Lemon Glazed Blueberry Scones

I had my very first scone almost 12 years ago, when I was visiting the Eastman Kodak's House in Rochester, New York. When you tour the Eastman home, you can then have a little tea break at their small cafe and choose your teas and sandwiches. I couldn't remember what type of scone it was exactly, but this was my first introduction to scone, and it was a positive one, indeed.

Then in one of my recent business travels, I enjoyed a delicious reduced-fat cranberry orange scone from a Caribou Coffee kiosk at the airport, which was out of the world. Since that point on, I have been browsing at tons of recipes trying to decide on which one to try.

I finally landed on this recipe from Tyler Florence in Food Network. This was my first Tyler's recipe, so I really wasn't sure what to expect. He has two blueberry scone recipes, and I chose the one using buttermilk (because it was lower in fat, and we had some that we needed to use up!)

I also decided (at first), not to use the glaze. But then realized, that the buttery little pillows were missing a little "oomph", so we went ahead with the glaze, but used the lemon version. The other step that I think we should have added was using egg-wash to make the top brown a little prettier and sprinkle some sugar. So the glaze was a MUST!

Red was licking his fingers when he was devouring his first scone, "This is probably the moistest and lightest, fluffiest scone I have ever had!" So it sounds like we have a keeper here!!

Ingredients

• 2 cups unbleached flour, plus more for rolling berries
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut in chunks
• 3/4 cup buttermilk or cream
• 1 egg
• 1 pint fresh blueberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar; mix thoroughly. Cut in butter using 2 forks or a pastry blender. The butter pieces should be coated with flour and resemble crumbs.

In another bowl, mix buttermilk and egg together, and then add to the flour mixture. Mix just to incorporate, do no overwork the dough.

Roll blueberries in flour to coat, this will help prevent the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the scone when baked. Fold the blueberries into batter, being careful not to bruise. Drop large tablespoons of batter on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until brown. Cool before applying glaze.

Lemon Glaze:

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 lemon, zest finely grated
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Technically you should make this simple lemon glaze in a double boiler (i.e. over a pot of simmering water with a heatproof bowl set on top) but it's even simpler to zap it in the microwave. Mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon zest and butter. Nuke it for 30 seconds on high. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving.

Mini Blue Cheese Popovers

I have been reading Martha Stewart's Hors D'Oeuvres Handbook for a few weeks now, and overwhelmed by the number of incredible looking food that she has on this cookbook. She has gorgeous pictures and just incredible creative ideas! Unfortunately, some of the recipes are also very time-consuming. I don't mind those for special occasions, but prefer simpler recipes that I can make relatively quick!

These are simple, but a nice alternative to the usual popovers or parmesan popovers that I am used to, and are made in small muffin tins with 1 1/2-inch diameter. The rise and fall of these popovers may be less dramatic, but I think they are just perfect for tapas party, or appetizer.

As an added bonus, they can be made ahead, and just bake before serving.

Yield: 4 dozens

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, plus more for tins

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 1/4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh thyme

1. In a large bown, whish together the eggs, milk, melted butter, flour, salt, and pepper. Whisk until all of the lumps have dissapeared. Whisk in the cheese and the thyme. Transfer the batter to an air-tight container. The batter, must be chilled, refrigerate for at least 2 hours aor up to 1 day.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degree F. Generously butter the mini muffin tins. Fill each cup to the top with the chilled batter. Bake the popovers until golden and puffed, 15-18 min. Repeat until the batter is used. Serve warm.

Easy Cheese Danish

Of all the danishes in the world, my fave has got to be Cheese Danish. I was very excited when I saw this recipe on my Ina's cookbooks because they look so easy! Oh my goodness --they tasted like I slaved all night making these delicious treats! The only warning is that this recipe makes A LOT of filling -- I want to say that it can easily make 16 pastries. I also love that the batter can be made the night before, so in the morning-- all you need to do is assemble and pop them in the oven! Enjoy!!

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don't whip!

Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares.

Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash.

Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes.

Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.

Yield: 8 servings (or more)

Flour Bakery Famous Banana Bread

After my rather unsuccessful attempt of making a new and better version of banana bread, I convinced myself to try another recipe. This time, I landed on the Flour Bakery's famous Banana bread's recipe. The interesting part of the recipe was that it calls for oil and the use of sour cream --which I had never tried before in my quest to find a perfect banana bread recipe. I only had 3 very ripe bananas, so that's all I used. I also used sour cream instead of cream fraiche.

I was actually pretty satisfied with the recipe. It was very moist, full of flavor, and had just enough sweetness from the banana. It took a little bit longer than an hour to bake (to make sure the center baked completely and wasn't goey), probably about an hour and 20 min. I wonder that maybe Chef Joanne uses her industrial convection oven, which would bake slightly differently than my modest oven at home. And this recipe didn't call out for the size of the pan, so I used the regular 8x4 loaf pan.

Overall though, this was a winner in my book -- and will try again. Red was pretty happy with the flavor and we thought that next time, maybe we'll follow this slightly different version of the same recipe on Runner's World, where it calls for applesauce in replacement of oil, and uses 9x4 pan. Enjoy!!!

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3 1/2 bananas, very ripe, mashed
• 2 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 2/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Beat sugar and eggs with a whisk until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Drizzle in oil. Add mashed bananas, creme fraiche, and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients and nuts. Pour into a lined loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Easy Sticky Buns

Red loves sticky buns, but I am not particularly crazy for it. So we usually end up getting the refrigerated Pillsbury rolls which are fail-proof! Then I saw this recipe in my Ina Garten's Back to Basic Cookbook and knew that we had to try them! It looked very simple, but oh my godness, the result was a double WOW. Who could have thought that sticky buns could be this easy?? Red did request (several times, I must say) if we could omit the raisins next time. I told him that I'd think about it - because I thought it was perfect just the way it is!

Ingredients
12 tablespoons (1 & 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
1 package (17.3 ounces/ 2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted

FOR THE FILLING:
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1½ teaspoons of the cinnamon, and ½ cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about ½ inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1½ inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.