strawberry basil scones

 

Hi friends!  Today I’d like to share recent baking success: Strawberry Basil Scones.

I adapted the recipe from this one, featured on Happyolks (which is a wonderfully sincere and very enjoyable blog! Definitely go check it out.  And their video for this recipe is adorable.)

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups flour

2 Tbsp packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

A pinch of freshly ground sea salt

½ cup cold butter, cut into chunks (leave this in the fridge until you’re ready to use it!)

1 ½ cups fresh strawberries, cut into small pieces

4 Tbsp minced basil (or more, if you would like your scones on the zesty side)

½ cup milk

2 eggs

1 Tbsp white sugar

Preheat oven to 400° F.  In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and sea salt.  Cut in the chunks of butter using a pastry blending tool or your fingers.  Add in strawberries and basil.  In a small bowl, mix eggs and milk.  Add to flour mixture and stir together until the dough is uniformly mixed.  You might have to use your hands to get all of the flour incorporated with the egg and milk mixture. 

 

Put the mixture onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Press it into a 1” thick circle.  Cut the circle into wedges—I cut mine into 8 wedges, but they were pretty big, so I’ll probably cut the circle into 12 wedges next time.  Brush the top with a bit more milk and sprinkle the white sugar on top.  Pop the whole thing into the freezer for 15 minutes, then bake for 20-25 minutes. (Check your scones after 20 minutes—my oven is a little on the slower side).  You can tell the scones are finished baking when a knife inserted near the center comes out clean, and the top of the scones looks matte, not shiny.

These are especially delicious warm with a bit of butter!  They can stay at room temperature for about a day in a covered dish.  After that, they should be refrigerated.  These scones also freeze very nicely, and can be thawed and warmed up for a sweet, summery snack at a moment's notice.

I hope you're having a lovely week so far!

♥

nutella swirl banana bread

Today I'd like to share a successful baking experiment:  Nutella Swirl Banana Bread!  It's sweet without being cloying, and it is super-easy to make.  The prep time is literally ten minutes.

I based this recipe off my mom's delicious banana bread recipe, which she adapted from a cookbook put out by the Montessori school where my brother and I went to preschool.  I love the thought of passing my own version of one of my family's favorites along to you!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

a pinch of salt

3/4 cup sugar

3 tsp. cinnamon (or, if you don't feel like measuring it out, a few generous shakes)

1 tsp nutmeg (not in a measuring mood?  one good shake ought to be about right.)

2 Tbsp. butter

2 eggs

2 bananas

3 generous spoonfuls of Nutella

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

3. In another bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, and butter. (To be perfectly honest, sometimes I just mix them in with the dry ingredients right off the bat.  It doesn't seem to do any harm.)

4. Mash the bananas and add them to the sugar, eggs and butter.

5. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.

6. Pour the batter into a greased and floured loaf pan.

7. Warm three generous spoonfuls of Nutella in a microwave or a saucepan-- don't boil it, you just want it to be warm enough to be easily stirred, about the consistency of hot fudge.

8. Drizzle the Nutella over the batter in the pan, then use a knife or a silicone spatula to marble it throughout the top layer of bread batter.

9. Bake for 50 minutes-- my oven is generally a little slow, so I had to leave my banana bread in for a little longer.  You'll know it's done when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.  

10. After the bread cools (for as long as you can stand waiting), run a knife around the edge of the loaf pan to easily pop the banana bread out.  

11. Enjoy! 

I hope you enjoy this delicious treat!  It's so exciting when an experiment turns out well.

What's baking in your kitchen lately?

♥

'tis the season

The first cookies of the holiday season have been baked!

sugar cookies, complete with sprinkles...

...and classic chocolate chip.

If you've started your holiday baking, I hope it's going well!

And if you feel like sharing any favorite recipes... I'm always looking for something new to make!

♥

rosemary bread

I mentioned in this week's Much Love Monday post that I was feeling the urge to bake some bread...

gathering the ingredients

...so I did!

I used this recipe for rosemary bread, with a few adaptations-- for instance, I omitted the corn meal because a) I don't like the texture and b) I didn't have any.  So that worked out well.

mixing, mixing, mixing

I also used about twice the amount of rosemary than the recipe calls for-- some for mixing into the dough, and some to sprinkle on top.

waiting for the dough to rise...

I'm so pleased with how the bread turned out!  It was cold and chilly outside, and the baking bread filled the house with such a warm, comforting scent.

the crust came out nice and chewy, and the inside was perfectly soft.

I hope you're having a wonderful, cozy afternoon on this autumn day!

♥