Blueberry Scones

I am so ecstatic about how this recipe turned out, because it’s essentially the first pastry that I’ve made that actually came out well! These scones had the best texture, and were even better than those yummy ones you can get at Starbucks! This is a recipe I’ll make again and again, enjoy!



Mia enjoying a piece of scone. =)



Blueberry Scones

Cooks Note:

It’s crucial that you don’t over-work the dough…you actually want to work with it as little as possible. Be careful when working with the butter, it should be frozen solid before grating. Also, don’t freak out that this recipe calls for 2 sticks of butter; you will actually only use 10 tablespoons of it. Frozen berries work just as well as fresh ones, but don’t defrost them. If you’re feeling adventuresome substitute blueberries for an equal amount of raspberries, strawberries, or blackberries.

Ingredients:

1 C unsalted butter (2 sticks), frozen whole (see note above)

1 1/2 C fresh blueberries

1/2 C whole milk

1/2 C sour cream

2 C unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for work surface

1/2 C sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling

2 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1/2 t table salt

1 t grated lemon zest

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425° F.

Score at the 4 tablespoon mark each stick of butter, and remove half the wrapper from each stick. Grate unwrapped ends on large holes of box grater (you should grate total of 8 tablespoons). Place grated butter in freezer until needed. Melt 2 tablespoons of remaining ungrated butter and set aside. Save remaining 6 tablespoons butter for another use. Place blueberries in freezer until needed.

The scored butter

The grated butter

Whisk together milk and sour cream in medium bowl; refrigerate until needed. Whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in medium bowl. Add frozen butter to flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.

The flour mixture with the butter tossed in.

Add milk mixture to flour mixture; fold with spatula until just combined. With rubber spatula, transfer dough to liberally floured work surface. Dust surface of dough with flour; with floured hands, knead dough 6 to 8 times, until it just holds together in ragged ball, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking.

The milk and flour mixture combined.

The kneaded dough.

Roll dough into approximate 12-inch square. Fold dough into thirds like a business letter, using bench scraper or metal spatula to release dough if it sticks to countertop. Lift short ends of dough and fold into thirds again to form approximate 4-inch square. Transfer dough to plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in freezer 5 minutes.

My attempt at a 12-inch square.

Dough folded into thirds.

Dough folded into thirds again and ready for the freezer.

Transfer dough to floured work surface and roll into approximate 12-inch square again. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over surface of dough, then press down so they are slightly embedded in dough. Using bench scraper or thin metal spatula, loosen dough from work surface. Roll dough, pressing to form tight log. Lay seam-side down and press log into 12 by 4-inch rectangle. Using sharp, floured knife, cut rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet.

Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes (if you can wait that long) before serving.

The dough ready for the oven.

To Make Ahead:
After placing the scones on the baking sheet, either refrigerate them overnight or freeze. When ready to bake, for refrigerated scones, heat oven to 425 degrees and follow directions in step 6. For frozen scones, heat oven to 375 degrees, follow directions in step 6, and extend cooking time to 25 to 30 minutes.

Makes 8 Scones

Source: America’s Test Kitchen

I’m linking this post up at:
Metamorphosis Monday
Menu Plan Monday
Skip to My Lou
Tip Me Tuesday
Today’s Creative Blog

Caramel Apples - A Tutorial

Caramel Apples – A Tutorial

I absolutely love, and I mean LOVE caramel apples. My favorite caramel apples are from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. My husband knew my love for caramel apples, and when I was pregnant with Mia he accomplished the most important task of a husband -- he satisfied a craving. About five weeks before I was due, Curtis spent his last spring break of law school in San Diego visiting with his grandma. I’m not going to say I was okay with this seeing as my due date was somewhat close… So, I decided to milk it for all it was worth. I knew he had a layover in Denver and I knew that there was a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory store in the Denver airport so I may have dropped a few subtle hints J. I was only expecting one caramel apple, but my hubby came off the plane with FOUR of them! It totally made up for his week-long absence so close to my due date!

I’m currently living in Arizona and while there are Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory stores here, I’m not too crazy about shelling out $8+ for a caramel apple nor am I crazy about the 40 minute drive to get them. So I roped my mom and sister-in-laws, Beth and Bridgette into helping me make them. Working in a tag-team effort it took us about three and a half hours from start to finish.

Here are the steps we took to create our scrumptious treats.

Step 1: Assemble the tools.

The special tools we used (outside of bowls, spoons, etc) were: corn on the cob sticks (I like them better than popsicle sticks for this project), squeeze bottles/condiment bottles, a funnel, parchment paper, and cellophane bags.

Step 2: Assemble the ingredients.

Unwrap the caramels and gather the toppings the apples will be rolled in. We used the following for toppings to make an endless variety of apples (not all toppings are pictured below): marshmallows, mini Reece’s Pieces, crushed Butterfingers, mini M & Ms, nut topping, toffee bits, milk chocolate, white chocolate, and cinnamon sugar.

Step 3: Prep the toppings.

Place the toppings in separate bowls and cut the marshmallows in half so they will adhere better to the apples. Try and keep your toppings small, that way they won’t slide down the caramel apples as much as larger toppings would.

Step 4: Prep the apples.

You need firm, crisp apples. If possible, buy apples that aren't waxed. The wax will keep the caramel from sticking. If yours are waxed, wash them with baking soda or give them a quick dunk in boiling water to melt the wax off. Dry them thoroughly and remove the stems. Insert a stick into the stem end--about 3/4 of an inch so that they are in there firmly. You can pierce the apple with a knife first to make the sticks go in more easily. Refrigerate the apples. This will make the caramel harden faster.

Step 5: Make the caramel.

Add 2 tablespoons of water per bag of candies. Zap them in the microwave for approximately 3 minutes. Stir after each minute, and stop heating them as soon as they’re all melted.

Step 6: Dip the apples in the caramel.

You can spoon some of the caramel on, too. Lift the apple out of the caramel and let the excess drip off. I scrape the bottom with a spoon so you don’t have a ton of caramel pooling up at the bottom of your apple when you place it on your parchment-lined cookie sheet.  

Step 7: Roll the apples in toppings.

Roll the apples in the toppings. Use your hand to press the goodies in and help them stay in place. Place the apples on parchment paper that's been greased or coated with cooking spray. We found that after dipping 6 apples or so we would stop and circle back around beginning with the apples we dipped first and began rolling them in the toppings. If we waited any later than that the apples would begin to harden. If we rolled the apples too soon they would end up being a big, goopy mess.

Let the apples chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before you drizzle them with chocolate.

Sept 8: Melt the chips.

For every 12 ounces of chips you will need 2 T of vegetable oil.

Put chips in a microwave-safe bowl with 2 tablespoons canola oil. Microwave power varies, so exact times cannot be recommended.  Cook on medium power, checking at 30 second intervals, stirring each time. Stop heating when most, but not all, of the chips are melted--there should be a few chunks left. Stir until it is smooth and chips are completely melted.  Be careful not to overcook.

You can drizzle the melted chocolate onto the apples with a spoon. But, I like to pour the chocolate into a squeeze bottle using a funnel. I find there is less mess this way.

Set your bottles of chocolate in either a tall glass or jar of hot water to keep the chocolates nice and melted inside the bottles.

Step 9: Drizzle the apples with the melted chocolates.

I set my apple on an inverted glass to make decorating it easier.

When you’re happy with your decorated apple, return it to a parchment-covered baking sheet and allow the apples to chill for another 30 minutes.

Tray 1



Tray 2



Tray 3

Step 10: Wrap the apples.

I put a paper baking cup on the bottom of the apple before wrapping it in the cellophane. This makes it easier to get the apples in and out of the bags without sticking.