Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones

Another scone recipe! Sorry, but I'm loving these scones. Flavored with pumpkin and chocolate, these scones are more decadent -- more of a dessert scone. They are still quite good with tea and butter, or a glass of milk! The chocolate chips could easily be replaced with some pecans or dried cranberries, if chocolate isn't your thing.

Makes about 8 medium scones.

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
6 tbsp salted butter (or used unsalted and add 1/2 tsp salt)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp plain yogurt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl. Cut in the butter, mashing it in with a pastry cutter or your fingers. (This step can also be done with a food processor).

In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, egg, vanilla, and yogurt, whisking until slightly foamy. Pour the mixture into the flour-butter mix, and combine well. Add the chocolate chips, if desired.

Roll the dough onto a cutting board, and cut into triangles or biscuit shapes. Spray a baking sheet or use a silicone liner, placing the scones about 1 inch apart. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until very slightly brown.

Enjoy warm!

Cherry Vanilla Almond Scones

In honor of Kate and William's nuptials (and of course, I got up at 2:30 AM to watch!), I baked up some cherry vanilla almond scones. I'm not much of a scone person, but I have to say, these are amazing! So tart and soft!

Makes about 8-10 scones, depending on how big your cutter.

Ingredients:

1 stick (8 tbsp) salted butter (you can use unsalted and just add 1/2 tsp of salt)
2 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 egg
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar. Cut in the butter, and using your hands or a pastry cutter, knead in the butter until the dough resembles crumbs. A food processor might also be used for this step.

In a separate bowl, mix together the yogurt, egg, and flavor extracts, whisking well. Dump this mixture into the flour and butter mixture, and mix until the dough begins to pull together. Mix in the cherries.

Flour a cutting board to roll the dough. Roll out the dough, and using a biscuit cutter, cut out your scones! You can also simply cut them into triangles, but every scone that I had in England was biscuit shaped, so that's how I like them!

Grease a cookie sheet (or use a silicone liner, like me -- my favorite kitchen gadget!), and place the scones on it, spacing about an inch between each. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tops start to brown slightly.

Serve with hot English Breakfast tea and clotted cream!

Don't like cherry scones? Want chocolate? My friend Catherine has a great recipe for chocolate chip scones!

Sick...again

For the sixth time since moving to the West coast, I am sick. I'm not sure why my system is so weak this winter. I can only attribute it to new germs and environment. Sigh. Six colds in 4.5 months seems excessive to me, and the hypochondriac in me is saying that I should see a doctor.

I think that I need to just stay home for awhile.

10 years....

I don't get too concerned about New Year, at least I try not to. I want this year to be the year that I (finally) hit some of my goals and get some things done. I've been mucking about for far too long. I want to finally finish that screenplay and novel, get the finished works published. I hope that this is the year for that

But I want to look at where I've been as well as where I'm going. 10 years ago, it was a new millennium. I was preparing to move to Baltimore, and on to greater things. I lived in North Carolina, and worked at a bar. I could not fathom ever having the opportunities and experiences that I found when I moved to a real city (I know that this is corny, but really, I was culturally starved).

I switched jobs, a lot. I worked as an editor, a writer, and everything in between. I was responsible, and trusted.

I traveled a lot. I traveled abroad. By myself. I went from barely seeing a handful of states and no real cities to traveling to many countries and cities. My first trip was to Paris and Germany, in 2001, followed by Canada, England, then Czech Republic, and finally Japan this summer. I visited many sites in the US as well, like New York and LA.

I learned to cook, pretty well I think. I went from a jarred sauce spaghetti kind of cook to making and assembling culinary delights of all types. I love to cook. I make excellent soups and bread. With cooking, my palette increased greatly, with the understanding of how food flavors intensify and complement one another when they are combined.

I learned to host parties. I've had parties that included me cooking and preparing for as many as 25 people, with themes like Dia de los Muertos to Chips and Dips of the World to Chili and wine cookoffs.

I became, then resigned from, vegetarianism. It was, besides cooking, the most broadening for my palette. With meat no longer an option, I had to learn to like many other foods.

I had lots of dates. I made lots of interesting and wonderful friends. I watched them go through good and bad, just as they watched me.

I had massages, acupuncture, and went on anti-anxiety meds. I acknowledged and became much more proactive on health issues.

I was disappointed and appalled many times over.

I became an aunt. I became a sister-in-law. I became a wife.

I was very sick. I was in the hospital.

I moved no less than 7 times, which is less than the previous decade.

I moved cross country.

I was in a few shows. I danced, wrote, acted, and produced.

I bought lots of vegetables.

I ate a lot of sushi.

And the weekends pass so quickly...

Sickness, lots of homework, two birthday parties, and an injury...a very full weekend!


I stayed home from work on Friday with the 4th virus/cold of this season. I've been sick more this year than any other. Perhaps the weather was never cold enough to kill a lot of the germs floating around. I'm ready for some great weather and healthy living! Much soup and Gatorade was consumed, and I slept for 14 hours on Friday.


Saturday I still felt a little shaky, but I managed to bake a cake (chocolate with raspberry filling, and it was yummy!) and attend a birthday party, as well as ship a few Etsy orders. As always, some homework was finished for good measure.


Sunday was homework day, and finally, I felt healthy enough to think straight and get everything finished. However, there was another cake to be baked (lemon with raspberry filling this time). A little detour in the plans, as Stephen suffered a blow to the head while doing yardwork, so a visit to the emergency room later, he is fine, at home resting. On the way home, we picked up raspberries for the cake, and some delicious Typhoo tea at Old Mill in Ellicott City.

Off to another birthday dinner, then home for tea and homework, turning everything in on time, and (I hope) correctly worked. Work feels so relaxing now.