Chocolate Cherry Scones

May 7, 2012 Betsy the Baker

I do love pastries but have never cared for scones. Until a few years ago I believed that scones were too dry, too large, and not worth eating. It was not until pastry school that I realized that I could modify them to my liking: i.e. use pastry flour, add cream, add maple syrup + golden raisins. These were delicious.

Last year, though, I found a wonderful recipe on King Arthur's website (which is fantastic, by the way, the website and the flour) that I have made over and over again much to the approval of my co-workers.

I add dried cherries and dark chocolate but you could include raisins, pistachios, walnuts, ginger, or cranberries. I plan on making a savory version next time with green onions and cheese.

Chocolate Cherry Scones
adapted from King Arthur Flour

Make the scones: Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Either with a pastry cutter or your hands, work in the butter until the mixture is crumbly (it is okay if some larger chunks remain). Mix in the dried cherries and chocolate.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and half and half.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until the batter comes together (but do not over mix).

Scoop batter onto a parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet (I used a #20 scoop). Brush scones with milk, and sprinkle with sugar.

This is an odd step but place the scones in the freezer for 30 minutes while oven is heating to 375. Bake for 20 minutes.

Scones
11 1/2 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 3/8 oz sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
4 oz cold unsalted butter (cut into smaller pieces)
1 - 2 cups combination of dried cherries and dark chocolate
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 oz half and half

Topping
milk
sugar

Brazilian Caramels? Yes, Please.

May 1, 2012 Betsy the Baker

I love any candy that is chewy and melts in your mouth (unless it tastes like watermelon). I have been reading about brigadeiros lately and thought that they would be a good addition to my truffle/caramel/fudge repertoire.

Brigadeiros are brazilian candies made of condensed milk, butter, and cocoa powder. Because they are so simple to make, there are a number of variations out there including recipes made with cream, corn syrup, coconut milk, chocolate, etc. I decided to make two versions of the candy: one that excluded cocoa powder but added corn syrup and coconut milk and another with cocoa powder + salt and almond extract.

Although the texture of the first version was perfect, the flavor was pretty boring. The second version was delicious...I bet it would be even better with some espresso in the mix (next time).

Brigadeiros

14 oz (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
2.5 tbsp unsalted butter
4 tbsp cocoa powder (sweetened or unsweetened)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp almond extract

Make the brigadeiros: Combine the milk, butter, cocoa powder, salt, and almond extract in a small pot.

Turn heat to medium low (more low than medium...) and begin stirring until butter is melted and all ingredients are combined.

Continue stirring while the mixture boils then turn the heat to low and continue to stir for about 15 minutes or until the mixture becomes fudge-like and begins to pull away from the side of the pan.

Once you get to this point, remove from heat and slide into a bowl to cool. Do not scrape the sides or the bottom because this part of the mixture will become hard once it cools.

Let the mixture cool for a few hours then scoop into small balls using a teaspoon or a scoop (I used #40) and roll in cocoa powder, sprinkles, coconut, ground pistachios, etc.

Hamantashen

March 10, 2012 Betsy the Baker

A common joke among Jews is that many holidays can be summarized with the following phrase:

"They tried to kill us. We won. Let's eat."

Purim fits this phrase quite well.

The holiday of Purim just ended and for those of you not familiar with its significance, it recognizes the “salvation” of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot to destroy, kill, and annihilate them.

This holiday is celebrated with a carnival-like party AND delicious cookies called hamantashen. The cookies are triangle in shape and filled with a variety of flavors.

The recipe that I use comes from my mother. To be quite honest, the way that this dough comes together is unusual. That said, it works perfectly and tastes delicious so I feel no need to modify it.

Hamantashen
makes 45-50 cookies

Make the cookies: Combine eggs and butter in a small bowl.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl then add the eggs and butter mixture.

Mix until combined and chill for a few hours; when ready to use, let dough soften at room temperature.

Using a decent amount of flour, roll out dough to roughly 1/8" thick; using a round cookie cutter, cut 3" circles.

Fill with 2/3 teaspoon of desired filling and fold to create triangle (note: this takes practice!)

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

1 cup melted butter (cooled)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup sugar
4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh orange juice
Grated rind of orange
Grated rind of lemon

Desired fillings (apricot, poppy seed, cherry, chocolate ganache, fig, etc.)