A Cook and Her Books: breakfast

Showing posts with label breakfast. Show all posts

Monday, May 19, 2014

Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits

Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Introducing a new favorite around our house, Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits. Do I even need to tellyou that this is a Paula Deen recipe from the word go? My husband saw Miss Paula talking about her recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits a while back, and asked me to make a pan of them, after all, Pineapple Upside Down Cake is his very favorite cake. Miss Paula's innovation is to create individual servings by placing the pineapple and brown sugar mixture into a muffin pan. Miss Paula pops open a tube of biscuits to top off her little cakes and I thought why not make a homemade biscuit and wouldn't they be even better? And you know what? I was right.

Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits

1 (10 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained, with juice reserved

½ cup light brown sugar

½ stick butter, melted

12 maraschino cherries

1. Preheat oven to 400. Grease muffin tins.

2. Combine pineapple, sugar and butter in a small bowl and mix well. Divide mixture among the muffin cups. Place cherry firmly in center of each muffin cup.

Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour, White Lily preferred

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

4 tablespoons shortening, chilled

1 cup buttermilk, whole milk preferred (I use Marburger brand)

1. Into a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add shortening and cut the fat into the flour using a fork or pastry blender. I use my fingers to rub the fat into the flour ~ it’s messy, but I get a better feel for how the fat is distributed throughout the flour.

2. Pour in buttermilk and using a large spoon, stir until a dough is formed. With a light touch, place dough on lightly floured counter, gently press out with your hands to a uniform 1/2-inch thickness and cut out 1 dozen, 2-inch biscuits. I usually end up with 14, so you may have extras to bake alongside the pineapple biscuits.

3. Place biscuits on top of pineapple mixture. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 13 minutes. Biscuits will be lightly brown and spring back when done. Place muffin pan on countertop to cool for five minutes.

4. Cover a baking sheet with foil and turn muffin pan out onto baking sheet. Serve biscuits warm. Store leftovers in a covered container and refrigerate.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Buy This Cookbook, #SeriousSandwich

Breakfast burrito with Black Beans and Avocado Crema. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

After spending a morning making sandwiches from Emeril Lagasse's brand-new book, Emeril's Kicked-Up Sandwiches, all I can say is "Avocado Crema, where have you been all my life?"

Avocado crema is the lip-smacking, eyebrow-raising, woo-hoo-inspiring garnish for Emeril's Breakfast Burrito with Chorizo, Black Beans and Avocado Crema. It puts the "Bam!" in the burrito, if you will. Breakfast burritos can be pretty ordinary fare - some sausage, some beans, a handful of cheese, a drizzle of salsa, maybe a cube or two of avocado. Emeril takes guacamole ingredients, and without giving too much away, because you really need to buy the book, creates a lusciously thick sauce to shmear over the beans, sausage, egg and cheese. Talk about your notches unknown.

I'm telling you this today, right now, because "Emeril's Kicked-Up Sandwiches" is available today at bookstores, both online and brick-and-mortar, today. (I'd be especially appreciative if you visited an independent bookseller to purchase your copy, because booksellers rock.)

I work best under deadline pressure (and that's the story I'm going with today), so I'm going to eat this breakfast burrito as soon as I hit "send." If you want to see more of the recipes from the book, just type #SeriousSandwich in the A Cook and Her Books search box on your right for my stories. Head over to Twitter, follow #SeriousSandwich and find stories from the 21 other bloggers who've spent the better part of October cooking from this awesome cookbook.

And stay tuned for more fabulous #SeriousSandwich posts!

With the exception of the cover of Emeril's cookbook.

Emeril’s Kicked-Up Sandwiches (Morrow, $24.99)

If you love cookbooks like I do, you gotta follow The Secret Ingredient Blog from Morrow Books

Saturday, October 13, 2012

The easiest from-scratch biscuits you will ever make

Emeril's Cheddar and Green Onion Biscuits with bacon. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Biscuit making is one of those revered arts, right up there with pie-crust-making, that holds fear and anxiety in its elusive and sticky hands. The fact is, both of these pastry skills were essential and probably inconsequentially everyday for women a century ago, but now that the kitchen is a choice, and thank goodness for that, biscuit making manages to be terrifying even though it is actually a very simple process. Fat combined with flour, some salt, some leavening, bound with liquid, pressed into a disk, punched into shape and baked.

The problem, of course, presents itself in the choices - what fat, what flour, what leavening? The novice cook may wonder 'What does it mean to "handle gently?" or to "cut in butter?" Given the variations and complexities of the subject, it's no wonder that people will pop open a tube of biscuits and call it breakfast. (Or for the moms in the know, bake up the frozen biscuits, because, I know, they really are that good.)

When you're ready to give biscuit-making a try, go to this recipe from "Emeril's Kicked-Up Sandwiches" for Cheddar-Green Onion Biscuits. It's the delivery device for a fried chicken breast and a shmear of redeye gravy, but bake up a batch of these and they're pretty darn good solo. Plus, this cream biscuit is near foolproof. Even if you manage to overwork the dough, (and if you follow the directions, you won't,) but if you do, there's enough fat to make up for it. Between the butter and the cream, you are covered.

Cheese and onion go into the dry ingredients. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Cutting out biscuits. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

"Painting" the biscuits with what else? Melted butter. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

This post is part of #SeriousSandwich, a blogalong for Emeril Lagasse's newest cookbook, "Emeril's Kicked-Up Sandwiches." Look for more recipes from the #SeriousSandwich bloggers by following hashtag #SeriousSandwich on Twitter.

Emeril’s Kicked-Up Sandwiches (Morrow, $24.99)

If you love cookbooks like I do, you gotta follow The Secret Ingredient Blog from Morrow Books

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Fusion, hot or cold

Coconut rice pudding with mango. Lucy Mercer.A Cook and Her Books.

On the most perfect April Saturday afternoon in Georgia, one straight out of the Weather Channel’s Wish book, the hubs and I tasted our way through Roswell, a small town due north of Atlanta blessed with historic charm, a verdant setting and a vibrant foodie culture.

The afternoon was a fusion of ideas and influences ~ over three hours, we dined on everything from pristine Thai salads to Mama's meatballs to N'awlins beignets, and then on to Cajun fried pickles and Caribbean clam chowder and Bourbon pecan ice cream.

My friend Beth, whose Atlanta Culinary Tours are becoming must-do weeknight and weekend dates (see my Sweet Auburn Curb Market visit), recently added the Roswell tour after being contacted by Erin Susan Lark, a Roswell yoga instructor. Erin served as the tour guide, walking and talking us through a two-mile tasting course anchored on Canton Street in downtown Roswell. The tour included three restaurants, one bakery and an olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting.

We began with Rice, where Chef Kris Boonruang shared his philosophy and art, Thai heritage and cuisine. Chef Kris is a fine artist, with a painting in the collection of Atlanta's High Museum of Art, as well as other museums and private collections. He is also an artist in the kitchen, treating my fellow culinary tourists and myself to a lettuce wrap with larb (seasoned ground pork), cellophane noodle salad with Thai shrimp, and sticky rice pudding with mango. As interesting as the plates was Kris' discourse on gardening, art and creativity, including his routine of walking barefoot outside his home before sunrise or after sunset, each day.

Next stop on Canton Street was Table and Main, with owner Ryan Pernice sharing his restaurant's "simple, Southern, seasonal" style. We tasted Mom's meatloaf reinvented as a meatball, replete with sticky sweet tomato sauce, but my favorite bite was a scoop of Bourbon butter pecan ice cream, an ode to the South as true and sublime as Sidney Lanier's "Song of the Chattahoochee." ("Out of the hills of Habersham, down the valleys of Hall..." Roswell is near the Chattachoochee recreational area, and I can't help recalling the famous poem I memorized in middle school. "I hurry amain to reach the plain, run the rapid and leap the fall.." Oh, don't get me started...). A meal at Table and Main concludes with the check delivered in a Southern novel ~ lots of Flannery O'Connor to choose from, a bit of Zora Neale Hurston, some Faulkner, Shaara, Flagg and McCullers.


The bookshelf at Table + Main awaits diners' checks. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

A surprise for the staff are the comments that diners scribble in the books.

Diners pay their checks and comment on the literature at Table + Main in Roswell. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

After leaving Table and main, we crossed Canton Street and walked around the corner to get to Artisan Bakery, where Chef Hoyt Williams displayed a sugar-dusted pyramid of beignets and described in delightful detail the various breads, sandwiches and pastries produced at the bakery.

Mellow and full, we journeyed to Oli + Ve, a six-week old culinary shop, where we listened to the women owners talk passionately about the versatility of infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars. We traveled from room to room, tasting and sampling the various vinegars and olive oils. (I purchased the lemon olive oil and the strawberry balsamic for homemade salad dressings, and just to open them, breathe in and daydream.)

It's hard to say that we saved the best for last, because each of the stops was so incredible and the food so extraordinary, but the Fickle Pickle really stands out for the quantity and originality of its offerings. While Chef Andy Badgett shared his tales of the restaurant biz and the culinary history of Canton Street, I scarfed down still-sizzling-from-the-Fry-o-lator Creole fried pickles dipped in remoulade. Followed by Caribbean clam chowder and a fried green tomato BLT and two kinds of cookies - soft ginger and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

Cajun Fried Pickles from the Fickle Pickle. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

On the ride home, mellow and stuffed to the gills, the hubs and I performed the post-mortem, discussing our favorite bits and bites of the afternoon. As we talked through the walk, I remarked that as good as the food was, the secondary pleasure was listening to men and women who enjoyed their work and wanted to share their knowledge of food and service with others...

...Like Chef Kris sharing his morning routine of walking barefoot around his home, gardening before dawn and after dusk.

...Chef Andy telling the history of the Fickle Pickle restaurants, a history marked not with years, but each of his six children’s birthdays. And throughout, a history of the Canton Street restaurant revitalization, as well.

...Ryan, a young man with a passion for the hospitality business, on Bourbon and The Band and a commitment to local, seasonal food and first-class service.

...The women of Oli + Ve sharing their knowledge of infused olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Chef Hoyt discussing the variety of baked goods produced by his store.

Fusion is what you make of it. It can cross cultures, it can cross the street. It can be Cajun fried pickles with spicy remoulade or the most divine pecan ice cream with real Georgia pecans infused with a buttery Bourbon streak of caramel gold.

Fusion is hot or it’s cold. It’s strawberry infused balsamic vinegar paired with lemon-infused olive oil because a saleswoman recommended it. It can be the irresistible idea of a pimento cheese fritter that Chef Andy kept talking about as I dove again and again into the basket of obscenely hot and crunchy fried pickles. (Salty and fried. Do not judge me, we’ve all been there, girlfriends).

There are so many culinary roads to go down with this post, but I think I’ll journey back to the first stop on Canton Street, Rice, and my version of Chef Kris Boonruang’s sticky rice pudding with mango.

Coconut Rice Pudding with Mango. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Coconut Rice Pudding with Mango

This is my adaptation of a traditional Thai home-style treat. I based the recipe on one found at Serious Eats that uses jasmine rice instead of the typical Thai glutinous rice. I like the richness of the full-fat coconut milk, but light coconut milk may be substituted.

1 cup raw jasmine rice
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups coconut milk
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced

1. In a medium saucepan, preferably nonstick, set over medium heat, combine water and rice. Bring the water to a boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat. Cook until the water is absorbed.

2. Add the coconut milk, sugar and salt; stir and bring to a boil. Cook for two minutes, stirring constantly.

3. Cover the pot and remove from the heat. Let the rice sit for 10 minutes, to completely absorb the liquid.

4. Serve pudding warm or at room temperature, garnished with mango slices.

This post is part of #LetsLunch, a monthly Twitter party on a given theme. The theme for May is fusion.

Check out more #letslunch stories and recipes here:

Ana‘s Miso Salmon with Mango Salsa at In Foodie Fashion
Cathy‘s Bacon-Studded Polenta With Tomato Gravy at ShowFood Chef
Eleanor‘s Wok Picadillo at Wok Star
Ellise‘s Salty Lime Sablés (Margarita Cookies) at Cowgirl Chef
Emma‘s Kimchi Bulgogi Nachos at Dreaming of Pots And Pans
Felicia‘s Mexican-Lebanese Hummus at Burnt-Out Baker
Grace‘s Taiwanese Fried Chicken at HapaMama
Jill‘s Southern Pimento-Stuffed Knishes at Eating My Words
Joe‘s Grilled KimCheese Sandwich at Joe Yonan
Karen‘s Ukrainian-German Cabbage Rolls at GeoFooding
Leigh‘s Venezuelan-Italian Cachapas Con Queso at Leigh Nannini
Linda‘s Project Runway Pelau: Rice & Beans Trinidad-Style at Spicebox Travels
Linda‘s Edible Salad Totes at Free Range Cookies
Lisa‘s Sunday Night Jewish-Chinese Brisket at Monday Morning Cooking Club
Lucy‘s Coconut Rice Pudding with Mango at A Cook And Her Books
Maria‘s Spanish Shrimp with Bacon, Cheddar & Chive Grits at Maria’s Good Things
Nancie‘s Chili-Cheese Biscuits with Avocado Butter at Nancie McDermott
Patricia‘s Buttery Tofu, Pasta & Peas at The Asian Grandmother’s Cookbook
Patrick‘s Kimchi Jigae and British Mash at Patrick G. Lee
Rashda‘s Mango Cobbler at Hot Curries & Cold Beer
Renee‘s Asian-Spiced Quick Pickles at My Kitchen And I
Steff‘s Chicken Fried Steak at The Kitchen Trials
Vivian‘s Funky Fusion Linguini at Vivian Pei

Thanks Beth and Erin of Atlanta Culinary Tours for a delightful afternoon, tasting, walking and talking. Check out Atlanta Culinary Tours’ fantastic tours ~ I highly recommend the tour of Sweet Auburn Curb Market, too! (and full disclosure, this was a gratis tour for media.).

My pictures from the tour were not so great, but my fellow bloggers took gorgeous pictures ~ check them out:

Digital Cornflakes
Dr. Princess Julia
Brandy Nagel writing for Roswell Patch
Beth's Atlanta Examiner article. Check out the slide show!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Meyer lemon tea loaf recipe

Meyer lemon tea loaf. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

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My love of lemon is well-documented in this blog - lemon pudding, lemon scones, lemon ice cream, and lemon cream cheese pound cake are just a few of my favorites. That fresh citrus scent fills my kitchen and makes my heart happy.

And just when I thought a lemon was a lemon was a lemon, Meyer lemons appeared (finally!) in my local markets. Meyers are a cross between true lemons and a Mandarin orange - the skin is smoother and the taste is less acidic than the standard Eureka or Lisbon lemons. The can be substituted for regular lemons in recipes to add a subtle orange flavor. Try them.

Meyer Lemon Tea Loaf

Yield: 2 loaves

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

Zest of 2 Meyer lemons

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

For glaze: ½ cup sugar dissolved in juice of 2 lemons

1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare two loaf pans using baking spray or greasing with butter.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated. Add lemon rind. Sift together dry ingredients, then add alternately to the batter with milk. Pour batter into prepared baking pans.

3. Place pans in 350 oven and bake for 45 minutes. Bake until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks.

4. While cake is cooling, dissolve sugar in the juice of two lemons. Slowly pour glaze over cakes and let cool.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Buttermilk scones with cranberries and ginger

Scones with cranberries and ginger. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

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Another variation on scones, this time with the dried cranberries and candied ginger sent by Frieda's Specialty Produce. The scones are especially nice served for a holiday brunch, so practice the recipe a few times and turn them out for family and friends at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Buttermilk scones with dried cranberries and candied ginger

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, frozen
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup candied ginger, diced
Milk or cream for glazing
Turbinado, demerara or sparkle sugar for glazing

1. In a batter bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Using a regular grater, shred the chilled butter and with a light hand, gently mix the shavings into the dry ingredients. Using your hands and a gentle, quick touch, make sure the butter is evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture.

2. Pour in the buttermilk and stir gently with either a wooden spoon or my instrument of choice, a silicone spatula. If mixture seems dry, add additional buttermilk until a cohesive dough forms. The dough should be slightly wet and sticky, but not overly so.

3. On a floured countertop, press dough into a rough 12 X 6 inch rectangle (helpful shaping instruction visuals may be found on my basic scone post here). Spread dried cranberries and candied ginger onto dough, using your hands to press the fruit into the dough. Fold into thirds, letter-style. Press into 12 X 6 rectangle again and fold letter-style again. If any little fruits pop out, just press them back into the dough. Press again into a 12 X 6 rectangle and cut into 16 triangles. Place scones on a lined baking sheet. The scones can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 24 hours.

4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Carefully brush each wedge with buttermilk or cream and sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top. Bake at 400 for at least 15 minutes. They may need a bit more time, depending on your oven, convection, etc. Scones are ready when they are golden brown on top and bounce back when touched lightly in the center.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Meyer lemon scones with dried blueberries

Scones with Meyer lemon and blueberries. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

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Lemons and blueberries are a natural pairing, and the winter version of this is Meyer lemons, the lemon-orange hybrid available for just a short while, and dried blueberries. Frieda's Specialty Produce sent me a package that included dried blueberries, just as sweet as mid-summer berries at the u-pick orchard. I folded the berries into my favorite buttermilk scone recipe, and freshened the dough with Meyer lemon zest and a glaze made with the juice.

Meyer lemon scones with dried blueberries
My favorite tip for tender scones is to shred chilled butter into the dry ingredients. I just use an ordinary grater, the kind I use for shredding cheddar cheese, and run the chilled stick of butter across it. The resulting butter curls are uniform and perfect for blending into the flour mixture.

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, frozen
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Zest of one Meyer (or other) lemon
Juice of one-half Meyer (or other) lemon
1/2 cup dried blueberries
Milk or cream for glazing
Turbinado, demerara or sparkle sugar for glazing

1. In a batter bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Using a regular grater, shred the chilled butter and with a light hand, gently mix the shavings into the dry ingredients. Using your hands and a gentle, quick touch, make sure the butter is evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture.

2. Pour in the buttermilk and stir gently with either a wooden spoon or my instrument of choice, a silicone spatula. Add lemon juice and zest. If mixture seems dry, add additional buttermilk until a cohesive dough forms. The dough should be slightly wet and sticky, but not overly so.

3. On a floured countertop, press dough into a rough 12 X 6 inch rectangle (helpful shaping instruction visuals may be found on my basic scone post here). Spread dried blueberries onto dough, using your hands to press the fruit into the dough. Fold into thirds, letter-style. Press into 12 X 6 rectangle again and fold letter-style again. If any little fruits pop out, just press them back into the dough. Press again into a 12 X 6 rectangle and cut into 16 triangles. Place scones on a lined baking sheet. The scones can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 24 hours.

4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Carefully brush each wedge with buttermilk or cream and sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top. Bake at 400 for at least 15 minutes. They may need a bit more time, depending on your oven, convection, etc. Scones are ready when they are golden brown on top and bounce back when touched lightly in the center.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Candied kumquats

Candied kumquats. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Each winter, just after New Year's, I find a special treat tucked in my grocer's produce case - pints of kumquats, the tart orange min-football-shaped fruits that can be eaten peel and all. Kumquats are an acquired taste - the pucker makes my eyes pop and there's a faint bitterness to the pith. But like the first asparagus of spring, or the Pink Lady apples arriving in fall, I look forward to them each year.

This winter, I didn't have to peek and poke around the produce case, I mentioned my kumquat fixation to Alex at Frieda's Produce, and she sent me a container of the cutest kumquats I ever did see. According to Alex, these kumquats were grown in the California Desert, but the fruit will be coming out of San Diego now. Kumquat season is October through July.


Frieda's kumquats. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

After eating a few out of hand, I decided to make Candied Kumquats, my way of preserving the harvest. With a little bit of sugar and water, these little fruits can be turned into a sort of marmalade that is just right for topping lemon curd shortbread (coming soon!) or your breakfast toast.

Kumquats. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

I began by washing, then slicing the little guys. The fruit is entirely edible, but removing the seeds makes for a prettier presentation.

Slice kumquats and pop out the seed for a prettier presentation. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The cleaned kumquats go in a bubbling sugar bath.

Kumquats in syrup. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

The cooked kumquats can be sealed in a jar.

Kumquats in syrup. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

A bright orange bowl of candied kumquats makes a lovely addition to the breakfast or brunch table.

Candied kumquats. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Candied kumquats

11 ounces kumquats
1 cup water
1 cup sugar

1. Wash kumquats. Slice each fruit in half and flick out seed.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add water and sugar and stir until dissolved. Add kumquats and cook until the fruit is soft, about 30 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Let cool. Keep in airtight container in refrigerator.

Candied kumquats may be eaten out of the jar, when no one's looking. They're also nice on your breakfast toast, with a shmear of farmer's cheese, or perhaps ricotta, maybe cream cheese.

Candied kumquats on toasted baguette with farmer's cheese. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Thanks to Alex and the lovely folks at Frieda's Produce for the kumquats! (Disclaimer: this was not a sponsored post. I received no compensation for this post, other than the beautiful kumquats.)

Text and images copyright 2012, Lucy Mercer.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Sweet tea peach scones

Scones with tea-soaked peaches by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Summer in the South means sweet tea and peaches, at least for this Georgia girl. But two weeks past Labor Day means that the peaches are fading fast. One way to keep the sweet, floral peach flavor in my baked goods is to use dried peaches. I chopped up a package, soaked them in the table wine of the South - sweet tea, and added them to my buttery buttermilk scone recipe. Oh, my heavens, these are good.

Peaches by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Sweet tea and peach buttermilk scones

My favorite tip for tender scones is to shred chilled butter into the dry ingredients. I just use an ordinary grater, the kind I use for shredding rat-trap cheddar cheese, and run the chilled stick of butter across it. The resulting butter curls are uniform and perfect for blending into the flour mixture.

1 (6 oz.) package dried peaches
1/2 cup sweet tea
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, frozen
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Milk or cream for glazing
Turbinado, demerara or sparkle sugar for glazing

1. Dice dried peaches by first slicing them into thin strips, then chopping crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. Use your sharpest chef's knife. A bit of cooking spray on your knife might also help. Place diced peaches into a microwave safe bowl, add 1/2 cup sweet tea and zap in microwave for 1 minute. Remove from microwave and let cool on counter while preparing the scone dough.

2. In a batter bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Using a regular grater, shred the chilled butter and with a light hand, gently mix the shavings into the dry ingredients. Using your hands and a gentle, quick touch, make sure the butter is evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture.

3. Pour in the buttermilk and stir gently with either a wooden spoon or my instrument of choice, a silicone spatula. If mixture seems dry, add additional buttermilk until a cohesive dough forms. The dough should be slightly wet and sticky, but not overly so.

4. On a floured countertop, press dough into a rough 12 X 6 inch rectangle (helpful shaping instruction visuals may be found on my blueberry scone post here). Spread soaked peaches onto dough, using your hands to press the fruit into the dough. Fold into thirds, letter-style. Press into 12 X 6 rectange again and fold letter-style again. If any little peach guys pop out, just press them back into the dough. Press again into a 12 X 6 rectangle and cut into 16 triangles. Place scones on a lined baking sheet. The scones can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 24 hours.

4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Carefully brush each wedge with buttermilk or cream and sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top. Bake at 400 for at least 15 minutes. They may need a bit more time, depending on your oven, convection, etc. Scones are ready when they are golden brown on top and bounce back when touched lightly in the center.

More variations on the scone theme:

Scones for breakfast (1/2 recipe buttermilk scones)
Raspberry scones
Cream cheese and apricot scones
Pineapple and ginger scones
Blueberry and lemon scones (includes shaping instructions and pictures!)

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Scones, the Raspberry Variation

Raspberry buttermilk scones by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

My buttermilk scone recipe is like gesso on a blank canvas, ready for whatever fruits I fancy. In the winter, raisins and dried cranberries get their turn, folded into the sweet, buttery dough. In summer, fresh, ripe berries take a tumble in the biscuits. I wrote at length about the blueberry version, Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Scones, including step-by-step instructions for the shaping technique.

I'm pleased to report that the raspberry version is just as luscious as the blueberry version. Buy a pint of red raspberries at the store and let your kids eat a few, putting them on each little finger. Fold the rest into this recipe and enjoy a teatime treat - berry-studded scones, hot from the oven.

Raspberries by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Raspberry Buttermilk Scones

A key to tender scones is to shred frozen butter into the dry ingredients. I store butter in the freezer, so this is usually convenient. In the wintertime, when my house is at 68 degrees, I can get by using butter straight from the refrigerator, but in the summer, when the house is at 78 degrees, frozen butter makes a big difference.

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon. salt

2 1/2 teaspoons. baking powder

1/2 teaspoon. baking soda

3/4 cup unsalted butter, frozen

1 1/4 cups buttermilk, plus extra

1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen

Half and half or milk or cream for glazing, optional

Demerara or sparkle sugar for glazing

1. In a batter bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Using a regular grater, shred the frozen butter and lightly mix the shavings into the dry ingredients. Using your hands and a gentle, quick touch, make sure the butter is evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture.

2. Pour in the buttermilk and stir gently with either a wooden spoon or my instrument of choice, a silicone spatula. If mixture seems dry, add additional buttermilk until a cohesive dough forms. The dough should be slightly wet and sticky, but not overly so.

3. On a floured countertop, press dough into a rough 12 X 6 inch rectangle and follow shaping instructions above. Fold in raspberries, then fold into thirds, letter-style. Press into 12 X 6 rectange again and fold letter-style again. Press again into a 12 X 6 rectangle and cut into 16 triangles. Place scones on a lined baking sheet. The scones can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 24 hours.

4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Carefully brush each wedge with buttermilk or cream and sprinkle sugar over the top. Bake at 400 for at least 15 minutes. They may need a bit more time, depending on your oven, convection, etc. Scones are ready when they are golden brown on top and bounce back when touched lightly in the center.

If this is more scones than you want to bake (all that butter!), check out my half-recipe.

Text and images copyright 2011, Lucy Mercer.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Buttermilk scones for breakfast

Brown-sugar topped buttermilk scones by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

I've made some lovely scones lately, blueberry- and raspberry-filled gems, luscious apricot pastries, another version with ginger and pineapple. These sweet biscuits are always appreciated around my house, but there are times when I don't need 16 buttery treats sitting on my counter, waiting for someone to devour them. This is why I developed the buttermilk scone half recipe, using less than one stick of butter and creating just enough pastries for my family to enjoy and maybe a few to bring to work. This version also takes about half as much time to assemble, so it's easier than ever to whip these up for breakfast.

Here's the recipe and if using fruit, be sure to follow the step-by-step folding technique in the Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Scone post.

Buttermilk scones ready for the oven by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Buttermilk Scones Half Recipe

Yield: 8 scones
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 (6 tablespoons) stick unsalted butter, chilled or frozen

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk (whole if you can find it)

1. In a batter bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Using a regular grater, shred the cold butter and lightly mix the shavings into the dry ingredients. Using your hands and a gentle, quick touch, make sure the butter is evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture.

2. Pour in the buttermilk and stir gently with either a wooden spoon or my instrument of choice, a silicone spatula. If mixture seems dry, add additional buttermilk until a cohesive dough forms. The dough should be slightly wet and sticky, but not overly so.

3. On a floured countertop, press dough into a rough rectangle and if using fruit, follow shaping instructions here. Cut into 8 triangles. Place scones on a lined baking sheet. The scones can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 24 hours.

4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Carefully brush each wedge with buttermilk or cream and sprinkle sugar over the top. Bake at 400 for at least 15 minutes. They may need a bit more time, depending on your oven, convection, etc. Scones are ready when they are golden brown on top and bounce back when touched lightly in the center.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Blueberry and Lemon Buttermilk Scones

Blueberry and lemon buttermilk scones by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

I was asked last week how I relieved stress and I replied "bubble baths." I really should have said "fantasizing about blueberries," because that's what I do. Not in the "Why Violet, you're turning violet!" way from "Willy Wonka," but in the "when I retire from this rat race, I'm going all Lisa Douglas and I'm going to buy a blueberry farm." An organic blueberry farm, with U-pick days in summer and a little shed where I can sell blueberry fried pies, blueberry ice cream parfaits and my fresh-baked blueberry scones.

I'll wear a blue-checked apron and a bandana in my hair, and let people call me "Miss Lucy, the blueberry lady," and I'll be famous for my Blueberry Lemon Buttermilk Scones. Just thinking about my blueberry days calms me, but I do find myself with the craving for blueberry scones.

My blueberry scones are pretty much the bee's knees, tender and flaky, buttery and just sweet enough. I use my standard buttermilk scone dough, folding in frozen berries from last summer (I use fresh when I have them) and the zest of a lemon, laminating the berries in the dough. I brush them with a buttermilk wash and sprinkle demerara sugar over the tops, for a little bit of sweet crunch as you bite into the tender scone.

Here is my scone shaping method:

1. I begin by pressing the dough into a rectangle roughly 12 X 6 inches. (I used to have ruler in my kitchen drawer that was quite useful in these situations, but it was used for a homework project and never returned. I'm sure this never happens to you. A chopstick, conveniently, makes an adequate stand-in.)