English Scones

English Scones

Chocolate Chip & Cranberry Orange

2 C flour
1/4 C sugar
1 1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
1 t vanilla extract
2/3-3/4 C buttermilk

For Chocolate Chip Scones
1 C chocolate chips (if large chips, do a rough chop)

For Cranberry Orange Scones
1 C craisins (I prefer rough chopped)
1 T orange zest
1/4 C fresh squeezed orange juice

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, powder, soda and salt.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (I seem to have best luck with my fingers). Add chocolate chips or craisins, zest and juice.  Add vanilla to buttermilk, using 3/4 C for chocolate chip and 2/3 C or a bit less for cranberry.  Mix until just combined and soft and sticky dough has formed.  Flour counter and form dough into two 6 inch by 1 inch disks, flouring both sides.  Cut each disk into 8 wedges.  Place on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Brush with buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.  Serve with Clotted Cream, or unsalted european butter.  And any scone is delish with lemon curd!

**I love these scones.  The wetter the dough, the softer the scone, but be careful, they start to lose their shape.
**Adapted from joyofbaking.com

Spiced Nuts

Spiced Nuts

1 lg egg white
1 T water
1 t salt
1 lb unsalted raw nuts
1/2 C sugar
2 t cinnamon
1 t ginger
1 t coriander

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.  Whisk together egg white, water and salt in a large bowl.  Add nuts and toss to coat.  Let nuts drain thoroughly in colander, 4-5 minutes.  Mix sugar, cinnamon, ginger and coriander in large bowl.  Add drained nuts and toss to coat with sugar and spice mixture.  Spread nuts evenly onto prepared baking sheet and bake until dry and crisp, 40 - 45 minutes, rotating sheet halfway though.  Cool nuts completely then break apart and serve.

**We were given these awesome nuts as a Christmas gift years ago, from our friends the Whites.   I've been making them ever since.  Recently I found that this recipe is from America's Test Kitchen...I seriously think that would be my dream job!
**It makes a huge batch. So if I'm organized, I do one sheet of whole pecans, and one sheet of chopped pecans for salads.  If you chop them after, the sugar flakes off. They keep perfectly in zip locks in the fridge.
**Amazing in Lisa's Holiday Salad.

Apple Sandwiches

 peanut butter and granola

 yogurt and bananas

 ham and cheese

 Nutella and pretzels

 spinach and bacon

Apple Sandwiches

Slice apple 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick horizontally.  Core apple slices, to make nice apple circles.  Dip in pineapple juice to reduce browning. Blot dry with a paper towel.  Add whatever combinations sound good to create a sandwich.

other ingredient ideas:

-marshmallows
-raisins
-chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter or cinnamon chips
-ritz crackers
-cheez whiz
-coconut
-sliced nuts
-chicken salad
-any fruit
-sliced deli meat
-different cheeses
-beets and goat cheese (ok, it's for the grown ups, YUM!)

**I have loved apples with peanut butter for a long time, then one day I dipped it into granola and was in heaven!  Then a friend asked me to come up with a fun after school snack idea for a church idea night. This is what I did.  The kids liked all of my samples, but somehow the 5 spinach leaves stayed on the plate while the apple and bacon were gone...hmmm.