Cheddar and Onion Scones

A savory breakfast lover's dream, these creamy biscuit-like scones are simply divine. The best news is that the recipe is totally interchangeable, so you can tailor it to your liking day by day.

Props to Smitten Kitchen for a convincing me that scones can be a cinch to make. My worry melted away as I saw that the steps were quite simple, the ingredients were quite few, and after a few quick pulses on my Cuisinart, these dreamy creamy scones would soon be mine.

When out of town guests headed were headed our way last weekend, I knew I had to prepare the perfect something for a morning pick-me-up. Inspired by one of our favorite Cambridge bakeries, Darwin's Ltd., it was clear I would need to go with something savory - perhaps a remake of Hubby's and my ultimate Saturday indulgence: the cheddar and onion scone.

My cousin actually said to me, "I wasn't too excited when you told me you made scones, but I didn't realize they could be soft and moist!" Or something to that effect... :) I took it as a compliment - but it was the empty service platter that further validated my assumption.

Without further ado, the recipe. As I mentioned before, please replace our cheddar and onions with your favorite treat - chocolate chips, blueberries, bacon, etc...

America's Test Kitchen Cookbook, via Smitten Kitchen
(with, of course, our own personal cheddar and onion rendition!)

Ingredients
2 C all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 T sugar
5T chilled unsalted butter (cut into little cubes)
*1/4 lb cheddar cheese
*1 red onion, caramelized
1 C heavy cream
(*if using another filling, something in the 1/2 C range is a good measure)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425
Place dry ingredients in Cuisinart (flour, baking powder, sugar, salt)
Pulse six times (if doing by hand, just mix together quickly)
Add cubed butter to Cuisinart and pulse until meal-like (not too many times...use forks to press into dry ingredients if doing by hand)
Add cheese and onions
Add heavy cream and stir for 30 seconds until dough-like
Flour a clean dry counter top
Place dough onto floury surface and quickly mold into desired shape (for me, I molded by hand into a 1 in high square; also consider using a 9" round cake pan as a mold, or a biscuit cutter for a round shape)
Next, cut your dough into the desired shape - I simply used a sharp knife to create 3x3 squares (in retrospect it would have been cute to then cut the squares into more scone-like triangles)
If using the round cake pan method, turn dough out and cut into wedges
At this stage, it is safe to freeze your unbaked scones - I transferred mine to a freezer-safe plate and covered tightly with plastic wrap, then foil (when ready to bake, place right onto baking sheet and add a few minutes to baking time)
Place on baking sheet and bake until light brown for 12-15 minutes
Remove from oven, let cool and serve to a hungry audience :)

Sneak Peek

Well, I managed to make a certified mess of our kitchen this morning... but I think it will be well worth my pending adventure in clean-up.

Cheddar Onion Scones (in the making)

Recipe here :)

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Sounds strange. Tastes divine.

I made this lovely batch for a certain pretty lady's wedding day mani/pedi party (which was a really fun idea, in case you're fresh out of shower themes!). Blueberry scones and coffee cake were the goodies du jour - two delightfully delicious breakfast treats for your next pre-lunch get together.

In addition to the breakfast tacos, fruit platter and mimosas (naturally), a couple of us baked some yummy treats to add to the spread.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake (thank you, Food Network!)

Ingredients:

Streusel
1/4 C sugar
3 packed tbsp brown sugar (I like light best)
1/2 C walnuts, chopped and toasted
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon


Cake
2 C unbleached flour (sift your flour - always sift your flour when baking)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch of grated nutmeg
3/4 C unsalted butter, plus more for pan (bring to room temp)
1 C sugar
2 lg eggs (bring to room temp)
1 C sour cream (don't get low fat - you'll be sorry)
1.5 tsp vanilla extract (get Molina Mexican vanilla if available)

Kitchen tools:
Stand mixer (hand mixer is fine)
Flour sifter
Square baking dish (9x9 or 8x8 should work. I don't recommend round because you'll end up with fewer presentable pieces of cake - believe me, I learned the hard way)
Mixing bowls

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350.

Grease your pan with butter (generously, so you can get your cake out of the pan later).

Prepare the streusel by mixing the sugar, brown sugar, walnuts, vanilla, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Set it aside.

Sift flour and whisk together with baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Set it aside.
 
In your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with an electric hand-held mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Next, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated.

Mix the vanilla with the sour cream in a separate bowl.

Begin to add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the sour cream until just combined.

for you batter lovers, now is the optimal time to "test" your product :)

Spread half the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with half the streusel.

Spoon the remaining batter on top and spread it out with a spatula.

Scatter the remaining streusel over the top of the batter.

Bake the coffee cake for 50 minutes, or until golden brown and a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. I always take mine out right before it is done - you can't forget to account for out-of-oven bake time, which occurs on the cooling rack.

Cool on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!