Blueberry Lemon Scones

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. Do you have any special plans? I'm hosting brunch and on the menu are these yummy Blueberry Lemon Scones.

The recipe is from Ina Garten. She usually makes them with dried cranberries and orange but I swapped those for dried blueberries and lemon. Delicious. I plan to serve them with lemon curd, whipped cream and sliced strawberries.

Ingredients

• 4 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
• 4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk, for egg wash
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
• 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 4 cups of flour, 1/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Combine the eggs and heavy cream and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy! Combine the dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of flour, add to the dough, and mix on low speed until blended.
Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn't stick. Flour a 3-inch round plain or fluted cutter and cut circles of dough. Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Collect the scraps neatly, roll them out, and cut more circles.
Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch. Allow the scones to cool for 15 minutes and then whisk together the confectioners' sugar and orange juice, and drizzle over the scones.

Happy Mother's Day!

Leftover Baked Potato?

I can't, well I should say, I shouldn't eat a whole baked potato. The potato itself isn't the problem, it's the butter and sour cream that I fill it with that's the problem. So many calories all packed into a delicious potatoey package. So, what to do with the other half that's leftover? I store it in the fridge and save it for breakfast. No sense wasting something so yummy. Chop it up, fry in a little oil and butter, add salt and pepper and enjoy!

This is my hubby's favorite breakfast- cheesy grits, bacon, eggs, potatoes and scallions. I like to dump hot sauce all over mine. This keeps me full until dinner, but that might be because I'm usually not out of bed and making breakfast on Saturday until noon.

What do you do with your leftovers?

Berry Almond Crisp

Who else loves Ree's show Pioneer Woman on the Foodnetwork? Everything she makes looks so amazing, although that could be because of all the butter. Which is fine because everything is better with butter. She made cherry almond crisp on a recent episode and on a whim while I was at Tader Joes I picked up the ingredients. TJs didn't have frozen cherries so I purchased the berry medley frozen mix. Also, I halved the recipe since it would just be my hubby and me having dessert that night. This keeps well in the fridge for leftovers though. I know since we've had it 3 nights in a row after dinner. Just reheat in the over (not the microwave or the topping will be soggy) at 350 deg.

I served it with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients


■FOR THE CRUMB MIXTURE:

■1 cup All-purpose Flour

■1/2 cup Sugar

■1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar

■1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

■1 dash Nutmeg, Double This Amount If Desired

■1/4 teaspoon Salt

■1-1/2 stick Cold (salted) Butter, Cut Into Pieces

■1/2 cup Slivered Almonds

■FOR THE CHERRIES:

■4 bags (12 Oz. Size) Frozen Tart Cherries

■1/2 cup White Sugar

■1/4 cup Cornstarch

■2 teaspoons Almond Extract

■FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:

■2 cups Heavy Cream

■2 Tablespoons Sugar

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F.

For the crumb mixture, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Cut the cold butter into pieces. Add the butter to the bowl and use a fork or pastry blender to cut it into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse crumbs. Add the slivered almonds and stir them in.

Place the still-frozen cherries in a bowl, and add sugar, cornstarch and almond extract. Gently stir the cherries to combine.

Divide the cherry mixture between 8 ramekins (about ½ cup each). Top generously with the crumb mixture, evening out the surface.

Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes, or until the topping is crisp and golden brown. If the topping appears underdone, continue baking in 10 minute increments until it’s done.

Serve the crisps warm or room temperature with a dollop of freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Margarita Cookies

Did you celebrate Cinco De Mayo yesterday with Mexican food and margaritas? I did, but instead of actual margaritas I made cookies. I'm not much of a tequila drinker so these were a good substitute. The recipes makes plenty to share and have some leftover to snack on the next day. Last year, I blogged about them and since then I've perfected the round shape with perfect amounts of sugar and salt long the rim. So delicious, I dare you to make them and have just one.

Margarita Cookies (Smitten Kitchen)
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Sablés au Citron

Makes about 50 cookies

2 sticks (8 ounces; 230 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (70 grams) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons tequila: 4 teaspoons for me
Grated zest of 2 limes: 3 limes
Grate zest of half an orange: I used the whole orange
2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour

Coating:
Approximately 1/2 cup clear sanding or other coarse sugar
2 teaspoons flaky Maldon sea salt*

1. Put the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until it is smooth. Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and beat again until the mixture is smooth and silky. Beat in 1 of the egg yolks, followed by the salt, tequila, grated lime and orange zest. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, beating just until it disappears. It is better to underbeat than overbeat at this point; if the flour isn’t fully incorporated, that’s ok–just blend in whatever remaining flour needs blending with a rubber spatula. Turn the dough out onto a counter, gather it into a ball, and divide it in half. Wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

2. Working on a smooth surface, form each piece of dough into a log that is about 1 to 1 1/4 inches (2.5 to 3.2 cm) thick. (Get the thickness right, and the length you end up with will be fine.) Wrap the logs in plastic and chill for 2 hours. (The dough can be wrapped airtight and kept refrigerated for up to 3 days or stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.)

3. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

4. While the oven is preheating, work on the sugar coating: Whisk the remaining egg yolk in a small bowl until it is smooth and liquid enough to use as a glaze. Mix the coarse sugar and flaky salt well and spread the mixture out on a piece of wax paper. Remove the logs of dough from the refrigerator, unwrap them, and brush them lightly with a little egg yolk. Roll the logs in the sugar, pressing the sugar/salt mixture gently to get it to stick if necessary, then, using a sharp slender knife, slice each log into cookies about 1/4 inch (7 mm) thick. [Deb note: To get the sugar/salt mixture to stick better, I moved the log over to a piece of plastic wrap, and in the sort of technique you'd see a sushi chef use to shape a roll, use the plastic to press the sugar in by wrapping it tightly.] (You can make the cookies thicker if you’d like; just bake them longer.) Place the cookies on the lined baking sheets, leaving about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) space between them.

5. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they are set but not browned. (It’s fine if the yolk-brushed edges brown a smidgen.) Transfer the cookies to cooling racks to cool to room temperature.

Keeping: Packed airtight, the cookies will keep for about 5 days at room temperature. Because the sugar coating will melt, these cookies are not suitable for freezing.

* Updated to add that if you should choose to use regular table salt and not Maldon, use less! Much less. Probably half or less. Because Maldon has such volume, the equivalent amount of a finer salt would be much more pungent. Better on the safe side than sorry, right?

What did you do for Cinco De Mayo?

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

So the only way I'd ever go back to making chocolate chips cookies without browing the butter is if I'm too lazy to turn on the stove. These are so so good. The nutty caramel taste the browned butter gives them is just addictive. I have a cookie with my lunch, a cookie as a snack, a cookie with my dinner and on and on. So not good for bathing suit season coming up. Oh well, that's what a cover-up is for.

The recipe is from Joy The Baker's cookbook. I found a similar one on her website, but I recommend you buy the book.

Have you ever baked with browned butter?

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

April was a packed birthday month for me. I think I had six if not more birthdays to celebrate. Which is great since I love going to parties and of course eating cake. However, I'm always in a quandry about buying a gifts. Sometimes I know exactly the perfect thing and other times I wonder the store aimlessly and then settle on a giftcard. Do you have a go to gift when you're not sure what to buy?

One of my good friends had a backyard luau for her birthday and I was in charge of the dessert. I baked the most delicious Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes that I found on Baked Perfection.

If you decide to add slices of strawberries and lemons, make sure to dry them well and do not add them to the top until the very last minute.

Lemon Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

recipe from Baked Perfection

makes 24-30 cupcakes

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

4 teaspoons grated lemon zest

4 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups sour cream

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla; mix well. Add the flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely.

Strawberry Buttercream
recipe from Baked Perfection

2 sticks butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup strawberry jam (I used a little more jam since I wanted it a little sweeter)

pinch of salt

6 cups powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons milk

Beat butter and vanilla until creamy. Mix in strawberry jam and salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.


Did you have a birthday last month?

Potato Basil Frittata

It's warm, beautiful outside and feeling like Spring. I love it. I can finally ditch the sweaters and wear short-sleeves. Tomatoes, strawberries and tons of herbs are back in the store. Basil seems to be everywhere and is so delicious in this Potato Basil Frittata. It's hearty enough to serve for dinner and makes enough to feed 6-8 hungry people.

Potato Basil Frittata
by Ina Garten

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
• 2 cups peeled and 1/2-inch diced boiling potatoes (4 potatoes)
• 8 extra-large eggs
• 15 ounces ricotta cheese
• 3/4 pound Gruyere cheese, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/3 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a 10-inch ovenproof omelet pan over medium-low heat. Add the potatoes and fry them until cooked through, turning often, about 10 to 15 minutes. Melt the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter in a small dish in the microwave.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, then stir in the ricotta, Gruyere, melted butter, salt, pepper, and basil. Sprinkle on the flour and baking powder and stir into the egg mixture.
Pour the egg mixture over the potatoes and place the pan in the center of the oven. Bake the frittata until it is browned and puffed, 50 minutes to 1 hour. It will be rounded and firm in the middle and a knife inserted in the frittata should come out clean. Serve hot.