A New Place to Live

Hi, Y'all. I have moved to a new blog.
Please visit me at Tea and Scones

Thanks for coming to see me.

TeaLady

Nook & Pantry - A Food and Recipe Blog: Cream Scones

Nook & Pantry - A Food and Recipe Blog: Cream Scones

Making a Come Back!

Let's see. Why haven't I written. My daughter got married. Big work there since she chose to marry at home - tent, food, flowers - and it was glorious. That's over with. Finals for school. I give them, they take them, still a lot of work. That's over with. Now summer is here and I want to get back to this. Y'all just bear with me.

Can I lure you back with a new recipe?? Thought I could!!

Now, let's see --- which one, which one???

Tea Rooms don't just serve tea and scones, they also offer muffins, small cakes.

Fudgy Banana Muffins
1 1/4 cup AP flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
1 Tbl vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 milk chocolate bars, chopped

In a mixing bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine bananas, milk, egg, oil and vanilla, Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Add chopped chocolate bars. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 1/3 full. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until muffins are done in the center. Cool 5 minutes then remove to wire racks. Makes about 18 regular muffins. Enjoy !!

I have also made these as mini muffins for an open house. Bake 12 minutes for the minis. Makes about 48 mini muffins. Enjoy Longer!!

This recipe is courtesy of Kristin in Washington. Thanks.

Next time I make these I will take a picture and post it. These are really good!!

Come and visit with me.

Okay! I admit it, I am a severe Chocolate Lover. I don’t go quite to addict, because I have promised myself I am going to lose weight and chocolate is off limits - lots at a time anyway. Today I decided it was time for some chocolate and I needed some tea, so what better way to ease the pain but to make scones with chocolate. UUUhhhhh!!!! So off to the cookbooks, teabooks, sconebooks for the right recipe.

CHOCOLATE SCONES.
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup AP flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)

1/3 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup (5T) cold unsalted butter, in pieces

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chunks/chips

1/3 cup white chocolate chunks/chips (I made my own - extra chunky!)

Preheat oven to 375

• In bowl whisk cream, egg, and vanilla together. Set aside.


• In a large bowl mix dry ingredients. Cut butter pieces into dry mix to resemble crumbs. (And, as usual, I used my processor. Much easier.) Add chocolate. Add cream mixture and process until dough comes together. If too dry add a tad of cream.


• Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and knead a few times. If you don’t want the white flour on the scones, dust surface with chocolate powder. Shape dough into a 7″ circle. (I actually made two 6″ circles, but they were not as tall when baked.) Cut into 8 wedges with sharp knife. Brush tops with a mix of 1 beaten egg and 1T milk.


• Bake 15 minutes until firm on edges and soft in center. Inserted toothpick should come out clean. Cool on wire rack.


• Enjoy with a little clotted cream or lightly whipped cream.

MMMMMM!!!!!!!

Well, that solved my chocolate needs!!!

Let me know how you like them.

A New Tea Room

I cannot tell you how excited I have been for the last two weeks. We were finally going to have tea room in our little town. I try to visit tea rooms whenever I go on a trip. Friends locally do the same. There are several tearooms within two hours or so of us, but nothing we can enjoy on a regular basis --- until now. Joy!! Joy!! Joy!!
So we went for lunch yesterday. Found out it was the day for the Ribbon Cutting and all the hoi-paloi were there along with the C of C and several other groups. Teas, scones, sweets, and a pasta dish buffet style. The tea was perfectly brewed ( I tried several types), the scones were heavenly (blueberry, apple, and {okay, not sure about the third}, and my friend said the pasta dish was really good. We sat, we talked, we enjoyed!! It was heavenly. Perfect!

Well, almost perfect. Okay, I am not hoi-paloi and the place was very 'elegant'. And it had an asian flair (even tho' they also sell reproduction antique french furniture). It just isn't my style. I have always wanted to open a Tea Room and sell teas and some antiques along with tea paraphenalia. That would be my dream. If I had had the money, I would have beat her to the punch, but......

We will go back when they are on a regular menu and see how they do. Our little town is ready for this now as we have many people relocated after Hurricane Katrina/Rita in 2005. I will watch and hope they are successful. Maybe that will be an omen for me in my even smaller town just across the river.

Good luck, Tea Room.

The Weekend!

It's the weekend again. YAY!!! And here I sit wondering what to bake....uummm!!!

Some type of scone, of course. Let's see sweet or savory. Scones do not have to be sweet. They can also be savory. Cheeses. Herbs. Uh Uh. Herb de Provence. I am going to have to try that. Meanwhile, I did make just some basic scones this week.

Basic Scones.

2 cups AP flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 t salt
3 T butter
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk, approx.

Mix the dry. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Stir in the egg. (This would be a good time to add additional ingredients - nuts, berries, chips, etc.). Gradually add milk until a thick dough is formed. Roll out the dough to 3/4 " thickness and cut into rounds or wedges. Bake 450 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes until golden brown. 12 - 16 scones.

For variations, add:

3/4 cup nuts, 1/2 cup raisins, cranberries, or other dried fruit, 1/2 cup choco chips, 2 T pumpkin pie spice.

Enjoy!!

Darjeeling

The Darjeeling region is in north central India on the lower region of the Himalayas and is known for a unique tasting tea. The tea growers of the area developed distinctive hybrids of black tea and fermenting techniques, with many blends considered among the world's finest. Darjeeling usually comes in two flushes. First flush is spring pick and second flush is summer pick. It is often considered the 'champagne' of black teas.

So, I made some last night. IT IS QUITE GOOD! It has a little bite, but it is not a big bite. I enjoyed it because it has a nice full flavor. There are many teas that 'require' milk, this is not one of them. I didn't drink all of it before it cooled off and when I went back to finish it it was just as good cold as it was hot. Will have to keep this one on my list.

Also made some scones last nite. Cranberry. The recipe was simple, but they felt too much like a biscuit. They were really flaky and sweet, but just too 'biscuity' for me.

Cranberry Scones

2 cups AP flour
2 T sugar
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3/4 cup butter (yes, it is a lot, but....)
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries ( I used less, but....)
1/2 cup milk.

As usual I used my processor. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Mix all dry ingredients. Add butter in pieces until mix resembles cornmeal. Add milk, process a little and then add the cranberries. Don't process too long or you will cut up the cranberries too much. Should be a nice 'ball' of dough.
Roll out onto a lightly floured surface. I kneaded slightly pressing out into a flat cylinder, folded over itself and repeated about 4 times. This is part of what makes them flaky. Cut into circles or wedges. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Enjoy!!! Good with good butter or clotted cream. Maybe a little cranberry jam?
Sorry, no pictures, my family ate them too quickly after they came out of the oven, but they were pretty.
See y'all later.