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Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Scones. Sort by date Show all posts
Well Christmas is all over again for another year and I have to say I had a fabulous one! My son and his family were here. We surely enjoyed each other, ate a lot of good food and just basked in the blessing of being together as a family.
They left to go home today and my sister has invite me over for supper to enjoy a few leftovers from the last few nights. She is so good to me. I love her so much. I have a really great family.
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We had Christmas dinner at her house the other day and enjoyed turkey with all the trimmings. All cooked in my mother's 68 year old wearever aluminum roasting pan. Every turkey from my childhood was cooked in that pan! It holds a lot of memories.
There was turkey and stuffing and potatoes, vegetables and the sweets. She had quite a few lovely homemade Christmas bakes to enjoy for dessert.
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Last night everyone came here, and we all dined on Roast Beef Tenderloin and all those trimmings. Oh my but it was so delicious. My son gave me a Meater for Christmas. What an amazing piece of kit that is!
We will never have an overcooked piece of meat in my house ever again.
Today my son left to travel back to his home, and tonight, its leftover turkey at my sister's. I thought I would bake some tasty biscuits to take over for us to enjoy.
The Recipe was adapted from one I found in this cookbook, Southern Biscuits by Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart. Every recipe I have ever cooked from this book has been exceptional and this one is no exception.
By biscuits here I mean North American Biscuits. They are not cookies as in British Biscuits, but rather a buttery flaky, quick bread, very similar to scones.
What follows is a complete tutorial on how to make the best biscuits ever. They will always turn out if you follow these instructions!
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Preheat the oven to 450*F/232*C/gas mark3.5. Butter a cookie sheet. (Alternately you can use a 9-inch pie or cake dish if you want softer sides.)
Measure 2 cups/249g of the flour, the baking powder, sugar, salt and cream of tartar into a bowl and whisk well together. Drop in the cold butter. Set aside the remaining flour for a bit later.
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Cut the cold butter into the flour using a pastry blender, two forks, or two round bladed knives until the mixture resembles well-crumbled feta cheese with no pieces being larger than a small pea.
Make a deep well in the center of the flour mixture.
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Pour 3/4 cup (180ml) of the milk into the well, reserving the remainder of the milk. Stir with a rubber spatula, fork or spoon, using broad circular strokes to quickly pull the flour together into a dough.
Mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened and the sticky dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
If there is some flour remaining in the bottom of the bowl add some of the remaining milk by the TBS, using just enough to incorporate the remaining flour into the dough. If your dough is too wet, use more flour when shaping.
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Scatter some of the reserved flour onto a flat surface. Tip the dough onto it and scatter a bit more of the reserved flour on top. Pat the dough out to 1/3-inch/1/2-inch thickness.
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Pat the dough out to 1/3-inch/1/2-inch thickness.
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Fold dough in half, folding half of it back over itself.
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Repeat twice, leaving the dough to 1 inch thickness for cutting. Brush off any visible flour.
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Using a sharp and floured round 2 1/2-inch cutter, stamp out rounds using a sharp up and down tapping motion. Do not twist the cutter. Transfer the rounds to the prepared baking sheet/baking dish.
The scraps can be gathered together and recut, although to bear in mind these biscuits will be a bit tougher. Do try to get as many cuts as possible from the first stamping.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 6 minutes, rotate the pan 180 degrees, and bake for a further 4 to 8 minutes until the biscuits are light golden brown.
(Before rotating the pan, check to see if the bottoms are browning too quickly. If they are, slide another baking pan underneath to add insulation and slow down browning.)
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Remove from the oven and brush the tops with softened butter. (This isn't totally necessary, but it is very nice, and gives them a lovely buttery finish!)
Serve hot with your favorite accompaniments. Butter, jam, honey, etc.
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This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen (Marie Rayner). Any reposting or misuse is expressly prohibited without prior permission. If you are reading this elsewhere you can assume it is stolen content and can report it to myself: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thank you!
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If you like you can substitute some white vegetable shortening for half of the butter when putting these together. I just used all butter!
I was very pleased with the end results. Even the re-pat-cuts were tender and delicious!
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And just look at the lovely rise I got! I think the secret to a good rise is handling the dough very carefully. Try not to overhandle it or you will get tougher results.
Also don't twist the cutter when you are cutting them out. That can result in a lopsided biscuit.
The best biscuits are made with a delicate white winter wheat/soft wheat flour, not a bread flour, but an all-purpose flour. They are a close cousin to the English Scone, but do differ in some ways.
Having said that however, both are delicious, and I would never turn down either one!
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These are feathery and light with a nice golden-brown crust and crisp bottom, and tender flaky texture. In short, a little bite of heaven on earth!!
If you are wanting to try out some other biscuits, you can't go wrong with these:
MILE HIGH GREEK YOGURT BISCUITS - When it comes to flaky, biscuits don't get flakier than these Mile High Greek Yogurt Biscuits! The acid from the yogurt reacts in a positive way with the baking powder. The end result is a biscuit that is light as a cloud and filled with lots of flaky pockets.
CHEDDAR BACON & CHIVE BISCUITS - Cheddar, Bacon & Chive Biscuits are fabulously tasty, light, flakey, peppery, stuffed with rich strong cheddar and are beautiful served as an accompaniment to savory things like soups, stews, salads, etc. They are also very nice spread with butter and honey. Don't knock it til you try it!
Yield: 12
Biscuits Supreme
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 14 MinTotal time: 29 Min
An old recipe adapted from a very old Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. Rich, buttery and flaky biscuits. Delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (281g) plain all-purpose flour, unsifted and divided
- 1/2 TBS (5.618g) baking powder
- 2 tsp granulate sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup (115g) cold butter diced
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- softened butter for finishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450*F/232*C/gas mark3.5. Butter a cookie sheet. (Alternately you can use a 9-inch pie or cake dish if you want softer sides.)
- Measure 2 cups/249g of the flour, the baking powder, sugar, salt and cream of tartar into a bowl and whisk well together. Drop in the cold butter. Set aside the remaining flour for a bit later.
- Cut the cold butter into the flour using a pastry blender, two forks, or two round bladed knives until the mixture resembles well-crumbled feta cheese with no pieces being larger than a small pea.
- Make a deep well in the center of the flour mixture.
- Pour 3/4 cup (180ml) of the milk into the well, reserving the remainder of the milk. Stir with a rubber spatula, fork or spoon, using broad circular strokes to quickly pull the flour together into a dough. Mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened and the sticky dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- If there is some flour remaining in the bottom of the bowl add some of the remaining milk by the TBS, using just enough to incorporate the remaining flour into the dough. If your dough is too wet, use more flour when shaping.
- Scatter some of the reserved flour onto a flat surface. Tip the dough onto it and scatter a bit more of the reserved flour on top. Pat the dough out to 1/3-inch/1/2-inch thickness. Fold dough in half. Repeat twice, leaving the dough to 1 inch thickness for cutting. Brush off any visible flour.
- Using a sharp and floured round 2 1/2-inch cutter, stamp out rounds using a sharp up and down tapping motion. Do not twist the cutter. Transfer the rounds to the prepared baking sheet/baking dish. The scraps can be gathered together and recut, although to bear in mind these biscuits will be a bit tougher. Do try to get as many cuts as possible from the first stamping.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 6 minutes, rotate the pan 180* and bake for a further 4 to 8 minutes until the biscuits are light golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and brush the tops with softened butter.
- Serve hot with your favorite accompaniments.
Thanks very much for visiting today. Do come again!
Usually at the weekend, I like to pull the boat out a bit and bake us something nice for our breakfast. It could be muffins or scones, or even a nice tea bread or breakfast cake. Today I baked us this lovely Twisty Fruity Bread!
Its GIVEAWAY time! To celebrate the launch of my new book THE BEST OF BRITISH BAKING, I'm giving away a copy!
To enter for your chance to win, just leave a comment below in the comments section at the end of this blog post. Giveaway ends on Friday the 24th of December at 12 noon Atlantic Standard time and no entries after that time will be considered. The Winner will be announced later that day (the 24th December) just in time for Christmas!
If you haven't already ordered your copy you can find more about it and get one here: CLICK HERE
At the moment it is available instantly via Kindle, or you can pre-order a hard copy which will be available for salt on the 28th of December!
Thank you very much Sue. You made my day!!
Thanks so much Myra! You also made my day!!
I've also had some nice positive feedback from several colleagues of mine:
“Marie Rayner, former private chef, shares delicious British recipes for breads, cakes, biscuits, and scones. With helpful hints and photos that look mouthwatering throughout the book, you'll want to jump right in and bake all of the delicious recipes. I found favourite recipes from my childhood that brought back wonderful memories. Whether you are British or not, this book will be a fantastic addition to your cookery bookshelf.” —Linda Grant
“Out of hundreds of baking books out there, this one really stands out. The Best of British Baking will not only help people like myself who don't know much about baking, but it will also be an invaluable source of information for competent bakers. Marie brings a wealth of knowledge and baking ability—all in all, this is a book that everyone should own.” —Jan Bennett, food blogger at A Glug of Oil
This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and over only.
Entries must be received by Friday December 24th, 2021, at 12:00 Noon AST. One winner will be chosen at random from the comments left below prior to the contest closing, later on the same day, Friday December 24th, 2021.
No purchase necessary. Estimated retail value of the price is $12.99 usd. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or associated with Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to the owner of this Facebook page and not to Facebook.
TO enter just leave a comment below with a quick sentence on why you would like to have this book for yourself! Thank you!
GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED
We're usually starving by the time we get home from church on Sundays. We just don't do Sunday lunch in this house. By the time we get home from church, there's not really enough time on Sunday do one justice. We usually have Sunday Lunch on Saturday Night, then on Sunday we usually just have either leftovers, or something that I can quickly throw together, like beans on toast or scrambled eggs and toast, or something like that.
Once we are fed, I usually call my mom while Todd does the dishes. (I know I am a really lucky woman!) After that we settle in to watch some quiet telly together and then late in the afternoon or early evening, I will bake us a teatime treat.
It's usually something scrummy like rock cakes, or scones . . . something that we can enjoy eaten out of hand with a cold glass of milk or mug of Horlicks.
Today it was these wonderfully scrummy Strawberry Jam Swirls.
Beautifully puffed and buttery pastry . . . quite similar to a scone dough, and stogged full of gooey Strawberry Jam.
All swirled and then glazed with an egg wash and granulated sugar . . . oh my but these are soooo good.
You don't have to use Strawberry Preserves though . . . you can use whatever preserves strike your fancy . . . plum, raspberry, blueberry, apricot . . . even orange marmalade! If you are a marmalade lover like me, that is superdy duperdy scrummilicious!!!
You can even get really fancy and sprinkle the jam with some chopped toasted walnuts or pecans before you roll them up. Seriously delicious.
Seriously . . . trust me on this.
*Strawberry Jam Swirls*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe
A buttery pastry swirled with strawberry jam, rolled, sliced and then baked until the pastry is all puffed and the jam all gooey scrumdiddlyumptious! You can use any flavour of jam you wish, or even marmalade. We love them with strawberry jam though!
3 ounces of butter, diced (6 TBS)
16 ounces of plain flour (4 1/2 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 ounces of caster sugar (a scant 1/2 cup)
2 medium free range eggs
300ml of milk (1 1/4 cups)
2 generous dessertspoons of strawberry preserves
1 small free range egg, beaten for glazing
2 TBS granulated sugar for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Butter a baking sheet really well. Set aside.
Measure the flour into a large bowl. Whisk in the baking powder, salt and caster sugar. Drop in the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Beat the eggs and milk together. Make a well in the dry ingredients and then pour in about 2/3 of the egg/milk mixture. Mix it in with a fork, until you get a soft dough, adding more milk/egg if necessary. You will havea fairly sticky dough and may not need more.
Lightly flour your work surface. Dump the dough onto it and dust with flour. Roll or pat out into a rectangle about 12 inches in length, 7 inches wide and 1/2 inch tall. Spread with the strawberry preserves covering completely. With the long side facing you, roll into a roll, rolling the pastry away from you. Cut into 12 slices and place each slice onto the buttered baking sheet, leaving some space in between.
Brush with some beaten egg and then sprinkle with the granulated sugar.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling. Lovely eaten warm with a nice cold glass of milk!
I am sharing another favorite Christmas cookie with you today. It just wouldn't be Christmas without some of these delicious Walnut Cherry Slices on the cookie tray!
Short, crisp, buttery and studded with plenty of red and green candied cherries and toasted walnuts. No, you are not going blind. There are no walnuts in my cookies.
I left them out this time because my family here in Nova Scotia are not overly fond of them! I added extra cherries in their place!
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These cookies are very much a holiday tradition here in the Maritimes, and something which I grew up with. They have a lovely texture very similar to a short bread cookie with lots of bits of sweet cherries in them.
I always try to use both red and green cherries, which really gives them a festive look! I would never ice these as it would make them far too sweet for my liking. I do, personally, like toasted walnuts in them, but . . . you know.
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You can also keep it wrapped in the refrigerator for a week or so, ready to slice and bake as and when you want them.
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They really make a beautiful show on the Christmas Cookie tray, especially if you use both red and green cherries. In terms of ease, these are quite simply one of my favorite cookies to bake.
But then I am a huge fan of the slice and bake cookie. My Washboard Cookies are a slice and bake cookie as are my Mom's Butterscotch Cookies.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE WALNUT CHERRY SLICES
Very simple baking ingredients. You probably have everything but the glace cherries and those can easily be purchased at the shops.
- 1 cup (240g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (130g) sifted icing sugar
- 1 large free-range egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 (315g) cups plain all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (116g) chopped toasted walnuts (my family is not overly fond of walnuts, so I just add extra cherries)
- 2 cups (450g) chopped candied cherries
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Glace cherries (also known as candied cherries) are fresh cherries that have been simmered in a thick sugar syrup until they are "candied." Cherries have been preserved in this way since the 14th century.
They can be found in the grocery store along with any other candied fruit that might be used in making fruit cakes.
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If you are using walnuts (and I love them with walnuts myself), do toast them. You will find the flavor of the nuts is so much better when they are toasted.
You can either do this in a dry skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or you can spread them out on a baking sheet and toast them in a moderate oven (350*F/180*C) for 5 to 10 minutes. Leave them to cool before using.
Keep a watch on them as they can go from perfect to burnt in seconds.
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As with any ingredients you are going to use in baking, it is better that they all be at room temperature. This ensures a much more even and reliable result. This goes for butter, eggs, milk, flour, etc.
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HOW TO MAKE WALNUT CHERRY SLICES
Nothing could be easier.
Cream the butter and icing sugar together in a bowl for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until well incorporated
Beat in the flour until well combined, and then fold in the chopped cherries and nuts (if using). Use a wooden spoon to stir these through the cookie dough and be gentle so as not to break them up too much.
Turn the dough out onto a sheet of non-stick baking or wax paper. Shape into a long log, about 18 inches in length. Roll the log in the paper, twisting the ends tightly. Wrap again in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for one hour if you are planning to bake on the day. You can refrigerate the cookie dough for 3-5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. (If frozen, remove dough from freezer and allow to sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes and continue with the following steps.)
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When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 325*F/165*C/ gas mark 3. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and set it aside.
Unwrap the cookie log. Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
Lay the slices onto the prepared baking sheet leaving an inch of space in between cookies. Bake for 12 minutes or until the bottom edge of the cookies has turned golden brown.
Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container.
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These really are one of my favorite Christmas cookies. Don't be tempted to use maraschino cherries to make these. They are not the same as glace cherries. In the US if you are having a problem finding them a very popular brand is Paradise, and these can be found online on Amazon.
Don't worry about using them up. I have lots of recipes on here where you will be able to use them, and they are not all Christmas recipes.
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Some of those recipes are:
ROCKY ROAD BROWNIES - Rocky Road Brownies are a glorious amalgamation of dense and fudgy, filled with toasted nuts, candied cherries and loads of chocolate flavor. Topped with a fudgy icing and mini marshmallows.
CHERRY AND VANILLA SCONES - Buttery and light and perfect split and filled with jam and cream. Delicious served with a nice hot cup of tea, herbal or otherwise.
Yield: 30 cookies
Walnut Cherry Slices
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 12 MinInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 27 M
You can prepare the dough for these delicious Christmas cookies ahead of time and freeze. (Up to a month in advance.) When ready to bake, just slice and bake until done. It wouldn't be Christmas without these! Plan ahead as the dough for these needs to chill for at least an hour. (I prefer overnight, myself.)
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (130g) sifted icing sugar
- 1 large free-range egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 (315g) cups plain all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (116g) chopped toasted walnuts (my family is not overly fond of walnuts, so I just add extra cherries)
- 2 cups (450g) chopped candied cherries
Instructions
- Cream the butter and icing sugar together in a bowl for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until well incorporated
- Beat in the flour until well combined, and then fold in the chopped cherries and nuts (if using). Use a wooden spoon to stir these through the cookie dough and be gentle so as not to break them up too much.
- Turn the dough out onto a sheet of non-stick baking or wax paper. Shape into a long log, about 18 inches in length. Roll the log in the paper, twisting the ends tightly. Wrap again in plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for one hour if you are planning to bake on the day. You can refrigerate the cookie dough for 3-5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. (If frozen, remove dough from freezer and allow to sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes and continue with the following steps.)
- When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 325*F/165*C/ gas mark 3. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Unwrap the cookie log. Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
- Lay the slices onto the prepared baking sheet leaving an inch of space in between cookies. Bake for 12 minutes or until the bottom edge of the cookies has turned golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Store in an airtight container.
Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
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