Friday, May 30, 2008

Chocolate Chip Scones


One Friday night I decided that the next morning I was going to wake up early and surprise my family with some hot, fresh out of the oven, chocolate chip scones. So I found a recipe that looked good online and printed it off so I was all ready for the next morning. My sneaky plan was working out perfectly when my alarm rang at 6:45, (told you it was early, okay it actually isn't), and I got up and started getting things ready. I made the scones and got them in the oven at about 7:45, I also made some Hard boiled eggs, because if you have ever had a chocolate chip scone you know it's like eating a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast, and I knew that wouldn't hold you till lunch time. Anyway needless to say, my family was extremely surprised and enjoyed the scones very, very much. Heres the recipe so if you feel up to the challenge, you can surprise you family too.

Ingredients:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 c. buttermilk, plus tablespoon (to be honest with you, I used regular dry milk)
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Topping:
1 large egg, beaten
1 tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper (I just greased mine). in large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut butter in with pastry blender or fork, the mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in chocolate chips. Add buttermilk and vanilla extract to flour mixture. Stir until dough just comes together. Flour work area, then turn dough out onto surface. Knead dough 4 or 5 times, then pat the dough into circle about 7 inches across and 1-1/2 inches high. Cut circle in half, then each half into 3 or 4 pieces. Place scones on prepared cookie sheet. Beat egg and milk together and brush tops of each scone. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Enjoy! Makes: 6 to 8 scones

Friday, May 23, 2008

Pita Bread

Pita bread was originally made in Greece, it is a very simple bread recipe that you divide up and roll into circles. After it rises you bake it in a really hot oven for a short amount of time and they inflate and look like big bubbles. It's awesome! Then you cut them in half and they slightly deflate, but still stay as pockets for you to fill with whatever yummy filling you wish.

2 tsp. dry yeast
1 c. lukewarm water
1 tbsp. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. flour (you can use whole wheat or white)

Dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar. Let froth. Add salt and flour then mix well. Knead, adding more flour as necessary. Let rise till doubled. Punch down. Divide into 6-8 equal portions and let rise for 15 minutes. Roll each pita bread to 1/2 inch circle. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes in oven preheated to 475 degrees. Cut them in half and fill with whatever you want. Enjoy!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

In the land of pudding and whipped cream....

Hey everyone! Another recipe for you, this is a really awesome, super fast, delicious, dessert. Pudding Parfaits.

1 box of instant pudding (any flavor)
2 cups of milk (for the pudding, I believe it's 2 cups per box of pudding, just follow the directions on the box.)
Whipped cream

Make the pudding by following the directions on the box. Then you can do layers of pudding and whipped cream in your serving dishes, or just put the pudding on the bottom and the whipped cream on top, however you want to do it. Enjoy! One more thing, this is a really basic recipe and you can spice it up however you want, with fruit or something else in the layers also. Have fun with it!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

If you like soft cookies, (like me) these are some great ones for you! Healthy, super tasty and really soft. One of my favorites, plus they are really fast and easy to make!

Stir together and set aside:
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Cream together:
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. Crisco (I used peanut butter instead)
1/4 c. butter

Add to creamed mixture:
1 egg
1-1/2 c. old-fashioned oatmeal (uncooked)
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Add reserved dry ingredients, 2 Tbsp. milk, 1/2 c. chopped walnuts, (just about any nuts will do or just use chunky peanut butter). Optional: 2/3 c. chopped raisins. You can (like me) put some toffee bits in also.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets, leaving 1 to 2 inches between cookies. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Makes: 36 cookies.