Dill Scones

Rainy weekend mornings call for a steaming cup of tea and delicious flaky pastry! Often I find myself reaching out for some cookies, a muffin, or a delicious chocolate chip scone. However savory options can be just as delightful - especially savory scones with a melt-in-your-mouth flaky texture. This time I was using beautiful fresh dill to flavor the scones, so I decided to keep them cheese free and let the herb take center stage, however, cheddar or havarti cheese could be added to complement the dill.

Base ingredients: Click here for list of base ingredients.

Add ins:

¼ cup chopped fresh dill

Salt to taste

1-2 tsp ground black pepper

⅓ cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Follow the same steps as the spinach feta scones recipe using the add-ins mentioned above to prepare the dough. Bake at 425 F for ~15 minutes until golden brown.

~Gayatri

Other scone recipes you might enjoy:

Chocolate Chip Scones

Cardamom Pistachio Rose Scones

Cranberry Orange Scones

Spinach, Feta Cheese, Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Scones

Cheddar and Sun-dried Tomato Scones

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Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Monday, January 11, 2016

Cheddar and Sun-dried Tomato Scones

Scones are a wonderfully versatile treat, and the same basic recipe can be customized for a wide range of both savory and sweet flavors. We have been exploring several variations of our base recipe, including (cranberry-orange, cardamom-pistachio-rose, and spinach-feta). For another savory flavor, I took a stab at recreating a version of Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay biscuits in scone form, and for a little extra flair, I threw in some sun-dried tomatoes.

Ingredients: (makes ~16 scones)
~2¼ cups flour (I used ⅔ cup whole wheat, the rest all-purpose)

~3.5 tsp baking powder
5 TBSP unsalted butter
~1½ TBSP sugar
~1 cup buttermilk (you can make buttermilk by stirring together ~1 TBSP vinegar or lemon juice and 1 cup milk - I used skim - then letting it sit for about 5 minutes)

Add-ins:

~2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

~½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

~1 TBSP garlic powder (or minced garlic)

~2 TBSP dried chopped parsley (but can also use fresh)

~¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 F. In a large bowl, sift together flour and baking soda. Cut in the butter, rubbing it into the flour mixture with your fingers until you get a crumbly mixture.

Mix in sugar, cheese, and tomatoes. Add the buttermilk slowly (reserve a couple tablespoons for brushing the scones) and mix until everything comes together. Do not knead the dough, though.

On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a square-ish shape about an inch thick. Cut into about 16 pieces and place on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Be sure to leave a little space between the scones as they will grow a bit during baking. Brush the tops and sides of the scones with the reserved buttermilk.

 

 

Bake 12-15 minutes until golden-brown and the cheese starts bubbling out. Let cool before digging in!

~Karla

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Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Friday, August 21, 2015

Cardamom, Pistachio & Rose Scones

Our scone flavor exploration continues! We’ve modified the same base scone recipe to incorporate both sweet and savory flavors, and this recipe is for another delicious sweet one. I have to say, so far this one if my favorite - not only does it taste great, it smells and looks great too! It’s not too uncommon to find cardamom, rose and pistachios together in some of the Indian desserts, but I was a little unsure of baking all these flavors into scones - a pastry that’s generally not very sweet. I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. The scones are quite good on their own, but with the glaze and pistachio, rose petal topping, they are just perfect!

 

Ingredients

Click here for base ingredients

Add ins

1.5-2 tsp rose water

2 Tbsp chopped pistachio

½-1 tsp ground cardamom

Sugar glaze (optional)

¼ cup confectioners sugar

Few drops of rose water (optional)

1-2 tsp milk

Topping (optional)

~1 tsp chopped pistachio

~½ tsp dry rose petals (food grade)

Preheat oven to 425 F. Roughly chop the butter and rub it into the self rising flour until crumbly. Mix in the sugar, chopped pistachios, ground cardamom. Mix rose water with the milk and add it to the flour mixture. Combine to form a dough.

Divide the dough in half and roll it out into a circle, about ¾” thick. Cut into 8 wedges. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Spread out the pieces on a greased baking sheet. Generously brush the tops and sides with milk. Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes until golden brown.

Topping!

The topping can be definitely be skipped, but it is certainly recommended. It elevates the flavors greatly! To make the glaze mix the cardamom powder and rose water with the powdered sugar. Mix it all up, and slowly add only enough milk to form a thin paste. Be careful not to add too much milk at once.

Drizzle a little bit of the glaze on the scones. Quickly sprinkle chopped pistachios and rose petals, and drizzle a little more glaze to make sure the toppings stick.

Enjoy the fragrant delicious scones with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

~Gayatri

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Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Sunday, August 9, 2015

Spinach, Feta cheese scones with sundried tomatoes & basil

I love baking treats for friends’ birthdays - cupcakes, muffins, cookies, and lately - my new favorite, scones! Scones are quick and easy to make, and the same base recipe can be adapted to make different kinds of sweet scones (for example, chocolate chip and cranberry-orange). However, this time I was looking for something savory to make as a birthday treat for a friend who is trying to cut back on sugar. Starting with the same base recipe, I switched out the milk with buttermilk to get a subtle tang, and replaced the sweet add-ins with a combination of spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and Feta cheese. All these ingredients came together really well to form deliciously soft and flaky scones - with the flavor of each savory ingredient coming through without any one of them being overwhelmingly strong.

Ingredients (Makes 16 small scones)

Base ingredients

2 cups self rising flour (See note if you don’t have self rising flour)

~½ tsp salt

5 Tbsp cold butter

⅔ cup buttermilk (See note if you don’t have buttermilk)

~2 Tbsp milk (or buttermilk) for brushing tops of scones

Add ins

1-1.5 cup packed fresh spinach - chopped

¼ cup sun dried tomatoes - chopped

1 tsp chopped basil (fresh, frozen or dried) - optional

⅓-½ cup crumbled Feta cheese (I used low fat)

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Mix salt with the flour. Cut the butter into small pieces. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until you get a crumbly mixture - this helps make the scones light and flaky.

Add the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and Feta cheese. Mix well. Add the buttermilk and mix everything to form a soft dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a square (about 1” thick).

Cut into 16 pieces. Spread them out on greased (or parchment lined) cookie sheet. Brush the tops and sides of the scones generously with milk.

Bake in preheated oven for ~15-20 minutes until golden brown. Let scones cool down before storing in an airtight container to prevent them from drying out.

~Gayatri

Notes

Self rising flour can be made by combining 1.5 tsp of baking powder with each cup of all purpose flour. Use same ratio for wheat flour, but increase the liquid quantity in the recipe.

Substitute for 1 cup of buttermilk: Add ~1 Tbsp vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, mix it a little and let it sit for about 5 minutes until it curdles.


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Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Saturday, July 25, 2015

Cranberry & Candied Orange Peel Scones

I have been experimenting with scones lately after finding a nice base recipe in the 100 Best Delicious Chocolate cookbook. This cranberry orange scone is a refreshing fruity version of the Chocolate chip scones recipe. It takes just a little bit longer than the chocolate chip scones since there is an additional step to candy the orange peels, but they taste so delicious that it's totally worth the effort!

Ingredients: (Makes 16 scones)

Base ingredients: Follow this link

Add ins:

Peel from one large orange

¼ cup dried cranberries, whole or chopped roughly

For blanching orange peels

Water

For candying the orange peels

2 cups of water

½ cup of sugar

Chop the orange peels as finely as you like. I diced them about ½ centimeter thick. I used most of the white rind as well - the bitterness can be taken care of by blanching the peels, a process I repeated three times.

To blanch the peels, add them to a couple cups of water and heat it to a rolling boil. Let it boil for a minute, take off the heat and drain the water. Repeat this process two more times with fresh water each time.

To candy the orange peels: In a pot bring 2 cups of water and ½ cup of sugar to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low, add the orange peels and simmer for about half an hour. Drain and set the orange peels aside to cool down a little bit.

Preheat oven to 425 F. As per the recipe here, rub the butter into the self rising flour until crumbly. Add sugar, candied orange peels and cranberries. Add milk and mix to form the dough.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a square and cut into 16 pieces. Place them on a prepared baking sheet and brush the scones with milk. Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. 

Notes:

1. Save the water from blanching the orange peels and use it to water plants.
2. Use the orange infused sugar syrup left over from candying the peels to sweeten and add flavor to tea.

The same process (blanching + boiling with sugar syrup) can be used to make candied orange peels for eating directly. The sugar:water ratio will have to be higher (about 1:1), and after draining the peels can be rolled in fine sugar (optional) before letting them dry for a few hours and then storing in airtight container. The dried peels can also be dipped in chocolate for extra deliciousness!

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Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Thursday, July 9, 2015

Chocolate Chip Scones

Last year I got a nice little chocolate cookbook as a gift from a cousin. Her little daughter is one of my favorite baking companions - we’ve baked chocolate cupcakes, a princess cake and pink (strawberry) cupcakes, among other things. Given our penchant for making desserts, a chocolate cookbook was a fitting gift! Flipping through the book I landed on this chocolate chip scone recipe and the simplicity of the ingredients tempted me to give it a try. It only requires 5 ingredients, all of which I almost always have on hand. The added bonus was that it took under half hour from start of prep to end of baking - making it my new go-to recipe for last minute host/hostess gifts :)

Recipe source: 100 Best Delicious Chocolate Cookbook

Ingredients:
Base ingredients

2 cups self rising flour (See note below for recipe)

5 Tbsp unsalted butter

1-2 Tbsp sugar (Original recipe calls for only 1 Tbsp, but I wanted the scones to be slightly sweet so I added a little under 2 Tbsp)

⅔ cup milk + more for brushing tops of scones (I used 2% reduced fat milk)

Add ins
⅓ cup chocolate chips (I used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Cut the butter into small pieces. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until you get a crumbly mixture. Spend a few minutes doing this well because this step will guarantee the nice flaky texture of the scones.

Mix in sugar and chocolate chips. Add the milk slowly and mix till everything comes together as a dough (using hands definitely works better than a spoon/spatula/whisk). Do not knead the dough.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a square about an inch thick. Cut into 16 pieces. Place them on a greased cookie sheet leaving some space between the scones.

Generously brush the tops and sides of the scones with milk. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Let scones cool down before storing in airtight container to prevent them from drying out.

These little flaky pastries are quick and easy to make, they are great for tea time and also make a lovely gift!

~Gayatri

Note: Self rising flour can be made by combining 1.5 tsp of baking powder with each cup of all purpose flour. Use same ratio for wheat flour, but increase the liquid quantity in the recipe.

Tea and crumpets! Well, just the crumpets.

One day, several years ago, I had a near-insatiable craving for oatmeal raisin cookies. Fortunately, I had a container of Quaker Oats, which always has a recipe for their “Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies”. Unfortunately, I didn’t have half the ingredients, and didn’t really want to run to the store just to indulge my sweet tooth. So I started researching substitutions for ingredients – oil or margarine for butter, Splenda instead of sugar (since I had neither granulated nor brown), wheat for all-purpose flour, cranberries for raisins, etc. The end result? Instead of oatmeal raisin cookies, I got miniature cranberry oatmeal scones! Thankfully I took note of all the substitutions, and over the years have refined the recipe – relatively easy to whip up and not all that unhealthy!

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) butter/margarine (I use ¼ cup all-natural, no sugar added apple sauce, and just under ¾ cup canola oil)
1.5 cups sugar (Splenda)
2 eggs (EggBeaters)
1.5 cups flour (super fine whole wheat flour)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Dash of salt
~2 cups Quaker Oats (quick 1-minute or old fashioned)
~1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat together butter/margarine (or apple sauce/oil) and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well. Stir in the oats and cranberries. Drop rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake roughly 15 minutes or until the tops and edges start to brown. Cool for a minute or two before serving. Makes a great snack or after-dinner-with-coffee-or-tea treat!

~Karla