Raspberry-White Chocolate Scones

Berry bonanza continues with this post - in which I attempt to recreate a raspberry-white chocolate scone from Longbottom Coffee and Tea in Hillsboro, OR. I can't be certain that I've replicated that particular scone, but these did come out quite good! If you happen to be in the Portland area and have a chance to swing by Longbottom, be sure to try their scones - the marionberry are also delicious.

Raspberry - White Chocolate Scones (~12 large or ~24 small scones)
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup vanilla yogurt
1 egg
1 T. vanilla extract
2 cups fresh raspberries
1 cup white chocolate chips
raw or granulated sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375F and line 2 cookie sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. In a separate mixing bowl, combine milk, yogurt, egg, and vanilla extract.

3. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and stir until just combined and moist.

4. Stir in raspberries and white chocolate chips.

5. Drop batter by scoops onto prepared cookie sheets. For large scones, use about 1/3 cup better per scone. For small scones, use about 3 T. batter per scone. If desired, sprinkle with raw or granulated sugar.

6. Bake 25-30 minutes at 375F, until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Remove cookie sheets from oven and cool for about 5 minutes, then remove scones to wire rack to finish cooling.

Blueberry Muffins

Still working through the berries from Friday's picking expedition - this time, making fresh blueberry muffins for Sunday morning breakfast. These came out moist and slightly dense, chock full of juicy berries, and perfect either on their own or with just a small bit of butter. They are delicious served warm right out of the oven and hold up well for serving the following day, too.

Blueberry Muffins (~18 muffins)
3 cups flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
10 T. butter, softened (1 1/4 sticks)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375F and grease (or line with baking cups) approximately 18 muffin cups.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a separate large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each until mixture if fluffy.

4. Add half of dry ingredients to butter and sugar mixture, then add a third of the yogurt, stirring after each addition only until just mixed. Continue by adding half of remaining dry ingredients, a third of the yogurt, the remaining dry ingredients, and the remaining yogurt.

5. Fold in blueberries and stir until just mixed.

6. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups, filling about 2/3 to 3/4 full. If any muffin cups are not filled with batter, fill about halfway with water (this will even out baking).

7. Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Remove muffin tins from oven and cool for about 10 minutes, then remove muffins to eat or to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Dark Chocolate Cherry Ginger Scones

When I'm running late in the morning or just want a little extra treat, I'll sometimes swing by Breadline to pick up a cherry-ginger scone on my way into the office. These scones are light and delicious and packed with moist cherries and tangy ginger. Since they are among my favorite scones, I decided to try my own variation for my first foray into scone-baking. While they didn't come out the same as Breadline's - a slightly different consistency, and of course my addition of dark chocolate to the mix - judging by the reaction at work today, I'd have to say that they were a success.

Dark Chocolate Cherry Ginger Scones (8 scones)
1/2 cup dried cherries (+ 1/4 c. water or amaretto)
2 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 T. cold butter, cut into small pieces
3 T. sugar
1/4 cup crystallized ginger
1/4 cup dark chocolate pieces
1/2 cup light cream
1 egg

1. Place cherries and water or amaretto in a small saucepan, cover, and cook over low heat until cherries begin to plump. Drain.

2. Preheat oven to 425F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add butter and use fingers to mix with dry ingredients until crumbly.

4. Add cherries, sugar, ginger, and chocolate pieces to batter. Stir a few times to distribute throughout batter.

5. Mix egg and cream in a small bowl. Add cream mixture to batter and stir until the batter is just moistened and mixed.

6. Form batter into a large ball and transfer to baking sheet. Pat into a circle or square of 1 inch thickness, cut into 8 pieces and slightly separate.

7. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes, until scones are golden. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Banana - Chocolate Chip Muffins

I've posted a few times previously about ways to spruce up out-of-the-box quick bread mixes (here and here) - today I'm adding the recipe for a batch of banana-chocolate chip muffins that can be made using banana quick bread mix as the base. Eat these plain or serve with peanut butter (or another topping of your choice).

Banana - Chocolate Chip Muffins (approx. 18 muffins)
1 box Pillsbury Quick Bread mix, banana flavor
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 400F and grease (or line with baking cups) approximately 18 muffin cups.

2. Stir together quick bread mix, milk, eggs, applesauce, mashed banana, and chocolate chips.

3. Pour batter into muffin cups, about 1/4 cup batter per muffin cup. If any muffin cups are not filled with batter, fill about halfway with water (this will even out baking).

4. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Remove muffin tins from oven and cool for about 30 minutes, then remove muffins to wire rack to finish cooling.

Maple Pumpkin Butter

Whether you've made zucchini - apple bread or another quick bread, picked up some scones or muffins from the store, or need a topping for pancakes and waffles, this maple pumpkin butter is a perfect accompaniment to your Thanksgiving breakfast spread. During the baking you'll need to stir the pumpkin butter quite often, so you might want to make this while already in the kitchen for other reasons.

Maple Pumpkin Butter
1 29 oz. can solid pack pumpkin
3/4 cup apple cider
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1.5 tsp. cinnamon
1 T. fresh chopped ginger (or ginger paste)
dash of nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Stir together all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Continue stirring as mixture comes to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Transfer mixture to an 8 x 8 baking dish and place in 350F oven. Cook for approximately 1.5 hours, stirring every 15 minutes, until pumpkin butter has thickened and any liquid has cooked away.

4. Remove from oven and cool. Transfer to glass jar or other container, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Zucchini - Apple Bread (and tips for sprucing up some out-of-the-box quick breads)

With Thanksgiving houseguests soon making their appearances, the time is right for preparing a few quick breads to have on hand for snacks and breakfast treats. Preparing this zucchini - apple bread takes a little time (mostly because of the time needed to grate the zucchini), but isn't something that you'll find in the ready-made quick bread mixes available at the store. If you are a bit pressed for time and are looking for ideas on how to spruce up some of the prepared mixes, scroll down to the bottom of this post for some ideas using pumpkin and cranberry breads.

Zucchini - Apple Bread
1.5 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely grated zucchini (do not peel before grating)
1/4 cup applesauce

1. Preheat oven to 350F and spray an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan [or 3 3 x 5 inch mini loaf pans] with non-stick spray.

2. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.

3. In another bowl, combine egg, sugar, zucchini, and applesauce. Pour zucchini mixture into flour mixture and stir until batter is just moistened, then pour into prepared loaf pan.

4. Bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes [for mini loaves, 35-45 min] or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and continue cooling on wire rack until completely cooled. Wrap tightly in plastic or aluminum foil to store.

Easy spruce-ups for quick breads
When I called down to my uncle's house to ask what he'd like me to contribute for the big meal on Thursday, the first thing that he asked for was some of my "magic breads." While these quick bread might be magic, they aren't too difficult to make - in fact, they only require choosing your favorite mix-ins and adding them to a ready-made box mix (like Pillsbury) before baking!

Pumpkin Quick Bread
- 1/2 cup butterscotch or chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts
- 1 T. fresh chopped ginger (or ginger paste)
- use apple cider instead of water in the mix (1-for-1 substitution)
- use applesauce instead of oil in the mix (1-for-1 substitution)

Cranberry Quick Bread
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- use orange juice instead of water in the mix (1-for-1 substitution)
- use applesauce instead of oil in the mix (1-for-1 substitution)

Pumpkin Raisin Pecan Muffins

One of my favorite "bases" to begin baking with is Pillsbury's Quick Bread mixes. They come in a variety of flavors, each of which offers many possibilities beyond just quick bread. The mix that I use most often is pumpkin, and that's what I used today in making muffins to take into the office tomorrow. This recipe uses plain (unsweetened) applesauce instead of oil, so it cuts out some of the fat while keeping the muffins moist - and adds a nice apple undertone to this fall treat.

Pumpkin Raisin Pecan Muffins (12 muffins)
1 box (14 oz) Pillsbury Quick Bread mix, pumpkin flavor
1 cup milk
1/3 cup applesauce
1 tsp. fresh chopped ginger (or ginger paste)
2 eggs
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 400F and grease or line 12 cupcake cups.

2. In a large bowl, stir together quick bread mix, milk, applesauce, ginger, and eggs. Stir in raisins and pecans.

3. Pour batter into muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.

4. Bake 20 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Cool in pan 2 minutes, then remove to cooling rack.

Banana Dogs!

A couple of years ago my mom and I were pondering that age-old question...What can we do with these left-over hot dog buns? Both of us start our mornings with a banana, love peanut butter, and voila! we dreamt up the banana dog. [Yes, I realize that many people think that they invented the banana dog...but within our family, my mom and I were the innovators.] My dad was a bit slower to warm to the idea, but I've received intelligence that he does occasionally partake of a banana dog.

One of the best things about the banana dog is that it makes a tasty, healthy, and portable breakfast or snack. Peel the banana, pop it into a hot dog bun, add your favorite toppings, and you are good to go - just don't try to carry it onto the Metro, where you might get fined for trying to eat and commute. Also, the banana dog is fully customizable, and if you have many mouths to feed you can create a banana dog toppings bar (late night movie marathon with friends? breakfast for a kids' sleepover party?).

Banana Dogs
Basics:
hot bog bun (whole wheat preferred)
medium-sized banana

Toppings: (add as many or as few as you would like)
peanut butter (or almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.)
cream cheese
marshmallow fluff
jelly (or jam, preserves, etc.)
honey
chocolate sauce (or caramel sauce, etc.)

1. Toast hot dog bun, if desired. While bun is toasting, peel banana and cut to proper size (eat the ends that don't fit on the bun).

2. Spread toppings on the bun, or put banana in then add the toppings - your choice!

3. Enjoy!