Scones-- Sorry, no fun name this time!

Who doesn't love a good scone? What would I do for a tasty biscuit to enjoy with my morning tea or winter hot chocolate? I'd read a Goosebumps book and maybe prank call Cox Communications. This may not seem like much to you, but for someone like me, these are pretty big steps that may potentially lead to a week of nightmares or a criminal record that would bar me from any legit form of employment for the rest of my life.

I have tried my hand at many scone recipes, but they all have left little to be desired. I finally found one that is a a definite, no questions asked home run. The best thing about it is that it serves as a base and is just begging for a splashing of creative mix-ins. I'll admit, my cinnamon raisin ones weren't all that jazzy, nor were my lemon meringue wannabes, but creative or not, I still had a trickle of drool leading from the left corner of my mouth down to my chin.

I'll offer you this one very serious warning: Scones do take a bit of time due to the fact that they have to be cut out with either a glass or a cookie cutter. I prefer to make them heart-shaped, but that's just me. If you want to form them into a skull and crossbones, that's your deal, not mine. I won't even care if you make peepee shapes... just don't give me the credit (although, in all fairness, my blog did give you the idea, right?)

Ingredients:
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
4 cups flour (If you want to try your hand at making these healthier, you can sub 2 cups of wheat... but if you do any more than 1/2 wheat, 1/2 white, you're walking a fine line, my friend)
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder (If you're using wheat flour, it's in your best interest to increase this to 2.5 tsp)
1 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter (if you don't have unsalted butter, don't bother making this recipe... you'll ruin it!)
1 egg
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Egg wash (beaten egg+ water)
Possible additions: 1 cup raisins, 1 cup candied orange peel, 1/2 tsp cinnamon (to taste), 1 tsp orange extract, 1 cup dried cranberries, lemon zest... get your thinking cap on- the sky's the limit!

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350'. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

2. Combine sour cream and baking soda. Let set for a few minutes before the egg. Add any wet additions (juice, extracts) at this point.

3. In another bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients. Slowly add flour mixture to the sour cream mixture. As you're adding the flour, you can also add in the raisins, etc.

4. Knead the dough for a few minutes. Roll into a 3/4" slab. Use a cookie cutter to make these little buggars beautiful. Otherwise, use a glass. Or, if you want to take the SUPER easy way out, you can just cut wedges with a knife. Yawn... borrrrring!

5. Lightly brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

6. Bake for 15 minutes. This is accurate if get about 12 biscuits. If you've cut them much smaller, check them at about 7 or 8 minutes.

If you'd like to make them and freeze them before baking, you can certainly do that. Just make sure that you freeze them on a cookie sheet. Once they're fully frozen, you can transfer them to a ziploc bag. Bake as normal, but for about 45 minutes, or as is necessary for the size. Size does matter. Pin It

100% Whole Wheat Banana-Oat Muffins

What can I say about these muffins other than the fact that they are simply aaa-maaaa-zing! I enjoy taking recipes that are tasty as written, but super unhealthy, and amping them up with nutrition and seriously bumping down the fat content. And not to come across as holy terror, but I'm pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.

So let's chat about bananas. I recently had a horrible experience with them, as I accidentally chomped down on what I believe to be a mass of spider eggs, which had hidden themselves in the bottom tip! Apparently, spiders lay their eggs in the tips of bananas and although they are sprayed before shipped to a grocery store near you, some can survive the chemical showdown. Anyway, the eggs caused my lips, tongue, and face to go numb, and also caused my right hand to twitch maniacally. Wanna talk about scary? I was so freaked out that I went to the emergency room, which probably made things worse, especially when I found out that the person next to me was infected with the black plague. No, she didn't really have the plague, but strep throat is equally as scary.

As someone who loves bananas, I wasn't sure how to deal with this experience. Then it hit me... don't eat the tips! So now when I eat bananas, I discard the first and last 1/2" of the fruit. Perfect- no problems since. I hope the fear of consuming spider eggs has not scared you away from eating bananas because then you'd be screwed out of the chance to make the following recipe. I made them yesterday and am happy to report a fully-functioning set of nerves in the craniofacial region.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup (a little less) old fashioned oats
3 very ripe bananas, mashed to smithereens (discard the tips!)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt (I know it sounds like a trivial amount, but salt is a very important ingredient because it draws out the flavor)
1 egg
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (Make sure they're mini. If you use the regular-sized ones, they'll sink to the bottom, and you'll lose all credibility as a baker!)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350'. Grease or line muffin tins.

2. On a large plate, mash the bananas with a fork until they resemble baby food.

3. In  large bowl, combine egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and applesauce. Once all ingredients are incorporated, stir in the banana.

4. To the bowl, add salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix.

5. Slowly add flour. Once the flour has been added, mix in the oats.

6. Add in the mini chocolate chips.

7. Fill each muffin cup with 1/4 cup batter. I filled 17.

8. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Mine baked for 15 minutes and were perfect.

Enjoy them... they're wonderfully delicious and actually pretty darn good for you! Pin It

100% Whole Wheat Pumpkin Banana Muffins

I am in love with these muffins! They are moist and have a lovely pumpkin flavor. Pumpkin is one of those things that I could eat every day, regardless of how many strange looks I get when loading my cart up with Libby's in July. That's right I said it... Libby's. While I'm sure fresh pumpkin is a zillion times better than the canned stuff, I'm not denying myself of the orange sphere of wonder when the only thing currently in season is sunscreen. I'll admit that even in the autumn, though, I cheat and jump aboard the aluminum express. It's just too labor intensive to cook and scoop a pumpkin for a dozen muffins. Who knows... maybe if I get enough angry hippie comments, I'll buy a pumpkin this coming October and become a believer.


Anyway, I've been making these muffins for a while now and do not see myself stopping anytime in the near future. Although, I might recruit my awesome boooyfran to whip up a second batch tonight... maybe? We've got a bunch of severely speckled bananas that need to be used or tossed ASAP (Not Ay-Sap... AY, ES, AY, PEE).


So the recipe below looks like it has a lot of ingredients, but hold onto your hat because it's not that bad! It should all be stuff that you have in your cabinets, so please... don't worry.

Sorry this picture is kind of blurry! It was taken with my cell phone, which despite its brick-like appearance, actually has a camera in it. This is what .5 mp looks like.

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (Rhode Islanders- it's okay to get this at Job Lot)
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup very ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/3 cup buttermilk (I usually use 1 tsp vinegar + enough milk to equal 1/3 cup)
2 eggs
1/2 cup raisins (I usually let these soak in water for about half an hour before adding to my batter
Old fashioned oats
Sugar

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400'.

2. Grease or line 12 muffin tins.

3. Combine wet ingredients in one bowl. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients. You know what I mean.
*** Read if you're making your own buttermilk: Measure 1 tsp vinegar. Pour it into the measuring cup that you'll use to portion out your milk. Add enough milk to reach 1/3 cup. Let sit for 5 minutes before using.

4. Add raisins to batter.

5. Pour batter into muffins cups and sprinkle with sugar and oats.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

I usually let these sit in their tins for 5 minutes before transferring to a container with a tightly fitting lid. I know this probably promotes mold growth, but I've never had a problem. This helps lock in the moisture, which is important when you're working with whole wheat flour. Pin It