Chocolate Raspberry Scones

Apparently, I am on a bit of a dark chocolate-raspberry kick. But, to be honest, I am hard pressed to think of a time when I am not on a dark-chocolate-raspberry kick.

Combine my deep love of this nothing-shy-of-perfect flavor combination with my mission to master scones, and I had no choice but to try my hand at these Chocolate Raspberry Scones.

And, let me tell you, these scones are completely delightful. One of my favorite things about these scones is that they are not too sweet. Most of the sweetness in these scones comes from the bits of dark chocolate and raspberries. And for me, this makes them a perfect afternoon snack. And midnight snack. And breakfast snack. And... well, I think you get the picture.

Not only is the sweetness just right, and not only are they chalk full of dark chocolate and raspberries, the texture is just perfect. The scones are soft, tender, and ever so slightly crumbly. What more could you ask from a scone?

For the most part, making these scones is like the other scones I have made. The one difference of note is that instead of using cream or buttermilk for the liquid, this recipe calls for whole milk yogurt (and just when pumpkin scones taught my how to make my own buttermilk...).
As ever, start by cutting up your butter into chunks.
Now, get out your dark chocolate (preferably around 70%).
And cut it into chunks.
Next, you want to add together the dry ingredients.
In another bowl, combine together the yogurt, a slightly beaten egg, and vanilla.
Add your butter.
And cut it in.
You are done cutting in the butter when it looks like coarse crumbs.
A note about the raspberries. Even though I live in California, raspberries are still not in season in February, so I opted for frozen. If you do use frozen fruit, it is important to use it in frozen form. Defrosted fruit will bleed everywhere and be a mess.
After you have cut in the butter, you add in the frozen or fresh raspberries and chocolate. Even at this stage, you know these scones are going to be fantastic.
Stir that up.
Now, pour in your yogurt mixture.
Stir that just until everything is incorporated.
Just look at it! How could these scones not be delicious?

Next, get your dough on a slightly floured surface. And knead it four or five time. Then pat it out into a 7 inch circle.
Cut it into 8 pie wedges.
Get those wedges on your parchment lined baking sheet. Do take care to leave some room between them: they spread. And add some egg wash to each scone.
Pop them in the over for 18-20 minutes. Did I mention they will spread?
Let them cool on a wire rack.
And... just take one look at what is waiting in store for you!
Get ready to be in dark chocolate-raspberry heaven.

Chocolate Raspberry Scones (from joyofbaking.com)
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
2 ounces dark chocolate chunks or chips (about 1/2 cup) (50 grams)
3/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 cup whole milk plain yogurt
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Egg wash:
1 large egg, well beaten
1 tablespoon milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chunks and raspberries. In a small measuring cup, whisk together the yogurt, vanilla extract, and egg. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Do not overmix.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently four or five times and then pat, or roll, the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches round and 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut the dough into eight triangles. Place the scones on a baking sheet. Make an egg wash of one well-beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk and brush the tops of the scones with this mixture.

Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and turn your broiler on high.* Sprinkle confectioners' sugar over the tops of the scones and place them under the broiler. Broil for a few seconds, turning the pan as necessary, until the sugar has melted and turns golden brown. Make sure to watch the scones carefully as the sugar will burn very quickly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

*I didn't do this step, because I ran out of time. But, it seems like it would taste and look great!

Pumpkin Scones and Making Your Own Buttermilk

On November 9th, 2009, I declared that I was on 'Mission Scone Mastery'. Three months, 2 days, and 0 scones later, I am ready to recommit to the Mission.

And to prove it, I made some pumpkin scones. They came out with a very light, delicate flavor. Not too sweet, so they would be good in the morning. And, since you make them with pumpkin, they have a little bit more of a bready/biscuity texture than some other scones. Also nice for the mornings.

But, pumpkin scones aside, I have some life-changing information about buttermilk to share with you. Life-changing.

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't always have fresh buttermilk lying around in my frig. So, what do you do when you want to make scones or biscuits or muffins or anything calling for buttermilk, and you don't want to go to the store?

You make your own.

As long as you have milk and either white vinegar, cider vinegar, or lemon juice, you are in business.
Apparently, you can make buttermilke with milk and one of the aforementioned acids. Just add 1 tablespoon of the acid to 1 cup of milk, let it stand for 10 minutes, and bingo-bango: buttermilk! As I said, life-changing information here.

Back to the scones... and to making the scones. The first thing to do is cut up the butter and put it back in the frig. You want it as cold as possible for the flakiest scones possible.
Then, if you need it, make your buttermilk: I used 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 Tablespoon of cider vinegar. And let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes.
Next, get your dry ingredients together: flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Whisk those up.
Get out your butter, and add it to the dry ingredients.
Now, use your pastry blender, and cut the butter in.
You are done when the flour mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Now, add in some chopped, toasted pecans and raisins. (Its easy to toast nuts: put them in a dry skillet over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. They are done when you can smell them. I think pecans, especially benefit from toasting.)
Stir that up.
In another bowl, mix together your pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla.
Make a well in your dry ingredients, and pour your wet ingredients into the dry.
Stir until just combined. Overstirring is a very bad idea. And don't worry if the dough is sticky, it should be.
Now, you are going to want to get the dough out onto a floured surface. Speaking of floured surfaces... do you know about Silpat counter mats? Silpat mats are silicone, heat resistant mats that can fit inside baking sheets. They act as a non-stick surface, performing the same function as parchment paper. But Silpat also makes counter mats:
That's right, it is a mat big enough to cover your counter. Just imagine how easy it makes clean up. And look how much fits on it!
I am madly in love with my Silpat counter mat, and I think the world should know.

Back to the pumpkin scones... Once the dough is on your floured surface, you want to lightly knead it four or five times. Bust out your ruler. Then pat it out into a circle that is 7 inches across.
And 1 1/2 inches high.
Cut it in half, and then cut each half into four wedges. You may need to flour your knife if the dough is too sticky.
Get those on a parchment lined baking sheet, and put that baking sheet inside another baking sheet. And, if you were following the recipe, you would now coat each scone with an egg wash. If you, um, fail to read directions and overlook this step, don't worry. They will come out just fine. The egg wash is mostly to make them shiny and pretty.
Pull them out after 20 minutes, when they are just lightly browned.
Then put them on a wire rack to cool.
Something tells me Mission Scone Mastery is going to be a marvelous part of 2010.

Pumpkin Scones (from joyofbaking.com)
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup light or dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup toasted and chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
1/3-1/2 cup buttermilk*
1/2 cup canned pumpkin**
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Egg wash:
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk or cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into flour with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins and pecans, if using. In a separate bowl mix together the buttermilk, pumpkin puree and vanilla and then add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not overmix.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches round and about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each halt into 4 pie-shaped wedges. Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash.

Place the baking sheet inside another baking sheet to prevent the bottoms of the scones from over browning. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

*You can make your own buttermilk: for every 1 cup of milk, add 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar, cider vinegar, or lemon juice. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes.
**I would have liked a little more robust pumpkin flavor in these scones, so next time I may try adding more pumpkin

Rapturous Gingerbread Scones

When I call these scones 'rapturous', I mean that they will actually rapture you away to a delicious-gingerbread-molasses-spice heaven. They are that good.
I was especially delighted that these scones came out heavenly because scones are my new baking project. I feel pretty comfortable with biscuits: it is a family tradition. So, scones seemed like the obvious next baked good to try and master. And the Joy of Cooking promises, "So little effort, so good a result". How could I go wrong? Armed with my pastry blender, I was ready to embark on Mission Scone-Mastery.

For this round, I wanted to get a handle on 'cutting in butter', so stay tuned for that experience...
But, first things first, you want to line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and then put that baking sheet inside another baking sheet. This prevents the scones from browning too much on the bottom.
Next, it is time for the dry ingredients. This recipe is 'traditional' because it calls for rolled oats. The oats end up give the scones a hearty texture that I really enjoyed.
Before we get on with the dry ingredients, it is time you met my new Cuisipro measuring spoons:
Want to know why these are the best measuring spoons ever?




Yes, that's right, they are narrow and fit inside spice jars. So long, cinnamon-spilled-all-over-me-and-my-counter-because-the-measuring-spoon-doesn't-fit-inside-the-jar.

Back to the flour and oats, add in your spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg), brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Whisk that up.
In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, molasses, and vanilla. While traditional English tea scones are made with cream, these 'coffeehouse scones' are made with buttermilk instead. The buttermilk gives the scones more of a bread/biscuit-like feel that I really like. (see all that joyofbaking.com can teach you?)
The next step is the key to making a good scone: you are going to cut in your cold butter. The ultimate goal is to get the flour to the stage where it looks and feels like 'coarse crumbs'. While you can use a pastry blender, two knives, or your finger tips, I decided to go with the pastry blender method. You want to do this as quickly as you can because you want the butter to be as cold as possible when you pop the scones in the oven. This is because the colder the butter, the flakier the scones. Often, a pastry blender or two knives are called for because your finger tips can warm the butter up a little bit. However, if you want to use your fingers, running your hands under cold water will help keep the temperature down.

Enough of the facts, here is how I cut in the butter. After I turned the oven on, the first thing I did was take the butter out, cut it into pieces, and put it back into the frig.
Once I got the dry ingredients mixed and the wet ingredients mixed, I took the butter back out. And got brave: 'Coarse crumbs' here I come.
First, add the butter to the flour.
Next, you are going to use the pastry blender to cut the butter into smaller and smaller pieces. Don't be afraid to be a little aggressive while you do this. Being quick is important. So, come on, put your back into it!
As you keep cutting in the butter, the pieces of butter get coated with flour. And you end up having butter-coated pieces distributed throughout the flour.
And don't worry if the butter sticks to your pastry blender. As you keep cutting, the butter stuck to the pastry blender will eventually distribute throughout the flour.

Do this until the flour gets to the 'coarse crumb' stage. After you make this kind of dough a few times, you know what this stage is like. It really will look and feel like coarse crumbs:
Once you get it to this point, you are done cutting in the butter! Bravo!

After the butter is cut in, you add in the wet ingredients.
And you stir that until it is just combined: as ever, try not to overmix the dough. Mix it until it pulls away from the sides and forms a ball. I like to do this until all the flour is just mixed in. Then, plop the dough on a lightly floured baking surface (I like to put parchment down for this: it makes clean-up easy).
Knead the dough four or five times with the heel of your palm. Then pat it out until it is 7 inches (oh, I love my ruler).
Then cut it into 6 equal pieces. I didn't even get close to 'equal', but it still worked out.
Place those pieces on a baking sheet.
Prepare an egg wash, and brush the top of each scone with it. This helps the scones brown.
Sprinkle a few oats on for character.
And into the oven they go. I baked my scones for 20 minutes, pulled them out of the oven, and panicked. See all those cracks? I thought they were ruined.
It turns out... cracking is something scones are wont to do. In fact, some recipes have you bake scones just until they start to crack. So, lesson learned: if your scones crack, do not be alarmed (do not run to the internet, google cracked scones, and email the splendid table because you are worried). Cracked scones are still delicious.
And, let me tell you, any worries I had vanished as soon as I had a bite and was enraptured. The fragrance, tenderness, and spicy-molasses flavor of these scones will take you away.

Gingerbread Scones (from joyofbaking.com)
Scone dough:
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp ground ginger*
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg**
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Zest of 1 lemon (optional)***
1/3 cup dried cranberries, cherries, or raisins
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Egg wash:
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk or cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives.**** The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the lemon zest and dried cranberries, if using. In a separate bowl mix together the buttermilk, molasses and vanilla and then add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not overmix the dough.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or fives times. Pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches round and 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut the circl in half, then cut each halt into 3 pie-shaped wedges. Place the scones on the baking sheet. Make an egg wash of one well-beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk and brush the tops of the scones with this mixture. Sprinkle the tops of the scones with some rolled oats.

Put the baking sheet inside another baking sheet to prevent the bottoms of the scones from over browning. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clear.***** Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

*While I normally heap my ginger and cinnamon, this recipe as it is calls for just the right amount of spices
**The recipe doesn't call for nutmeg, but I can't resist its seductive ways
***I didn't add lemon or cranberries, but I am sure they would delicious. As would raisins.
****I cut the butter up and put the pieces in the frig right after I preheated the oven
*****20 minutes made my scones just a touch too brown. They weren't dry, but next time I will try 19 minutes.