Berry Almond Cream Scones

These scones are a delicious breakfast, brunch, snack, or dessert item.  They're simple to pull together and way better than a coffeeshop scone. Dried berries rehydrated in amaretto are used in place of fresh berries, as fresh berries tend to bring too much moisture to the party and can make the scones soggy after a couple hours.

Berry Almond Cream Scones

inspired by this recipe by Ree Drummond

1 cup dried berries (I used a combination of blueberries and tart cherries)

1/2 cup amaretto

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup almond flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup cold butter, cubed

2 eggs

3/4 cup cream (feel free to substitute milk, but they won't be as delicious)

Glaze:

1/4 cup cream

2 Tablespoons amaretto from soaking berries

2 cups powdered sugar

1. Add dried berries and amaretto to a jar and cover.  Let sit at room temperature to rehydrate for at least 4 hours before using (if you don't have 4 hours - add berries and and amaretto to a saucepan, bring to a boil, immediately remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes.)

2. Drain rehydrated berries, reserving 2 Tablespoons for the glaze.  Save the rest of the liquid for a cocktail.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease two baking sheets.

4. Add flours, almond meal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter to the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse 5-10 times or until coarse crumbs form.

5.  Add butter crumb mixture to a large bowl.  Add eggs, cream, and drained berries. Stir until a slightly shaggy dough forms.

6. Scoop dough onto a floured surface and form into two circles about 1/2 inch thick.  Use a pizza cutter to slice dough into triangles (8-12 scones per circle depending on whether you are making snack scones or more substantial breakfast scones).

7. Place scones on prepared pans and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Transfer scones to cooling racks over parchment paper to cool completely.

9. Meanwhile make the glaze: whisk the cream, 2 Tablespoons of reserved berry-rehydrating-amaretto, and powdered sugar together.

10. When scones are cooled, drizzle the glaze over the scones.  When the glaze is dry, store in an airtight container.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce over Pasta and Kale

Roasted red peppers are one of those ingredients that I could add to every dish I make, but their delicate flavor is easily overwhelmed by other robust ingredients.  This sauce recipe lets the roasted red pepper flavor shine through.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce over Pasta and Kale
inspired by Quick and Easy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta by Ree Drummond

1 Tablespoon butter
3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 jar ( 12 oz. ) roasted red peppers, well drained and roughly chopped
1/2 can ( 14.5 oz.) fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained (add the leftover half can of tomatoes to chili, lasagna, or scrambled eggs)
1/4 cup white wine
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound pasta (I used whole wheat rigatoni)
1 bunch lacinato kale, stems removed and leaves sliced 1/4" thick

1. In a 2 quart saucepan saute garlic and onion in butter over medium high for 3-4 minutes until onions and garlic are softened and lightly browned.

2. Add sauteed onions and garlic, red peppers, tomatoes, wine, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to a blender and puree for 20-30 seconds or until no large chunks remain.

3. Add the sauce back to the saucepan and simmer on medium low for 15-20 minutes or until it thickens slightly.

4. Meanwhile bring a pot of water to a boil, add the pasta.  2 minutes before it is ready add the kale to the water.

5. When the pasta is fully cooked drain the pasta and kale.  Serve the sauce over the pasta and kale.

Banana Waffles

These tender waffles were a perfect brunch for today's rainy Sunday morning.  The bananas are definitely the star of the show but the oats and pecans play supporting roles with grace.  While many waffle recipes include whipped egg whites in the batter, I cannot be bothered to do so - this recipe is simple, quick, and utterly delicious.

Easy Banana Waffles
inspired by Banana Nut Waffles by Amateur Gourmet

1 cup flour

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup ground flax seed

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 large ripe bananas

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

3 eggs

1. In a medium bowl stir together flour, oats, pecans, flax seed, and soda

2. In a large mixing bowl mash bananas with brown sugar, until bananas are mostly chunk free (the sugar acts as an abrasive, helping you out with breaking down the bananas)

3. Whisk sour cream, milk, oil, and eggs into the banana and sugar mixture.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until moistened.

5. Let batter sit for 5 minutes to thicken up, meanwhile preheat your waffle iron.

6. Scoop waffle batter into the iron and cook according to your waffle iron's instructions and your personal preferences

7.  Enjoy waffles hot out of the iron or let cool and then freeze to enjoy another day.

Yield:  approximately 14 - 4" waffles.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I've been eyeing this recipe for a while now: Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, I like the use of sour cream rather than the traditional buttermilk.  My only simplification was cutting out the milk and using a whole 16 oz. tub of sour cream in the batter (minus 2 Tablespoons for the frosting).  I ended up with 24 cupcakes and one 8" cake.  The cupcakes turned out really tender with the classic tang and subtle chocolate flavor of Red Velvet cake.

The picture makes the cupcakes look brown, I assure you they are the perfect deep-red color typical of Red Velvet Cake.

Golden Danish Twists

I recently got my first Taste of Home magazine.  I have been reading Taste of Home since I was eight, but have never had my own subscription. My mom had got Taste of Home for a while, and I could always check them out at the library.  When I was in middle school through college a family friend who lived down the street would bring me her copies when she was done with them, which was positively wonderful and incredibly thoughtful--shout out to Angie!!

But now I am getting my own subscription to Taste of Home!! Wahoo!  Thanks to Melissa for getting me a subscription for my birthday!

When pouring through my first issue of Taste of Home I came upon this recipe for Golden Danish Twists and knew I would be baking them. I won't include the recipe here, because I made very few changes (swapped 2 cups of whole wheat flour for some of the all-purpose flour, cut the salt down to 1 teaspoon, and added some almond extract to the filling).  Go check the recipe and make them if you have a free afternoon.  They are pretty labor intensive, but utterly fabulous.  Even though there is pumpkin in the dough it imparts little flavor--just gives the dough a beautiful golden color.  While the dough is filled with lemony cream cheese this is not a traditional cream cheese danish, the filling is layered very thinly creating a subtle ribbon of flavor throughout the twists. If you've got the time (3+ hours in and out of the kitchen, perfect for my lazy Sunday afternoon of cleaning, laundry, and starting to watch Doctor Who) this recipe is definitely worth it.

Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Biscuits

You can add parsley to this recipe if you want the full experience, but after I started adding these herbs to this recipe I found myself singing Scarborough Fair.

Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Biscuits

adapted from Delicata Squash and Sage Biscuits from Aube at PBS Kitchen Vignettes

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
5 fresh sage leaves
the leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme, stems removed
the leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary, stems removed
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 egg
3/4 cup half and half
1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons half and half for brushing the biscuits
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
12 sage leaves

1. Preheat oven to 425F and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. In the bowl of a food processor add the flour, salt, pepper, baking powder, sage leaves, thyme leaves, rosemary leaves, and butter.  Pulse 5-10 times until the mixture resembles cornmeal.

2. Pour flour/butter mixture into a mixing bowl, add the egg, half and half, and honey, Stir until the flour is just moistened.

3. On a floured surface pat the dough into a 3/4" thick square and cut into 12 biscuits. Place biscuits on prepared tray.  Brush with 2 Tablespoons half and half and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Lay one sage leaf on top of each biscuit.

4. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until they are golden brown.  Remove to a cooling rack or enjoy right out of the oven.

Spiced Pear Cake with Vanilla Glaze

Last weekend I got to spend time with Melissa in Madison.  We didn't realize there was a Badgers game in town, so we quickly found a cute restaurant to have lunch in and escape the crowds of red and white face-painted football fans.  Once things died down we toodled around State Street checking out the free contemporary art museum (which was AMAZING--free art museum?!?  What a treat!) and the cool shops especially the kitchen store.

Before we left Melissa, who works for Taste of Home, loaded me up with old Taste of Home magazines and a cook-book too.  I raced (I mean drove the speed-limit) home to browse the magazines.  I tore out many recipes to add to my recipe binder and started baking with this delightful fall cake.

Spiced Pear Cake with Vanilla Glaze

based on Spiced Pear Upside-Down Cake from Taste of Home

2 pears, peeled and thinly sliced

½ cup butter, melted

½ cup sugar

½ cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup molasses

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line the bottom of a 9 inch round cake pan with parchment paper.  Grease the sides of the pan.

Fan the pear slices in a circle around the bottom of the pan, filling in the middle and any gaps, to make an even layer. 

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the butter, sugar, yogurt, molasses, egg, and vanilla.  Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom and slowly whisk in until no lumps remain.  Pour over the pears and spread to the sides of the pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.  Let cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack then run a knife around the edges of the pan and flip it onto a plate.  Peel off the parchment paper. 

Vanilla Glaze

2 Tablespoons melted butter

1 Tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla 
¾ cup powdered sugar

Whisk all ingredients together and drizzle over the cake.