and shortening in microwave on low power. Decorate the cookies with the chocolate after they have cooled. Store at room temperature for 3-4 days.

Orange Snowballs

1 C butter

3/4 C powdered sugar

1 T + 2 tsp orange zest divided

1 T orange juice

2 2/3 C flour

sugar

Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Beat butter for a minute until creamy. Add powdered sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add juice and continue beating. Add in the flour and 1 T zest and mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. This might take a few minutes so be patient. Divide the dough evenly into 8 segments. From these segments, make 6 equal pieces of dough. Roll the dough into balls and set aside. Once you have rolled them all, coat them with granulated sugar and place on a baking sheet 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes. While the cookies are baking, mix the remaining zest with about 1/2 C sugar with your fingers. Remove cookies from oven and as soon as you can handle them, roll them in the zest/sugar mixture. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store airtight for up to 5 days.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies - Alton Brown, Food Network

I didn't change a thing.

Cookies and a Start on Christmas goodies

I don't make cookies very much any more. I'm not sure why, because I usually have lots of cookie ingredients on hand and they are so quick. I had some leftover oats from a breakfast I cater at my church every now and then (oatmeal for 160 women!) and I was inspired to make chocolate chip cookies - with oatmeal of course. I used a recipe from the biggest book of cookies possibly ever published and changed it a bit to suit my taste. The recipe made so many I had to send a bunch to work with M and myself. Always a hit. I think people just love baked goods, or possibly just sugar. 


I'm going to try and make some fun Christmas cookies this year and I'll be sure to keep you updated on the progress. I probably won't come close to the amount of cookies M's aunt makes (tradition for her to make at least 10 probably more - varieties for their Christmas party each year). I think I'll include some favorites for you all to try. Candied Pecans, Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies, and Candied Orange Peel - they make a great gift and they will disappear before you know if left out for holiday guests to enjoy.  


What are you making for Christmas this year? 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
3/4 C butter 
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 C flour
2 C rolled oats
1 C semisweet chocolate chips


Preheat the oven to 375˚. Cream butter for 30 seconds, add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add baking powder, soda, and spices. Beat in eggs one at a time and then the vanilla. Add in as much flour as possible with the mixer. Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Drop onto cookie sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes. cool on sheet for one minute before moving to a wire rack (or a sheet of parchment). Makes a ton of cookies! about 5 dozen cookies. 

Candied Pecans
1 egg white
1 T water


one 1 lb bag raw pecans
1 tsp cinnamon
1 C sugar


Preheat the oven to 250˚ and center the rack. Whisk the egg white and water until frothy. Add to a large ziplock bag. Add all pecans to the bag, close, and shake vigorously until all of the pecans are coated. Whisk together the cinnamon and sugar and add to the bag. Shake again until pieces are coated evenly. Spread onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 1 - 1 1/4 hours stirring every 15 minutes. 

Candied Orange Peel
I used the step by step ingredients from Use Real Butter and the recipe below adapted from the food network.

6 thick-skinned Valencia or navel oranges

4 1/2 cups sugar, plus extra for rolling

1 1/2 cups water

8 oz dark chocolate 

Directions

Cut tops and bottoms off of the orange and score the orange into quarters, cutting down only into the peel and not into the fruit. Peel the skin and pith of the orange in large pieces, use the orange for another recipe. Cut the peel into strips about 1/4-inch wide. Put the orange peel in a large saucepan with cold water to cover, bring to a boil over high heat. Then pour off the water. Repeat 2 more times. Remove the orange peels from the pan.

Whisk the sugar with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8 to 9 minutes

(If you took the sugar's temperature with a candy thermometer it would be at the soft thread stage, 230 to 234 degrees F.) Add the peels and simmer gently, reducing heat to retain a simmer. Cook until the peels get translucent, about 45 minutes. Resist the urge to stir the peels or you may introduce sugar crystals into the syrup. If necessary, swirl the pan to move the peels around. Drain the peels, roll the peels in sugar and dry on a rack, for 4 to 5 hours. Melt Chocolate in a double boiler and dip orange peels in chocolate if you wish. If you roll them in sugar first be ware that some of the sugar will fall into the chocolate. You can also dip just the end in the sugar and the rest in chocolate if you like the look. 

Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies
These are one of my favorite! 


1 1/2 C flour
1/2 C cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 C butter
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C peanut butter
1 egg
1 T milk
1 tsp vanilla


3/4 C sifted powdered sugar
1/2 C peanut butter


sugar for rolling


Preheat oven to 350˚. Combine flour, cocoa and soda and set aside. Cream butter, sugars, and peanut butter until combined. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in milk and vanilla. Add as much flour as possible and beat any remaining with a wooden spoon. If the batter is too sticky to roll add in more flour until you can roll a ball without it sticking to your hands. 


For the filling, beat powdered sugar and peanut butter until it also can be rolled into balls. 


Dive each of the doughs into 32 equal pieces and roll into balls. Take a ball of chocolate and flatten it out into a nice round patty. Add a peanut butter ball to the center and close the chocolate ball around it sealing up the edges. place on an ungreased cookie sheet. dip the bottom of a glass into the sugar bowl and slightly flatten each cookie. Bake for 8 minutes or until the surface just starts to crack. Cool on cooke sheet for one minute and cool on a sheet of parchment. 

Orange Coconut Bars

Yum! Why are bars so delicious? I really like lemon bars but decided to use the fruits of Farm Fresh and try an orange version of the classic Lemon bar. I made them for a friend's birthday and since it was at a wine bar we needed something portable and bite sized. I had most ingredients on hand so that made the recipe decision much more simple.

The bars are fairly straight forward, they have a pecan crust and an orange juice, zest and coconut filling. I sprinkled them with powdered sugar and they looked really pretty. They keep well in the fridge if you need to make them in advance. I used part sweetened coconut and part shaved coconut. I liked the combination. It didn't get too sweet which was one of my worries had I used all sweetened coconut. The orange flavor was mild enough that the pecan crust came through.

Our birthday girl loved them (though she seems to enjoy my baking). I got a lot of good comments from the tasters as well and think that these will make the repeat list. The original recipe actually suggests these might be good for breakfast... I guess they are not super sweet and would probably work, but I suggest making them as an hors d'oeuvres instead.

Orange Coconut Bars

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Cookies

1/2 C all purpose flour

1/4 C sugar

1/4 C butter

1/2 C finely chopped pecans

2 eggs

3/4 C sugar

2 T flour

1 1/2 tsp orange zest

3 T orange juice (about 1 1/2 juicy oranges)

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 C sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 C flaked unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350˚. In the bowl of a food processor grind the nuts until finely chopped but not paste, add the 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar and pulse a few times. Then add the butter and pulse until you get pea sized crumbs. Press into the bottom of an 8x8 inch pan. I like to line it with foil which makes it cleaner and easier to get out. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden.

To make the filling, combine sugar, eggs, juice, zest and baking powder. Pour into the baked crust and return to the oven for about 20 more minutes. The edges will be light brown the the center set. Cool in pan on a wire rack. At this point you can refrigerate the whole pan for 1 hour which will make it easy to get the bars out. Pull out the bars, peel off the foil, and cut into squares. I made tiny 1 inch squares but you can make 16 bars by cutting the pan in half and then into 8 segments. I also prefer to slice off just a small amount of the edge because it tends to brown more than the rest. Dust with powdered sugar if you like.

It's Not Christmas Anymore

I know, what on earth does this title mean? Well, I have had cranberries frozen since the holidays waiting to become something besides cranberry sauce. I finally decided to use them and make Cranberry Orange Bread. I never actually made cranberry sauce from scratch before and we received at least 2lbs in our CSA box for Thanksgiving - of which I think I used about a third (the sauce is good but 6 people can only eat so much). So, with high hopes of making something based on tradition... out comes this bread.

I used my James Beard cookbook and some delicious organic oranges and orange juice. I have found it very satisfying to cook locally and thankfully living in California we have the opportunity to buy a huge variety of local produce. I also enjoy making things from my CSA box (like the strawberry rhubarb crisp) when possible, even if I wait half a year to do it. It actually takes a lot of planning when grocery shopping to get local foods because we have so many grocery store chains to choose from. One of my favorites is actually nestled in our neighborhood and stocks mostly organic and local foods. The butcher is especially great for a small store (think about a quarter or less the size of your regular super market). But, it is more expensive than Safeway, which requires planning. I have read that in other countries that people spend more money on food than we do here in the US and I think its time for us to take note. Buying fresh, healthy food (like grass fed antibiotic free beef) returns more to our bodies than eating from a box. The way we were meant to eat. These foods provide the nutrients our bodies need and we get healthy in return. What a concept for a diet! Enough of this though... read The Omnivore's Dilemma or In Defense of Food if you are interested in learning more.

I did enjoy making this bread and learned cranberry juice stains your fingers well. I'm especially excited for breakfast this week on account of this bread. The aroma was nice (paired with the sandwich bread I was baking in the bread machine). This bread seems like the type of bread that changes flavor as it ages - like pumpkin. It is fairly dense and has a very bright citrus punch followed by a sweet and tart finish. Maybe I'll try it with dried cranberries next to see how it turns out.