My Favorite Scone Recipe

I love a good scone recipe. And it's taken me a few years, but I have found the perfect scone recipe. And it can be easily adapted to pretty much any type of scone you could want! I've listed a few of the ones I've tried and liked. 

• 2 cups flour
• 6 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (½ cup) cold butter, cut into pieces
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• course sugar (optional)
• heavy cream, milk or buttercream (for brushing) - Also optional.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper, set aside. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in your stand up mixer. Add the butter, piece at a time. Slowly stir in heavy cream, egg and vanilla. Mix just until incorporated. Roll out into an 8 inch circle. Brush with heavy cream, milk or buttermilk and sprinkle with course sugar. Cut into triangles and place about ½ an inch from each other and bake for 12-16 minutes, or until set and edges are starting to brown. Let cool 5-10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 8 scones.

Recipe adapted from:

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/05/18/strawberry-lemon-poppy-seed-scones/

Make these delicious scones using the above recipe:

Cranberry - Orange Scones

To the flour mixture (before adding butter) zest 1 orange into the flour. Add butter. After adding the liquids, add the juice of the orange and blend well. You might need to add more flour if your orange is super juicy. Fold in 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (I've also used dried cranberries and actually prefer the sweetness of the dried better). Bake as normal.

Maple Pecan Scones

Add ¾ cup chopped pecans to the flour mixture (after adding the butter). Follow directions above. While baking make the maple icing: blend 4 cups powdered sugar, ¼ cup milk, 4 Tablespoons butter, melted, 1 Tablespoon brewed coffee, and 2 teaspoons maple extract until well blended and lump free. Once scones have cooled completely ice with maple icing and top with pecans. Let icing dry completely before storing in an airtight container.

Strawberry Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

To the dried mixture (before adding butter) zest in one lemon and add 2 teaspoons poppy seeds. After you've mixed everything together slowly fold in 1 cup chopped strawberries (fresh or frozen). Then bake as normal. Drizzle cooled scones with lemon glaze (if desired): Juice of 1 lemon, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon heavy cream. Mix together until well blended, adding more powdered sugar as needed to get a good drizzling consistency. 

Cherry Almond Scones

After scones have been mixed, carefully fold in 1 cup (fresh or frozen) cherries (halved is a little easier to work with) and bake as normal. While baking make the Almond glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 Tablespoons milk or cream, ½ teaspoon almond extract. Mix until well combined. Drizzle over cooled scones and top with sliced almonds. 

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

Just like the cranberry orange scones, except fold in mini chocolate chips instead of cranberries. 

Caramel Apple Scones

To the flour mixture (before adding butter) add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. After scones have been mixed with wet mixture, fold in 1 apple that's been chopped into bite size pieces. Bake as normal. After scones have cooled drizzle with your favorite caramel sauce. I like to use my homemade salted caramel recipe.

More scone ideas to come! :)

The Best Chicken Salad!

• 1 whole cooked Rotisserie chicken
• 1-2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 3 cups grapes, halved
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup half and half
• fresh dill, minced (as much or little as you like)
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• lemon juice
• salt and pepper

Remove as much chicken as you can from the Rotisserie chicken, you should get around 2 cups of chicken. Chop up the fruit and vegetables and place them in a big bowl with the chicken. In a smaller bowl mix up the mayo, sour cream, some lemon juice, and some salt and pepper. Add your dill and mix. Pour the mayo mix into your chicken mix and add the almonds and mix until well blended. Eat it as is or put on top of your favorite bread. Personally I prefer it on a buttery croissant. :o)

Recipe adapted from:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/05/chicken-salad-the-way-i-like-it/

Peach & Almond Baked Oatmeal

I love baked oatmeals. And this one is no exception! I love that you can just throw everything together and bake it. And you could make it the night before for an even easier breakfast treat. Plus it's healthy. So it's a win-win! 

• 2 cups old fashioned (rolled) oats
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ cup sliced or slivered almonds
• 2 cups almond milk (I used vanilla flavored) you could also substitute regular milk
• 1 egg
• 3 Tablespoons melted butter OR coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 ½ cups chopped fresh or frozen peaches
• Peaches and almonds for the top, if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 dish and set aside. Mix together your oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and almonds, set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond milk, egg, melted butter or oil, vanilla and almond extract. In your prepared baking dish, arrange the chopped peaches evenly over the bottom. Pour your dry mixture even over the peaches then pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture, making sure the milk covers everything evenly. If desired, add some extra peaches and almonds to the top. Bake 40 minutes or until the top is golden and set. Let cool a few minutes before cutting into. Serve warm with milk or yogurt. Or as is. 

Freezer directions: Make this in a freezer safe dish. Follow all the steps until baking. Before baking place in freezer for up to 6 months. When ready to eat, thaw and bake as directed above.

Recipe from:

http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/baked-peach-almond-oatmeal/

Kale & Brussels Sprouts Salad

This is one of my favorite healthy salads. It reminds me of a Caesar salad, but without all the calories. And if you have someone that doesn't like Brussels sprouts? They'll never even notice them in this salad. It's so good. And it tastes even better the longer you let it sit.

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 Tablespoon minced shallot
• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper
• 1 large bunch of kale, center stem discarded, leaves thinly sliced
• 6 oz brussels sprouts, trimmed, finely grated or shredded
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/3 cup almonds with skins, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup shredded parmesan

In a large bowl add the chopped kale and drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Gently massage the kale for around 5 minutes. This helps the kale to become a little less bitter. Combine lemon juice, dijon mustard, shallot, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir to blend; set aside to let flavors meld. Mix thinly sliced kale and shredded brussels sprouts in a large bowl. Measure 1/2 cup oil into a cup. Spoon 1 Tablespoon oil from cup into a small skillet; heat over medium high heat. Add almonds to skillet and stir frequently until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer nuts to a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle almonds with salt, if desired. Slowly whisk remaining olive oil into lemon-juice mixture. Add cooled almonds and Parmesan to the kale. Add enough dressing to coat. Save the remaining dressing for later use. 

Recipe slightly adapted from:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Kale-Brussels-Sprout-Salad-368295