So, I was never a "journal" person. I would beg my mom to buy me these cute little notebooks (Lisa Frank, anyone?), write approximately six entries every day for the first three days, and then inevitably forget all about it and let it collect dust somewhere on the floor of my room. But, maybe it'll be different posting online...maybe I'll actually keep it up...maybe.
To start, I just want to use this as a way to share some of my new favorite recipes, food sites, nutrition information, etc. I hope it will inspire a few people to pick up a spatula or break an egg and maybe even lead to a healthier, happier relationship with food. If you have questions, concerns, or praise, I'm happy to hear it all! For today, I'd like to share the recipe I just whipped up for strawberry cream scones.
Strawberry cream biscuits/scones
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes about 8 2 1/2 inch scones
When I grocery shop, I get so excited by all the lovely, fresh, vibrant produce that I often purchase way more than we can reasonably eat or at least not before it goes bad. These strawberries were one of those purchases. I had picked them up for a mascarpone tart I made over the weekend, but still had half a container left. I was in the mood to bake and found this recipe saved up in my "recipes to try" bookmark. They are delicious! I encourage you to make them immediately and to consume them fresh from the oven. Light, fluffy, delicately rich, and perfectly sweet.
2 1/4 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour (I used 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour and the rest all-purpose)
1 tablespoon (15 grams) aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 cup (50 grams) cane/turbinado sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold, unsalted butter
1 cup (about 130 grams) chopped very ripe strawberries* (I quartered most, unless they were huge, and then chopped them a bit more)
1 cup heavy cream (or melt about 2 tbs of butter in a measuring cup and then fill up the rest of the way to 1 cup with whole milk)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar and salt together. Add butter, and cut with a pastry blender or two knives until you get a nice crumbly, pea-sized bits of butter, mix. Gently stir in the strawberries, and let them get coated with the floury mixture. Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula, gently lifting and turning the ingredients over each other. When almost completely mixed, knead with your hands for a moment or two. You should have a nice, sticky mass of dough; don't worry about getting the dough evenly mixed. It's important to not overwork it so the finished product remains light and fluffy.
Generously flour the counter. I like to lay down a big piece of parchment paper first so that I have a super easy clean up. Transfer your dough to the counter; try to do so in one big movement, again, not over agitating the dough. Flour the top of it and with your hands or a rolling pin, gently roll or press the dough out to a 3/4-inch thickness. If you're like me, you should probably stop pressing when it still looks too thick. I always overestimate the thickness of my dough, leaving me with cut-out dough that is a mere eighth of an inch, rather than a 1/4. Remember, you can always press/roll it out more, but thickening it back up is a bit tricky.
Cut into 2 1/2-inch circles with a floured biscuit cutter or top edge of a drinking glass, pressing straight down and not twisting as you cut. Carefully transfer scones to prepared baking sheet, leaving a couple inches between each. Re-roll or smoosh together the scraps of dough, and cut out second batch. The dough might be a bit sticky from the strawberry juices; don't worry, they'll still bake up awesome!
Bake the scones for 12 to 15 minutes, until bronzed at the edges and the strawberry juices are oozing out of the biscuits in places. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
*I like my strawberries to be nice and juicy. You can usually do that two ways; either get very fresh, very ripe, strawberries (think farmers' market) or, pre-cut your strawberries and let them sit in a bowl for twenty minutes or so to warm up and start getting juicy. Be sure to put the cut berries in a bowl, however, or you'll lose all that loveliness to the cutting board!
Do ahead: Biscuits and scones are usually best fresh. I like to make a whole batch, but only bake off a few of them at a time. You can cut out all the scones, place the ones you want to save on a parchment-lined plate/pan, and put them in the freezer. Once the dough has hardened, remove the pan and place your frozen scones into a ziplock bag or pyrex container. Store in the freezer until ready to use. When you're ready for fresh scones, pull out as many as you'd like, and prepare as if they were freshly made, just add a few minutes to the baking time! This trick is perfect for cookie dough, too.
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes about 8 2 1/2 inch scones
When I grocery shop, I get so excited by all the lovely, fresh, vibrant produce that I often purchase way more than we can reasonably eat or at least not before it goes bad. These strawberries were one of those purchases. I had picked them up for a mascarpone tart I made over the weekend, but still had half a container left. I was in the mood to bake and found this recipe saved up in my "recipes to try" bookmark. They are delicious! I encourage you to make them immediately and to consume them fresh from the oven. Light, fluffy, delicately rich, and perfectly sweet.
2 1/4 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour (I used 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour and the rest all-purpose)
1 tablespoon (15 grams) aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 cup (50 grams) cane/turbinado sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons (85 grams) cold, unsalted butter
1 cup (about 130 grams) chopped very ripe strawberries* (I quartered most, unless they were huge, and then chopped them a bit more)
1 cup heavy cream (or melt about 2 tbs of butter in a measuring cup and then fill up the rest of the way to 1 cup with whole milk)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar and salt together. Add butter, and cut with a pastry blender or two knives until you get a nice crumbly, pea-sized bits of butter, mix. Gently stir in the strawberries, and let them get coated with the floury mixture. Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula, gently lifting and turning the ingredients over each other. When almost completely mixed, knead with your hands for a moment or two. You should have a nice, sticky mass of dough; don't worry about getting the dough evenly mixed. It's important to not overwork it so the finished product remains light and fluffy.
Generously flour the counter. I like to lay down a big piece of parchment paper first so that I have a super easy clean up. Transfer your dough to the counter; try to do so in one big movement, again, not over agitating the dough. Flour the top of it and with your hands or a rolling pin, gently roll or press the dough out to a 3/4-inch thickness. If you're like me, you should probably stop pressing when it still looks too thick. I always overestimate the thickness of my dough, leaving me with cut-out dough that is a mere eighth of an inch, rather than a 1/4. Remember, you can always press/roll it out more, but thickening it back up is a bit tricky.
Cut into 2 1/2-inch circles with a floured biscuit cutter or top edge of a drinking glass, pressing straight down and not twisting as you cut. Carefully transfer scones to prepared baking sheet, leaving a couple inches between each. Re-roll or smoosh together the scraps of dough, and cut out second batch. The dough might be a bit sticky from the strawberry juices; don't worry, they'll still bake up awesome!
Bake the scones for 12 to 15 minutes, until bronzed at the edges and the strawberry juices are oozing out of the biscuits in places. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
*I like my strawberries to be nice and juicy. You can usually do that two ways; either get very fresh, very ripe, strawberries (think farmers' market) or, pre-cut your strawberries and let them sit in a bowl for twenty minutes or so to warm up and start getting juicy. Be sure to put the cut berries in a bowl, however, or you'll lose all that loveliness to the cutting board!
Do ahead: Biscuits and scones are usually best fresh. I like to make a whole batch, but only bake off a few of them at a time. You can cut out all the scones, place the ones you want to save on a parchment-lined plate/pan, and put them in the freezer. Once the dough has hardened, remove the pan and place your frozen scones into a ziplock bag or pyrex container. Store in the freezer until ready to use. When you're ready for fresh scones, pull out as many as you'd like, and prepare as if they were freshly made, just add a few minutes to the baking time! This trick is perfect for cookie dough, too.