Friday, January 14, 2011

Coming Soon!

I promise I'll post these recipes soon...ish!

Sugar Cookies, Pizelles, Thumbprints, Raspberry Bars, Chocolate Sheet Cake and more!

Major Scone Binge!

Lately I have been eating a ridiculous number of scones. They are truly tasty and once I make them it just creates a gnarly cycle of having to eat them or they'll just go bad and so you better eat 2 instead of one and then you run out and that's sad...so the cycle continues! Today was my last chocolate pecan scone which I savored at my little cubicle while I drank my morning latte...aww.

As with most of my recipes, these scone recipes were originally for the gluten loving folks but I converted it using Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix Baking & Pancake Mix 
Also, I was pretty generous in "packing the flour"  for these recipes.
 
For those of you that aren't gluten free - just substitute your normal all purpose flour - whole wheat could be added in too but I wouldn't make a full sub unless you're using whole wheat pastry flour.

My gf sister has been relying on Pamela's for years for her scones so it was VERY nice to have a reasonable hope of my first batch turning out. 

I first made pumpkin scones when my friend Abby and her family came to visit. I didn't really think about feeding them breakfast until I saw her cute little girls and realized they would probably be hungry come morning. Luckily these scones were a big hit and they hopefully didn't feel like they were eating gluten free. 
Thanks to my mom and Sis for the recipes! 



Pumpkin Scones
2 cups Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix
7 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoon half-and-half
1 large egg
6 tablespoons cold butter

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger in a large bowl (I put all of this in a food processor)

In a medium bowl whisk together the pumpkin, ½ and ½, and egg

Cut in or food process butter until it looks like coarse cornmeal. I usually also sift through it a little with my hands and squish flat any big chunks of butter.

If using a food processor, go ahead and pour the wet ingredients in and pulse. Otherwise simply pour the wet into the big bowl of dry.

Gather the dough into a ball and place it onto a floured surface/cutting board

Use the heel of your hand to pat down into a 1” thick circle-ish form

I cut mine into circles except for one that the husband requested be made into a pie shape (just like Peet’s does it)!

Bake on parchment lined baking sheets for about 14-16 minutes at 425. 


Buttermilk Scones 
Description:
Gluten Free and Very, Very tasty!
Ingredients:
3 cups Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix
1/3 cup sugar
2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup firm butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon mixed with 2 tablespoons sugar

-----------------------------
Orange Version
3/4 cup chopped dates
1 teaspoon grated orange peel - grate a whole orange for a half recipe

Blueberry Version
~ 1 cup blueberries (I get the small little bitty kind so they don’t fall apart as easily)
~1/2 cup of chopped pecans

Chocolate Version (highly recommend!)
~ ½ cup of chopped pecans
~ ¾ cup chocolate chips  (I admit I use my mother's "shake a shake" method but I think it's about 3/4...sorry!)
------------------------------------

Directions:
Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt (I put all of this in a food processor)

Cut in or food process butter until it looks like coarse cornmeal. I usually also sift through it a little with my hands and squish flat any big chunks of butter.

If you have used a food processor, pour mixture into a large bowl

Add your version ingredients (orange zest, berries, chocolate and nuts, etc.) 

Pour the buttermilk into the center of the flour mixture and mix together (a rubber spatula and your hands work well)

Gather the dough into a ball (it is surprisingly not too “gluten free sticky” and place it onto a floured surface/cutting board

Use the heel of your hand to pat down into a ½” thick circle-ish form

I use a small or medium biscuit cutter to cut mine out but you could also use a small mouth drinking glass. The scones tend to expand out but not up so pat down and cut accordingly to your preferences

Place about 1” apart on a parchment lined baking sheet

Sprinkle with a cinnamon-sugar mixture for a little extra sweetness (not totally necessary but tasty!)

Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes (mine usually take a bit longer as I like the tops to get a little crunchy)

Enjoy!

Blogging is apparently not in my skill set

So I started this blog one day thinking it would be so much fun and a great way to keep track of all my reciepes in one easy place.  This was in November....

I apparently didn't factor in my tendency to start these things and not ever look at them ever again. 

But it is a New Year and perhaps a new blogging me!  We'll see... (today's update is mostly due to Sarah nagging me!)

Wish me luck!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

CSN Stores!

"Looking for great a end table or organization solutions for your home? Check out www.bloemdesigns.blogspot.com for a great $20 giveaway to CSN Stores!" 

My Friend Sarah linked this on her blog and I thought it was a pretty neat store so I decided to share...enjoy!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Sprue You

I come from a long line of bread lovers and was happily indulging in this family trait with vigor. Then one dark and gloomy day (it was actually quite nice but after the doctor's appointment it felt dark and gloomy) three months ago I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

My sister had been living gluten free for quite a few years before my diagnosis so she gave me the inside scoop on what gluten free products are tasty versus nasty. Since then I have been trying desperately to live my bread, biscuit, cookie, pastry, pizza loving life sans gluten. I thought I'd start this blog to try and remember the good, passable and truly inedible recipes I've tried as well as perhaps saving a few people from the tears of disappointing baked goods. We'll see how it goes....