Brown Sugar Scones, Two Ways

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I have been craving my mother’s brown sugar scones for awhile now and just needed to remember to ask her for the recipe and have an excuse to make them. My excuse came Monday when I started my internship at The Tyee. The Tyee staff is awesome and I am looking forward to failing miserably for them in softball this summer… oh yeah, and completing my internship project too.. that too for sure… In any case, starting with them means that I have a new crowd to bake for. Perfect! Scones it is!

These scones are buttery, lightly sweet, and just gloriously yummy. Oh, they are also terribly easy. I love mom’s original recipe, which she normally tops with fruit, but I wanted to change it up too. I made one standard batch (so tasty) and decided, as I am wont to do, to add caradmom and chocolate to the recipe to make a snazzed-up version. Heavenly. Both versions are to die for. I can barely hold back from eating everything.

Mom’s Brown Sugar Scones Two Ways

Ingredients (for one batch)

  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup milk (plus more if needed)

Additions for the Chocolate Cardamom Brown Sugar Scones (CCBSS)

  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you have a baking stone, that’s what my mom always uses.
  2. In a large bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, and brown sugar. (If making CCBSS, include cardamom now as well)
  3. Using a pastry cutter, or your fingers,  work in the butter until it is well combined and resembling coarse meal. (Add the chocolate chips now if making CCBSS)
  4. Add the milk and stir until a sticky dough forms, don’t over work the dough.
  5. Turn the dough out onto a flat surface and roll into a circle about 3/4 – 1 inch thick. At this point, you can either score the circle into wedges that you will cut after it is cooked or you can actually cut out wedges. I did both this time, the scored circle definitely had to cook a little longer.
  6. Place wedges or circle onto your prepared baking sheet, sprinkle with brown sugar, and bake for 15-20 minutes. My wedges cooked in about 15 minutes, the circle was about 20. The edges of your scones will be golden and they will be a slightly firm when poked.
  7. Serve with a glass of milk, coffee, love, etc.

Brown Sugar Scones pre-oven

Chocolate Cardamom Brown Sugar Scones pre-oven.

Ready for munching. And munch I did.

The whole batch... minus one that HAD to be tested.

Super Simple Black Beans and Ham

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When Genesis and I first started dating he actually cooked for me quite often, mostly because we spent most of our time at his apartment. His fare is nothing fancy, but it is usually delicious. One thing he often made for me was lentil soup. It was literally just lentils, water, and salt. And it was surprisingly delicious. It wasn’t until we were living together that he made me his black beans and ham. Again, super simple for something outrageously delicious. He’s tried to change it over the years but I still love the original, with a little spice added.

Simple Black Beans and Ham

Ingredients (by Gen’s best estimate. These take about an hour to cook but you need to soak the beans overnight)

  • 4-5 cups of dry black beans
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1-2 tbsp of red chili flakes
  • 3 cups of cubed ham (not honey ham)
  • optional: 4 cloves of garlic
  • water
  • plain greek yogurt or sour cream

Directions

  1. THE NIGHT BEFORE! Rinse beans thoroughly. Place in a large pot (the one you will cook them in the next day) and fill the pot with water. Soak beans overnight.
  2. The night you want to eat! Add the salt, ham, pepper, chili flakes, and garlic (if using) to the pot and add enough water to cover everything by about 2 inches.
  3. Cook covered over medium-low heat for about 1 hour until the beans are soft but not mushy. *Gen would like to interject that HE likes the beans softer than I do so feel free to cook longer, to taste.
  4. Top with a dollop of yogurt, salt and pepper to taste. Eat.

Ready to eat!

Coconut Hot Grains with Toasted Walnuts

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Coconut for breakfast again! This time, its a hardy breakfast of hot grains (Red River Cereal) and quinoa. I topped this breakfast off with toasted walnuts, some skim milk and a drizzle of honey… ok I topped mine with a sprinkle of sugar but only because I have a terrible cough right now and was up at 4am nursing it with some milk and honey and I didn’t want to have another dose, I was honeyed-out. Anyway, this is a rich and extremely filling breakfast. This recipe makes quite a bit, but it refrigerates well, so have some tomorrow too!

Coconut Hot Grains with Toasted Walnuts

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Red River Cereal (or your favourite hot grain cereal)
  • 1/4 cup quinoa
  • 2 cans coconut milk (recommend one full-fat can and one light)
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cup shelled walnuts
  • skim milk to drizzle
  • honey, brown sugar, white sugar, etc. to top

Directions

  1. Combine cereal, quinoa, salt, and coconut milk in a medium-sized pot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
  2. Turn heat to medium-low, let the cereal cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Cover and remove from heat, allow to sit while you toast the walnuts.
  3. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add walnuts to the hot, dry pan and toast, watching constantly and stirring frequently, until walnuts start to brown and they smell toasted, about 5 minutes. You can also lay the walnuts on a cookie sheet and toast in an oven at 375°F for 5-10 minutes until they smell toasted.
  4. Scoop some cereal in a bowl, top with walnuts, milk, and honey. Gobble!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I was inspired to create these cookies one afternoon when thinking back to when I worked at the Hi Country RV Park at home in the Yukon. My wonderful boss brought down a plate of similar cookies that I practically gorged on until customers started coming in. A few years back I was thinking of these delicious cookies and became determined to create my own.

 

These are fluffy and moist like cake, full of spice and chocolate. They are amazing. I remember telling my mom, and later my friend Caelin about them, both wrinkled their noses with “pumpkin AND chocolate… I don’t know” type sentiments. My mom still hasn’t had the chance to try them but Caelin was sold on first bite, stealing a second before I could tell her that I just brought enough for one for everyone (thankfully not everyone showed up to that morning’s class). These are the best straight out of the oven (in my opinion that’s how all baking should be eaten) but they are wonderful when kept in a not-totally sealed container (like muffins, they sweat) or are good even after they’ve been frozen and then thawed. Make them. Love them. Eat them until you pop, I know I will.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (I use canned, but if you are industrious, make your own)
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp cardamom
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 2 cups  semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (or lightly spray with non-stick spray).
  2. Beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy.

    Pumpkin added.

  3. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree.
  4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, and cloves. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture in thirds.
  5. Stir in the chips. The cookie dough is thick and gooey, gloppy even.
  6. Plop the cookie dough in heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges and spongy to the touch.

Plopped and ready for the heat.

7.  Cool cookies on a rack when able to remove from the pan (2-3 minutes cooling on the pan). These can sit out for a couple days without issue (they are super moist) but are best stored in a tupperware that is left open on one side.

8. Pour a glass of milk, coffee, soy milk, etc. and eat.

Extra delicious closeup.

Spicy Pepperoni Cheesesticks

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By request from my brother-in-law, my sister and I set about making spicy pepperoni cheesesticks to rival the ones he loved as a kid (or teen, or recently, I can’t remember). I knew we had a lot to live up to, so we made sure we were doing this right. I had been eyeing this recipe for a couple days, knowing that these jalapeño sticks would be the perfect prototype for what were trying to create. Reading the recipe I determined that pizza dough was the answer. So we used my regular pizza dough recipe, got some Tex Mex shredded cheese, some very spicy pepperoni sticks, and set about making these delicious treats. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. These came together like gangbusters, they were tasty and satisfied my brother-in-laws cravings. Success!

Spicy Pepperoni Cheesesticks

Ingredients

Pizza Dough
  • 1  package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsps white sugar
  • 1 tbsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 2/3 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or Tex Mex)
The Rest
  • 1 package of spicy pepperoni sticks
  • shredded cheddar or Tex Mex cheese (jalapeño, cheddar, mozza, etc.)
  • chili powder for dusting

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, combine flour, oregano, chili powder, cheese, salt, and white sugar. Stir well.
  3. Add in the olive oil and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine.

    Kel stirs as I pour.

  4. Mix well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  5. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out in a rectangle (if possible) to about 1/4 inch thickness.
  6. Slice strips of dough 2 1/4 inches wide.
  7. Place a pepperoni stick in the middle of the strips, place some cheese along side the pepperoni, and pull the dough around and pinch to seal all the way along the stick. Fold the ends over (cut off excess dough and reserve for more sticks) and pinch to seal.
  8. Place sealed sticks on a greased baking sheet and sprinkle with more cheese and some chili powder.
  9. Bake for about 20 minutes, the sticks will be golden brown and the cheese will have melted. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before eating.

Heading into the oven.

Tasty.