Cream Scones

Lately, I’ve been on a major chocolate chip cookie kick. I have this one particular recipe (this one) that I’ve been making for what feels like forever now. I guess you could say that it’s become my “go-to,” and as much success as I’ve had with it, I’ve grown a bit restless.  There’s so many recipes out there, and I know I haven’t even scratched the surface as far as testing them all! So I’ve been experimenting with chocolate chip cookies a lot in the last few weeks. I’ve made many, many batches and tested tons of recipes, and then one day my boyfriend interrupted my chocolate chip cookie baking spree and suggested that I make something else. Literally, anything else. Anything that wasn’t a chocolate chip cookie. Needless to say, I got the hint. 

I decided to make a batch of scones to win his stomach back (because I still need taste testers, obviously). Scones are one of his favorite baked treats, so I was confident that they would do the trick—all  I had to do was find the perfect recipe. Thanks to my chocolate chip cookie baking mania, I had found myself browsing through cookbooks I didn’t even know I had or hadn’t looked through in a while, and blogs that I had sadly forgotten about, all in search of the perfect cookie recipe. In the process, I stumbled across a lot of recipes that looked like they were worth bookmarking, and this recipe from the Violet Bakery Cookbook was one of them.  I was immediately drawn to these particular recipe because of the way Claire Ptak described the scones in her headnote. “A bit like an American shortcake” and “extra-rich.” I needed no more convincing than that! 

Cinnamon Chocolate Chunk Scones

I usually try to have some kind of interesting story to write about in every blog post, and for the most part, I'm typically able to come up with something that I hope is worth reading.  And then, I'll try to somehow connect that interesting little story to whatever recipe it is that I'm posting.  Sometimes the two flow together seamlessly, like when I'm sharing a favorite family recipe.  It's like the words just come out and I breathe a sigh of relief when I hit publish.  Other times I'll finish writing my post in a stream of consciousness kind of situation, get to the end, and think to myself, "well...I guess that kind of makes sense?"  When that happens I usually hope that the pretty photos in the post make up for the iffy written content in the post.  And then, there are also times like these. Times when I just really wanted a scone, so I made them, and here they are.

I hadn't made scones in a really long time, and over the weekend, I just had this inexplicable craving for them.  I hardly ever eat scones (shame on me), but last weekend, I couldn't let my craving for them just pass by.  I needed to remedy the situation, and it needed to be done in a manner that was simple and effortless.  Scones are simple on their own, but for the mix-ins, the rule was the same as always.  I was not going to the supermarket, and I could only use things already in my pantry.  I've gotten into the (good) habit of always having a big bar of dark chocolate on hand, and I was excited to see that I still had a decent amount of mini cinnamon chips from sister (previously used in these snickerdoodle cheesecake muffins).  Cinnamon chocolate chunk scones were happening!

Lavender and Lemon Scones

Mother's Day is tomorrow!  I hope everyone has something special planned for their mamas, grandmas, aunts, cousins, and all the other special ladies that we would be lost without.  If you're still unsure about what to do for this important holiday, or if, *gasp* you somehow forgot about it (shame on you!), don't worry.  I have you covered. All you need are a few minutes of your precious day, some dried culinary lavender, a lot of butter, and some hot tea and you'll be in the clear for Mother's Day.  You may end up being a bit covered in flour, but that'll be completely irrelevant once you have a taste of these lavender and lemon scones. 

Scones are one of those treats that everyone just seems to love- I don't think I've ever met anyone who would turn down a buttery and flaky scone.  They're simple to make and are a really wonderful treat to enjoy for breakfast, brunch, or afternoon tea.  In honor of Mother's Day, I decided to keep these little scones nice and simple and dainty.  I wanted them to be on the slightly sweet side and to have a pretty and delicate flavor.  Lavender seemed to be the perfect solution- it's subtle, floral, pretty, and sophisticated...and soapy.  This wasn't my first time cooking with culinary lavender, but it was the first time I was actually happy with the results of my lavender-infused confections.  Last summer, I bought a big bag of culinary lavender at the farmer's market, with my little heart set on making a batch of rich and creamy lavender and earl gray ice cream.  It sounds like a perfect flavor combination, but I miscalculated the amount of lavender I needed to use in the custard, and I ended up with a beautifully creamy and soapy tasting ice cream.  It was an unfortunate failure that left me nervous about working with lavender again, but I knew that it would be the perfect flavor to use for my delicate little scones.  Fortunately, like most dried herbs, lavender has a very long shelf life, so when I went back to that little brown satchel holding my dried lavender buds, they were as fragrant as the day I bought them so many months ago.  Having a little restraint when mixing in the lavender proved to be the key to giving these scones a delightfully delicate and sophisticated flavor to them. 

Apple Cheddar Scones

Well, to say that I'm late on this post is a bit of an understatement.  I share a photo of these ridiculous apple cheddar scones on Sunday, and I don't publish the photos and recipe until FRIDAY?  Jeez, what is wrong with me. I'll be honest and say that this week I've been suffering from a bit of writer's block, some heavy congestion, and an extra heavy case of the sleepies, so just bear with me a bit if this post isn't quite up to my normal standards.  My writing may be falling a bit on the flat end today, but these scones sure are anything but flat (corny line #1).  It's true though.  These scones are perhaps my new favorite recipe, and while I'm a few days late in posting it, I'm just in time for you to add these amazing scones to your list of weekend baking endeavors.  Seriously, these scones are just begging to be made ASAP.

I remember that there used to be a time during which I didn't really know what a scone was.  I mean, I sort of knew what they were, and I knew that things called "scones" existed, but aside from that, I was clueless.  I wasn't sure if they were a type of bread or a biscuit, and it didn't help that scones often came in different shapes, so it was tough to assume which was a "real" scone.  Is a round scone less sconey than a trianglular, wedge shaped scone?  I'd like to think not.  But in any case, while I don't remember what kind of scone I had as my first "real"/"official" scone, I do know that since then, scones have easily become one of my most favorite treats to enjoy.  The fact that making scones from scratch is so simple only adds to their awesomeness.  If you've never made a batch of scones yourself, what are you waiting for?!  You've been missing out if you haven't attempted to make scones yet.  Trust me. 

Cheddar Jalapeño Scones

For some reason, it seems to be getting colder and colder in New York.  It doesn't matter that it's technically spring, and that we're approaching the end of April and that school is almost over and that finals are coming up (omg) and that it's spring...oh wait, I had said that one already.  The fact of the matter is...it's cold.  It's cold and rainy and gray.  Normally, I kinda like these sort of days, because I'm definitely into wearing sweatpants and watching a movie wrapped up underneath a blanket.  I think that sounds like a fantastic idea just about all the time.  But I mean, come on.  I did enough of that during the winter.  It's spring; where is my sunshine!?

Until the weather decides to cooperate with me for a bit and warm up and make the clouds go away, here is yet another delicious oven-required baked recipe.  I mean, you might as well turn your ovens on and put them to good use when the weather isn't exactly ideal.  I want to take advantage of as much baking as I can, because I don't know about you, but I certainly get just a bit lazy about baking when it's summer...I just never want to deal with unnecessary heat! Speaking of heat though...here's some heat I'm ready to deal with all the time...in the form of a cheddar jalapeño scone, of course.   

Scones truly are one of my favorite breakfast treats to enjoy from time to time.  They're just so flaky, buttery, and delicious, and there's really only a handful of things that could possibly be better than breaking open a scone that's just been taken out of the oven and then adding just a dab of butter to top off the scone.  I'm being completely serious.  This really is one of the greatest things ever, don't even try to convince me otherwise.

Cranberry Cream Scones

I have actually been doing pretty well on my goal to eat breakfast every morning; I have yet to miss a single day!  Yes, I know that it hasn't even been two weeks into the year yet, so it's probably too early for me to be declaring this some sort of victory or accomplishment, but I'm going to ignore that fact.  Eating breakfast everyday is a big deal.  I've been having scrambled eggs with some Greek yogurt on most days, with oatmeal on other days, so I've been making attempts to be somewhat healthy.  But then I decided to make scones.  I just couldn't help myself. I was craving buttery scone goodness.  So I made these.  And then I worked out. Obviously had to keep some sort of balance.  At least I've been able to keep the eating breakfast resolution going!  Scones are totally perfect for breakfast, so these work!  

Blueberry and White Chocolate Scones

I really like scones. Like…I really just like scones.  They’re so simple, and not fussy.  They’re just scones.  Simple and uncomplicated…perfect for breakfast.  A plain old raisin scone served warm with a little bit of butter seems like such a perfect way to begin an uncomplicated and carefree day.

I was clearly just not in that frame of mind when I made these scones.  Replace the raisins with blueberries for more excitement and add white chocolate chunks for a more decadent feel and you have yourself quite a special scone…mmm, so good.  They’re slightly fussy without being overly pretentious, so this recipe worked for me.  I wanted to be just a bit more adventurous for breakfast, and these scones did the trick.