Here's another recipe from Huckleberry. Unusual looking scones I thought...more like very thick thumbprint cookies, but there's nothing cookie-ish about these scones...they're perfection: crumbly and light. Not overly sweet either, which is the way I like my scones and besides, the raspberry jam provides the perfect balance in your mouth. Don't be surprised to find your sheet pan very buttery after baking, which explains why these scones don't need any additional butter slathered on top.
Isn't it great they can be frozen unbaked for a month or so? You can take them out of the freezer and in 30 minutes, a delicious breakfast is ready to go.
Walnut Jam Scones
From Huckleberry, by Zoe Nathan
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornmeal
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
4 1/2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted and ground
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, small cubes
6 tablespoons cold buttermilk
1 1/4 cups raspberry jam
Method:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, walnuts, salt and sugar. Add the cubed butter and work with your hands until there are no chunks of butter bigger than peas or small lima beans. Lightly toss to distribute.
Dump the mixture on a clean surface and, with the heel of your hand, flatten out the dough and start gathering it in until it forms a dough. Do not overwork. There should be some small chunks of butter left.
Pinch off about 3-4 tablespoons of the dough (I filled an ice cream scoop) and place on an ungreased sheet pan. Make an indentation in the center with a spoon and fill with a teaspoon or two of the raspberry jam. Cover and place in the freezer for at least two hours. (Or up to one month, well wrapped.)
Preheat oven to 375. Place the scones on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Make an egg wash with 2 yolks and a couple tablespoons of heavy cream and brush the scones all over. Sprinkle with sugar and bake the frozen scones for about 30 minutes or until well browned.
This bright and unusual fruit salad would be fabulous to serve at a brunch along with Nancy's Roquefort Quiche. Or any quiche, for that matter. I used the original New York Times recipe from an article by Amanda Hesser in 2001. She suggested it for Christmas breakfast along with some tangerine juice and a morning bread pudding. Amanda Hesser was one of our Gourmet 50 Women Game Changer chefs and I made her ultra fabulous sheet pan mac and cheese for the series. She is amazingly talented.
At any rate.....I added some pomegranate arils for color as suggested by Deb from Smitten Kitchen when she posted the recipe. Quick to make, but it should sit overnight in the fridge to allow the flavors to meld, so allow some time.
Winter Fruit Salad
By Amanda Hesser for the New York Times, December 19th, 2001
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 star anise
1 plump vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
2 2-inch long pieces lemon zest (peeled with a vegetable peeler), preferably Meyer lemons
3 firm Bosc pears
1 firm tart apple
8 dried Turkish apricots, cut in half
4 dried figs, quartered
Pomegranate arils for color
Method:
Fill a medium saucepan with 5 cups water. Add the sugar, star anise, vanilla bean and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, and cook until all the sugar is dissolved. Then shut off the heat. Meanwhile, peel and core pears and apple. Slice thinly lengthwise and place in a large heatproof bowl. Add apricots and figs. Pour hot sugar syrup on top, making sure all the fruit is covered. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; poke a few holes in plastic. Chill overnight in refrigerator.
The next morning, using a slotted spoon ladle fruit into a serving bowl and serve.
Yield: 6 servings.
Jacques Pepin's One Pan Bread really caught my interest a while back. Well, probably everybody's interest. But there were so many comments online about failures, it stopped me from trying it until recently, mainly because I saw a beautiful loaf of it on Pinterest, decorated with herbs and tomatoes. (Once you see that, the other loaves look boring!)
The trick to the "one pan" is the kind of pan you use. It won't work without the perfect pan. I was pretty sure I had one so decided to give it a try, preparing myself not to be surprised if it stuck to the pan when finished. (Mine is a Calphalon, 4 1/2 quart, 8 inches diameter, with a lid. Like THIS.)
As you can see, it worked perfectly! I took a photo of the pan just after baking so you can see how the bread drew away from the sides. (Bottom of post) Also at the bottom of the post is the video of Pepin making the bread.
I did make some changes to the original recipe: I added sauteed and cooled garlic, onion and thyme to the dough before the first rising. After taking the dough out of the fridge the next morning to bake, I decorated the top with parsley, mint, chives, tomatoes and thyme.
Do try it.
Jacques Pepin's One Pan Bread
You need a non-stick pot and an overnight rising in the fridge.
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups lukewarm water
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons yeast (If you've watched the video, Pepin is very vague about amount of yeast.)
4 cups flour
Method:
In a non-stick pot combine all ingredients with a wooden spoon. (If you are adding onions or herbs, do it now.)
Place lid or cover on pot and proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes.
Deflate the dough, replace lid and place pot in the refrigerator overnight; 10 to 14 hours or so.
When ready to bake, remove lid and place pot in (preheated) 400º(F) oven ~ bake for about 40 minutes until deep golden brown. .
Makes great toast, great sandwiches and you can add herbs, minced onion, roasted garlic, etc. to the dough. THIS website is where I got the idea to decorate the top; she also added tabbouleh to hers. Check out her recipe.
Here's a photo of the pan I made the bread in...you can see it has pulled away from the sides.
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