Orange Dark Chocolate Scones

Some recipes contain more than just their ingredient list. This particular one for example, not only conjures up the warm scent of citrus and dark chocolate melting together in the oven, but also sweet moments of family celebrations. My first recollection of this recipe was years ago around the holiday season when my brother and I worked at the local Christmas tree farm. My mom would stop by armed with a basket of these scones, still warm from the oven and sticky with icing, and make the two of us, along with our boss, take a break to warm our fingers and tummies. Now every I bake these up, images of freshly cut pines and the smell of balsam rush into memory and I'm whisked away to family Christmases.

Then there was the morning of my sister's wedding. We made a double batch and served them up with hot coffee as we all ran about getting ready. How we avoided getting chocolate and coffee on everyone's dresses I don't know, but these started the festival day off in a special way. And then just few short months later, we were serving them up at her baby shower!

Regardless of the occasion, this is a recipe you'll find yourself coming back to again and again.

Donna's Heavenly Orange Chip Scones

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup dark chocolate chunks

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into pieces and softened

1 cup buttermilk

3 large eggs, divided

1 teaspoon orange extract

1 tablespoon milk

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Lightly grease baking sheets.

COMBINE flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add chocolate chunks and orange peel; mix well. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine buttermilk, 2 eggs and orange extract in small bowl. Pour buttermilk mixture into flour mixture; mix just until a sticky dough is formed. Do not overmix. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto prepared baking sheets. Combine remaining egg and milk in small bowl. Brush egg mixture over top of dough.

BAKE for 18 to 22 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes. Drizzle scones with icing.

FOR ICING: 

COMBINE 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup orange juice, 1 tablespoon grated orange peel and 1 teaspoon orange extract in medium bowl. Mix until smooth.

Summer Cold Brew

There are few recipes that I find myself reaching for again and again, and this cold brew is one of them. Perfect for the hot and sticky months of summer, I brew a batch of this over the weekend and keep in the fridge when I'm running out the door for work. Add a little sweet cream and sugar, and you're all set!

Cold Brew Coffee

6 – 8 ounces of coarsely ground coffee beans of choice

6 cups of cold water

Sweet cream, half and half, or milk to taste

 

Place coffee grounds in a glass pitcher or a large French press. Pour the cold water over them, making sure all grounds come into contact with water. Cover and leave at room temperature for at least 8+ hours depending on your preferences in strength. Using the the French press, coffee filter or a cheesecloth, strain the grounds from the coffee. Store the coffee in sealable glass container (i.e. a large mason jar) and chill in fridge until needed.

Add ice, cream of choice, and enjoy!

Cheesecake Brownies

While home for a few days of vacation, I whipped this recipe up in no time ... it was the perfect accompaniment to a tall glass of cold-pressed coffee in the afternoon!

what you'll need

your favorite brownie recipe

8 oz cream cheese softened

2 eggs

6 tablespoons of sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

make your choice of brownies (I used a boxed brownie mix) and place in a baking pan, reserving a quarter of the batter

whip together the cream cheese, eggs, sugar and vanilla and pour the mixture over the brownie batter

spoon the reserved batter over the cheesecake topping and drag a knife through all the layers to create a marbled effect

bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a inserted knife comes out clean

Serve whilst warm and gooey and enjoy!

Summer Cobbler

Every time I pull this recipe out, I smile ... there are just so many memories attached to it. My sister found it in one of Mom's various parish cookbooks.We jotted it down and brought it up with us to the very first apartment we moved into in St. Paul. In between classes and busy schedules, there were many evenings that we threw this together and ate large bowlfuls as we were surrounded by textbooks and notebooks. There was the time I made it for friends that I was visiting, and the sugar and juices flowed over the sides of the pan, causing enough smoke to set off all the fire alarms. After that, it was the accompaniment for a summer dinner of fried fish (that had been pulled out of the lake shortly prior) and eaten in a tiny apartment.

So needless to say, it is one of my favorite go-to's when I need something simple, easy and delicious. In the summer I whip up this cobbler with fresh, ripe peaches and pears and during the fall and winter, it is scrumptious with crisp, tangy apples. You can literally make this with any fruit combinations ... I don't think you can go too far wrong!

directions

4 cups of fresh fruit
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon

place the fruit on the bottom of a pie or pastry plate
sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon over the top of the fruit

combine the following until it reaches a crumbly consistency

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt

crumble the pastry mixture over the fruit and sprinkle the top with a bit of sugar
bake at 350 degrees for 45-minutes to an hour

serve alongside a hot cup of coffee and a big bowl of vanilla bean ice cream!

On a side note ... that pastry plate I used? My mom brought that home to Minnesota after a visit to Chicago to see her family. She brought it home on a train, while juggling two little ones ... and twenty-some odd years later, it is still going strong!

Summer Pesto

Some of my most poignant memories of summer come from the hours I would spend with dad in the family garden. During those evenings after dinner we would battle stubborn weeds, pesky mosquitoes, the quickly fading light and the sweat dripping down our backs as we pushed to finish, 'just a few more rows' Too stubborn to quit, we'd end up covered in mosquito bites, but happy and content with the finished results.

Those soft summer nights are some of the ones I miss the most now that I'm living in bustling St. Paul where I've learned to block out of the noise of traffic. I miss those evenings ... and the hard-earned produce that would come out of that garden.

Hence, as soon as I had a patio to call my own, and barely before the danger of frost was over, I had tiny little herbs and seeds tucked into pots outside my doors. And this past week I harvested the first fruits. The poor basil plants needed to be plucked in order to keep growing at a healthy rate, so the entire two handfuls of fresh basil leaves went into the making of pesto. It was simple, flavorful and so very easy ...

What you'll need:

fresh basil leaves

olive oil

garlic cloves

grated parmesan cheese

your choice of pinenuts, walnuts, etc.

Combine everything but the olive oil in a food processor and blend, slowly adding the olive oil until you reach the consistency you desire. I had only a small amount of basil to work with, so the results ended up in about a cup of pesto.

Salt and pepper to taste and then use as you see fit...

...though I must say that creamy pesto pasta and chilled white wine go incredibly well together ...