Sick in bed

I almost missed sconeday for a second week in a row, as I was sick in bed yesterday and Sunday, my usual baking days. But it just gave me time to think about what to make today. These might be more suited to a cold autumn day than late July's 90 degree humidity, but why not start early, testing the Thanksgiving recipes!

Molasses scones

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 T cane sugar
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
¾ cup raisins, plumped

1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup yogurt

Preheat oven to 400F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Adjust a baking rack to the middle position. Beat together the molasses, eggs, and sour cream.

Mix the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, knife or your hands until it resembles a coarse meal. Stir the plumped raisins into the flour mixture. (If you don't plump them, they'll dry out when baking. To plump raisins, just cover them with water in a small glass mixing bowl and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Drain.) Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Dough will be sticky and slightly elastic.

Roll dough out until it's about 1/2 thick, then cut into 3" circles using a glass or donut cutter. Place onto a parchment-covered baking sheet about 1 inch apart on and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack and let them cool slightly before serving.

Cousin Chrissie Scones

I sat down this morning to come up with a scone recipe, as I always do, by opening the computer to one of the basic recipes, which I then adapt. Of course, I had to open up Facebook as well, and in a couple of minutes, had "Chris" chatting.

At first I thought it was my friend and co-worker Chris, but then I realized it was my cousin Chrissie, whom I last saw when we were 14, 40 years ago. We were able to catch up over a nearly hour-long chat. A couple of times, I was close to tears knowing that this person, with whom I share both so much and so little, also wanted to reawaken the connection.

I've found many of my literally long-lost cousins on Facebook; when people complain about how stupid and lame Facebook is, I just think how off-base they are. Facebook is an amazing resource. Because of Facebook you never need to be estranged, or cut off, or lost to your far-flung family or friends ever again. I know that there are people we'd all just as soon never heard of us, let alone found us again. But there are lots of people that just slip away, through neglect or inattention. They're out there, just waiting to be found.

I made these while chatting:

Blueberry Scones

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

½ cup fresh blueberries
½ cup honey
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup blueberries (works best if they're frozen first)

Preheat oven to 400F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Adjust a baking rack to the middle position. In a food processor, mix the fresh blueberries, honey, eggs, and sour cream.

Mix the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, knife or your hands until it resembles a coarse meal. Stir the frozen blueberries into the flour mixture. Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Dough will be quite sticky (these are drop scones).

Using a soup spoon, drop scones onto a parchment-covered baking sheet about 1 inch apart on and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack and let them cool slightly before serving.

I hoped they'd be blue, but no such luck.

Happy Fourth of July

Sconeday lands on the holiday this week, with special red-white-and-blue scones. I'm having a great holiday weekend-- the Peterson Garden Re-dedication yesterday was a fantastic party with kids and dogs (and chickens) in costume (you heard me). We had garden tours, singalongs, family, friends and great food.

I'm sitting here waiting for my good friend and her rabbit-scaring dog. They drop by periodically to convince my resident evil furface that my perennial bed is NOT a good place to set up housekeeping (or for forays into the bean patch, where said furface has decimated the crop).

Later today I'm marching in the Evanston Fourth of July Parade with our skating camp, and tomorrow Peterson Garden powwow with these fantastic scones:


Red-White-and-Blue scones
Recipe: Cooks Illustrated scones recipe (gonna make you sign up for the site)

After rolling out the scones in about a 12" square, lay blueberries on one-third, then raspberries or cut-up strawberries and the next third, finally, break up a frozen white chocolate bar or use white chocolate chips (mine was a Divine Chocolates white chocolate with strawberries from Ten Thousand Villages) and lay that on the final third.

Continue recipe as directed.