a time for baking, a time for blogging.

Although I have done less blogging (ahem, no blogging) over the past few months, I have baked more than ever. I started making muffins, scones, granola bars, and various other breakfast-y items for the divinity school's weekly coffee hour back in September, and I've tried dozens of recipes, from walnut date bread with brown butter (YUM) to blueberry-buttermilk "biscones" (yum) to chocolate oatmeal flaxseed muffins (un-yum).

As much as I love whipping up three or four new baked goods each week, I keep going back to one scone recipe that consistently delivers. No matter how you embellish them, these scones are divine--rich but delicate, with a crumbly brown exterior and a soft, light interior. You can make them sweet and/or savory, add dried fruit, chocolate, nuts, or cheese, break them open and spread them with butter and jam or eat them as-is.

The scones pictured here have about 1/2 cup of oats replacing the same amount of flour, with about 1/3 cup of blue cheese and 1/3 cup of chopped dates mixed in. If that combination doesn't appeal to you, here are a few other options for mix-ins:

sweet:
1/3 c white chocolate chunks + 1/3 c dried cranberries
1 c fresh blueberries + 2 tsp lemon zest
1/3 c chopped pistachios + 1/3 c chopped dried figs

savory:
1/2 c grated parmesan + 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/3 c chopped cooked bacon + 1/3 c gruyere, topped with cracked black pepper
1/3 c grated cheddar cheese + 1/3 c diced apple (okay, this one straddles the line a bit)

simple cream scones
adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book
makes 8 scones

ingredients:
2 c (10 oz) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp sugar (for sweet scones only)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
1/2 - 1 c mix-ins (optional)
1 c heavy cream

instructions:
Preheat the oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.

Whisk together the flour, sugar (if using), baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in any mix-ins you are using.

Form a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the cream. Using a rubber spatula, stir together just until combined. If there's a bit of excess flour, incorporate it into the dough using your hands, but try to handle the dough as little as possible! (If you knead it too much, the scones will be tough.)

Lightly press the dough into a round cake pan and cut into 8 wedges. Place wedges on the prepared baking sheet, and bake until they are light brown, 12-15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through if you remember.

Transfer the scones to a wire rack and let cool for as long as you can stand it (at least 5-10 minutes). Serve warm or at room temperature.

P.S. - If you don't want to bake eight scones at once, these freeze well. Once you've cut them into wedges, just place them on a baking sheet and freeze until firm (at least 3-4 hours). Transfer to a freezer bag, and they'll keep for at least a month.

shortbread, the little black dress of cookies

Okay, so maybe that metaphor is a little far-fetched, but shortbread is incredibly versatile, elegant, and, let's be honest, anything with that much butter in it has to be sexy.

mmm...you know you want some of this.

I decided to make shortbread for a dinner party I went to last night, and I happened to have a few ounces of good dark chocolate and candied orange peel in my cupboard, so that's the combination I went with. This recipe would be perfectly lovely on its own as well, or with an endless number of other additions. A few possible combinations, before I get to the main recipe:

sweet:
-1/2 c chopped white chocolate + 1/2 c of your favorite dried berries
-1 tsp cinnamon (mixed into flour) + 1 c toasted chopped pecans
-1/3 c dried coconut + 1/3 c chopped dark chocolate + 1/3 c slivered almonds
savory:
-3/4 c shredded parmesan + 1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
-3/4 c shredded sharp cheddar + 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
-1/3 c cooked diced bacon + 1/3 c crumbled bleu cheese

shortbread master recipe
adapted from sarabeth's bakery: from my hands to yours
makes about 2 dozen

ingredients:
16 tbsp (2 sticks) salted butter (my preference), at room temp and cut into 1/2" cubes
1/2 c sugar (for sweet shortbread only)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (sweet only)
grated zest of 1/2 lemon (sweet only; use your judgment depending on flavor additions)
2 c all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
flavor additions of your choice

instructions:
Preheat oven to 350, and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Beat butter on using a mixer set to medium-high speed until it is smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest if using, mixing until light in color and texture, about 3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour and salt. Mix until thoroughly combined, about 3 minutes. Fold in extra ingredients, if using.

If you're working in a hot kitchen, refrigerate the dough until it's slightly cooler than room temperature. Place dough on a lightly floured counter, lightly flour the top of the dough, and roll it out into a 1/4-inch-thick rectangle. Using a medium cookie cutter, cut out the shortbread, and place each them about 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets. Gather up the scraps, roll out again, and cut out more until you've used all the dough. Refrigerate the cookies until firm, 20-30 minutes.

Bake until the edges are very lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cook on the pans. Shortbread can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days.

Okay, so they don't LOOK that sexy, but it's all about the attitude, right?