Since starting a blog was, until recently, a foreign
concept to me, I felt that I should also break the ice by tackling a new recipe
as well. Rip the bandage off. Go big or go home. Balls to the wall, and all the
jazz. That may be a tad over the top when discussing the topic of baking, but
I’ve always had a flair for the dramatics.
So for all these reasons, I wanted to make my first post an
impressive one... but is that not the aim of all new bloggers?
I decided if I was
going to attempt a new recipe, it was going to be one with a flavour I knew
would be a solid choice. Enter MAPLE.
Oh maple. Where would we be without your complex sweet
deliciousness and seemly endless pairing combinations? You can do no wrong! Plus,
being as though the Winter Olympic Games just came to a close, I'm feeling all patriotic,
and being Canadian (3rd place in the medal standing - booyeah!) immediately makes me think of our Nation’s unofficial – yet
officially amazing – flavour.
When I first read this recipe in Flour: A Baker's Collection Of Spectacular Recipes, I thought it was a great blending of
delicious flavours. And who doesn’t love a good scone?
However, as much as I appreciate the hard work and time that goes into developing a great recipe, I almost never execute one exactly as written. I normally tweak a thing or two. Substituting one ingredient for another, adding another flavour. My logic being, food is an individual experience, much like everything else, so why not tailor it?
So I present to you both the list of ingredients I used
as well as notes on how I diverted from the original recipe to create these
delicious morsels of comfort.
Oatmeal-Maple Scones
1 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 ¼ old-fashioned rolled oats
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ baking soda
¼ salt
½ cup pecan halves (I used walnuts)
½ cup raisins (I used dried cranberries)
½ cup cold, unsalted butter
½ cup cold heavy cream
½ cup maple syrup
1 cold egg
1 cup icing sugar
3 teaspoons maple syrup
1-2 teaspoons water (as needed, to achieve syrup-like
thickness)
Directions
·
Pre-heat oven to 350
degrees (depending on your oven, the temperature may vary slightly. With my
oven, I always have to pump the temperature up about 10 degrees; so I baked
these at 360 degrees. But you know your oven best...so adjust accordingly)
·
In a large bowl, mix together
dry ingredients - flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pecans (or walnuts),
and raisins (or cranberries)
·
Next, cut in the butter. My
method for “cutting” butter into baked goods is simple. Really cold butter +
box grater = perfectly distributed bits of buttery goodness. Try it, and you’ll
be converted!
·
In a small bowl, whisk together
the heavy cream, maple syrup, and egg until thoroughly combined
·
Slowly pour the wet
ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until the dough just comes together.
The dough should be sticky (I had to add a touch more cream to achieve this consistency,
so play it by ear)
·
Drop roughly 1/3 cup scoops
of dough (roughly hockey-puck sized) onto a foil-lined baking sheet, about 2
inches apart
·
Bake for 30-40 minutes (depending
on your oven), until golden brown on top
·
Transfer to wire rack to
cool
·
While the scones are baking
or cooling, mix up the maple glaze
·
In a small bowl, whisk the icing
sugar, maple syrup, and enough water to make a thick syrup consistency
·
Once the scones have cool
for about 10-15 minutes, drizzle the glaze over the tops (extra points for artistic flair!)
· Final Step (most important!): Dig in!!
The scones are best on the day they are made (better
still, 30 minutes to an hour after they come out of the oven!), but they will
hold up for a few days; however I doubt that will be an issue!
So..first post down! I hope you all try this recipe, and
enjoy it as much as I did!
More to come :)
More to come :)
Until then...Bake, Batter, and Roll!
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