Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Chocolate Chip Scones

Yesterday morning I lay in bed, awake though resolutely opposed to appearing so, having stayed up past midnight glued to cliffhanger episodes of Breaking Bad on Netflix. Anyway, right on time (that is just shy of 7 am) the two year old comes to me as I lay in bed and asks, "Stuck?" I pretend to be asleep.

A little louder now, "Mama stuck?" I pretend harder. She digs for my hand under the covers, tucked under my legs, and grimaces mightily as she pulls. And puuuullls. She sounds too cute not to open my eyes, just a little, but then the jig is up... and so am I.

After getting everyone settled with juice or milk, pouring my coffee and sitting down to a row or two of contemplative knitting, I remember a promise made, to provide a homemade breakfast dish to the kids' school. In honor of the teachers' first official day back. To be delivered by 8:15. Whoops. I immediately think about just grabbing a box of donut holes or something... anything... I just wanna sit and drink my coffee!

But, no. Scones are entirely too easy. And even if all you do is dump a cup of chocolate chips into them, they're delicious. (Plus, they looked damn fancy next to all the boxes of Munchkins at the staff breakfast!)


Today, the kids wanted some scones of their own, and well, I don't blame them. This version differs from yesterday's by using 1/2 whole wheat flour; adding in some flax seed meal; using brown instead of white sugar; and using 1/2 Crisco instead of all butter. Both versions are good. I guess I just have a hard time cooking the same scone twice.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Summer Peach Muffins w/ Bacon-Pecan Streusel Topping


I had a hard time naming this recipe. Fresh-picked peaches, pecans and... BACON. Enough said? It's no secret I'm a fan of fruit and fried pork. It is probably true that most things taste better with bacon. Peach muffins certainly do! 

I also had a hard time deciding whether these would be muffins or scones or what. This recipe makes a wet, sticky dough that is perfectly appropriate for drop-scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet, or - given a few kneads on a floured surface - shaped scones, too. You might mix the bacon in with the dough and just do a simple glaze on the top of shaped scones. The possibilities are endless! I chose to bake mine in a muffin tin and pack on as much bacon-y streusel goodness as humanly possible. So, calling them muffins instead of scones seemed appropriate.