Cinnamon Scones on a Rainy Day

By definition, that would mean here in Seattle I made cinnamon scones nearly every day. However, if we get really specific we see that while it's constantly drizzly, not many days are absolutely rainy, as today is- The kind of weather that makes you want to curl up in your house, stay in your sweats, drink tea, and eat something fragrant and carb-filled.

Cinnamon scones popped into my head, and presently I was working on this recipe. I made a few changes; I used agave nectar instead of honey. Also, I learned a trick at a B&B in Ireland to not spend time cutting the butter into a scone. Melting it in the microwave and mixing it into the flour is really enough for the desired texture. Before you put me in stocks and stone me as a baking heretic try it yourself. Biscuits yes, always cut in the butter for a flaky biscuit, but scones? Meh. The glaze, in my opinion, is not necessary but certainly makes the scones more of a treat.

Now, if you'll excuse me. I have a date with some Irish Breakfast tea.

Nice Use of "Nom Noms"

For your Christmas enjoyment...

www.allculinaryschools.com has a very festive, very informative "Brief History of Christmas Cookies."

If theres one thing I learned.

At pastry school, like most schools I'm sure, we learned our trade by taking our projects apart into separate components. Also, like mastering other talents, my trade can be broken down into a few basic skills that are repeated. Once one understands these elements, the idea of baking and creating amazing pastries is much less daunting.

Is that confusing? Let me give you an example: Boston cream pie is my husband's favorite cake. It consists of layers of vanilla cake, vanilla pastry cream, whipped cream, and chocolate ganache. Each of these ingredients can be combined differently and slightly altered to make other delicious desserts:

Vanilla pastry cream = vanilla pudding or cream puff filling

Whipped cream = easy topping for pie, fruit, or hot chocolate

Chocolate ganache = chocolate truffles or tart filling

Vanilla cake = the base for marble cake, strawberry shortcake, pineapple upsidedown cake, etc...

My point is this- everything gets used and reused to make endless varieties of desserts. Not only is this economical, but it's time saving in a kitchen.

For this very reason I love this cookie recipe from Southern Living that I got from a friend. It starts with the "Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie," which alone is good enough. To make it even better, it has variations that start with the same basic cookie dough which include anything from peanut butter to oatmeal raisin.

Last night when I baked some, I split the raw dough in half. To part I added basic chocolate chips, and the other I put in coconut and white chocolate.

You don't have to stick to only the suggestions in this recipe, either. Try using your own ideas!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels

Preparation

Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until blended.

Combine flour, soda, and salt in a small bowl; gradually add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in morsels. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets.

Bake at 350° for 8 to 14 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies: Decrease salt to 1/2 teaspoon. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter with butter and sugars. Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons. Proceed as directed. (Dough will look a little moist.)

Oatmeal-Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies: Reduce flour to 2 cups. Add 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats to dry ingredients and 1 cup raisins with morsels. Proceed as directed.

Pecan-Chocolate Chip Cookies: Add 1 1/2 cups chopped, toasted pecans with morsels. Proceed as directed.

Almond-Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies: Reduce morsels to 1 cup. Add 1/2 cup slivered toasted almonds and 1 cup almond toffee bits. Proceed as directed.

Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies: Substitute 1 (12-ounce) package dark chocolate morsels for semisweet chocolate morsels. Proceed as directed.

Chunky Cherry-Double Chip Cookies: Microwave 1 tablespoon water and 1/2 cup dried cherries in a glass bowl at HIGH 30 seconds, stirring once. Let stand 10 minutes. Substitute 1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chunks for morsels. Add 1 cup white chocolate morsels, 1/3 cup slivered toasted almonds, and cherries with chocolate chunks. Proceed as directed.

Coconut-Macadamia Chunk Cookies: Substitute 1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chunks for morsels. Add 1 cup white chocolate morsels, 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut, and 1/2 cup macadamia nuts with chocolate chunks. Proceed as directed.

Married to the Baker

Hello, I thought I would take this opportunity to stow away an entry on this blog. It's something I've been thinking about for quite a while, but just didn't get around to it.

You see, I have been reading my wife's entries in this blog for the past few years and like you have enjoyed reading about her forays into all different types of dishes and deserts. However, I thought you all wouldn't mind a break, and hopefully a bit of humor...

So what is it like being married to a baker and general food lover? Well, here is what Naka's adventures in cooking have meant to me:

Culinary School:

The baking assignments in school always resulted in a box full of pastries, bread, cookies, fill in the blank coming home on one or more nights each week. This seemed great at first, but after gaining 20 lbs. I decided that taking the "assignments" to work to share was the best strategy.

Planting a Garden:

Great idea, and aesthetically pleasing. What is less understood is how physically taxing it is to get all of the soil for a 2' by 8' from a local hardware store into our trunk and then out and up the hill to our back yard.

Baking for things like wedding showers and brunches:

This usually produces reject baking items or scraps that a spouse can munch on. However, the prime stuff is left in plain sight to tempt you while at the same time you know you can't have any of the good stuff. Bittersweet :)

Experimenting with new recipes

9 times out of 10, this is pure goodness. Being able to come home to a variety of dinners keeps a hungry spouse like me happy. I also like variety in food and enjoy almost every type of food, so this is a real benefit.

Having a wife understand what good food is and wanting to buy the best quality:

Special cheeses
Organic, free range, grass fed, etc.

=EXPENSIVE

Well, that's it for me. Enjoy the blog...