Recipes for Love

Orange Cranberry Scones

Bake yourself and your family a nice treat for the weekend with this week’s recipe!  I love to throw tea parties, and I love to experiment with new recipes, however every party I ever throw always features these scones.  Simply said, they are the best!  Simple to make, and extremely tasty, they always get rave reviews.  Serve with your favorite jam, cream, or lemon curd.

Cranberry Orange Scones

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup chilled buttermilk
• Optional:  milk & superfine sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda into large bowl. Mix in orange peel. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in dried cranberries. Gradually add buttermilk, tossing with fork until moist clumps form. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead briefly to bind dough, about 4 turns. Split dough in half, and form each half into a 1-inch-thick round.  Cut each into 8 wedges.  Cut into 8 wedges. Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.  Optional – brush tops with milk and sprinkle lightly with sugar (add a nice crunch and makes them look pretty!).  Bake until tops of scones are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let stand on baking sheet 10 minutes. Serve scones warm or at room temperature.

Bake yourself and your family a nice treat for the weekend with this week’s recipe!  I love to throw tea parties, and I love to experiment with new recipes, however every party I ever throw always features these scones.  Simply said, they are the best!  Simple to make, and extremely tasty, they always get rave reviews.  Serve with your favorite jam, cream, or lemon curd.

Cranberry Orange Scones

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup chilled buttermilk
• Optional:  milk & superfine sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda into large bowl. Mix in orange peel. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in dried cranberries. Gradually add buttermilk, tossing with fork until moist clumps form. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead briefly to bind dough, about 4 turns. Split dough in half, and form each half into a 1-inch-thick round.  Cut each into 8 wedges.  Cut into 8 wedges. Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.  Optional – brush tops with milk and sprinkle lightly with sugar (add a nice crunch and makes them look pretty!).  Bake until tops of scones are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let stand on baking sheet 10 minutes. Serve scones warm or at room temperature.

Homemade French Toast

For many of you, school has started up again, and if you are like me, you find yourself rushed to get out the door on time (no matter where you’re going!). Breakfast time often suffers, and although I am not at all a fan of eating on the run, I do concede that eating on the go is better than not eating at all! This week we have been enjoying the very quick and tasty meal of French Toast. Save yourself the expense (not to mention preservatives!) of store-bought frozen waffles or toast, and make your own! You’ll find it surprisingly easy. Here’s what it takes:

Eggs
Milk
Cinnamon
French bread or a loaf Texas Toast

French Toast is very forgiving, and measurements do not need to be perfect. In general, 2 large eggs, about ¼ cup of milk, and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon whisked well together will make about a half a loaf of bread’s worth of French Toast. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat, and brush on a light layer of vegetable oil. Dredge each slice of bread in the egg mixture (both sides), and place on the skillet. You can cook several at once. Cook for about 2 minutes or until light brown and toasty, then flip. When that side is nice and toasty, remove to a plate. Keep cooking more bread until your egg mixture is all used up.

For freezing, separate the cooked, cooled slices with waxes paper, place in a freezer bag, and put in the freezer. When you need a quick breakfast, simply remove a couple of slices from the freezer and pop in the toaster. We like to spread on a little butter and maple syrup, and place two slices together like a sandwich. Easy to eat on the go!

For many of you, school has started up again, and if you are like me, you find yourself rushed to get out the door on time (no matter where you’re going!). Breakfast time often suffers, and although I am not at all a fan of eating on the run, I do concede that eating on the go is better than not eating at all! This week we have been enjoying the very quick and tasty meal of French Toast. Save yourself the expense (not to mention preservatives!) of store-bought frozen waffles or toast, and make your own! You’ll find it surprisingly easy. Here’s what it takes:

Eggs
Milk
Cinnamon
French bread or a loaf Texas Toast

French Toast is very forgiving, and measurements do not need to be perfect. In general, 2 large eggs, about ¼ cup of milk, and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon whisked well together will make about a half a loaf of bread’s worth of French Toast. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat, and brush on a light layer of vegetable oil. Dredge each slice of bread in the egg mixture (both sides), and place on the skillet. You can cook several at once. Cook for about 2 minutes or until light brown and toasty, then flip. When that side is nice and toasty, remove to a plate. Keep cooking more bread until your egg mixture is all used up.

For freezing, separate the cooked, cooled slices with waxes paper, place in a freezer bag, and put in the freezer. When you need a quick breakfast, simply remove a couple of slices from the freezer and pop in the toaster. We like to spread on a little butter and maple syrup, and place two slices together like a sandwich. Easy to eat on the go!