Mama said there'd be days like this

Has your pantry ever looked like it just threw up? Well, apparently mine has the flu. I knew it wasn't feeling well when I started taking things out of it and it would spit out one thing before I closed the door. Unfortunately, I didn't pick up on the initial symptoms until it was too late. I pulled out a few things, lined then up nicely and just stared at them for a while. Tilting my head to the right, then back to the left. What was I waiting for? I'm not sure really. Although about 2 minutes into staring at my counter it hit me!! Iron chef! Now even though I'm enamoured with the concept, being a vegetarian, I can't always watch the show. They have some freaky secret ingredients!And I mean freaky in caps, bold, italicized and underlined! I wanted to come up with recipes using as many of these ingredients as possible.

So this is just a quick post kind of like a preview of whats to come.

The one i'm most excited about is the first one!

#1- pumpkin whoopie pies with maple marshmallow frosting!!! ( that takes care of 2 at once)

#2- Sun-dried tomato and onion bread! ( that also takes care of two at once)

#3- Caramel ( I want to go old school with this one and try the boil the can of sweetened condensed milk for hours & hope it doesnt explode method)

#4- mint chocolate chip cookies ( I found those scrumptious dark chocolate and mint chips a while ago, now its time to use them)

#5- Almond butter buttercream ( I love almond butter, in any way shape or form, although I usually just smear it on toast. This time I am going to make it into a buttercream & I think, I hope, WASC cupcakes would be just perfect!)

I hope you stay tuned to see how they all turn out. Also, just so you know, this was only the bottom shelf in the pantry. There are 4 more shelves that I havent 'thrown up' on my counter yet!

I love to challenge myself and I also very much want to use up what I have before I buy anything else.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you check back soon. I am very passionate about fondant and I would like to add tutorials about the figures that I make. Pictorials actually.

As always, if you have any questions, any at all, please feel free to ask! Im always happy to help any way that I can!

Bake happy!

Jess

Sweet scone o' mine!

I definitely want to blog more, but I must admit......I didnt know that when I got a tattoo of Eeyore many years ago, it would be an omen of things to come. Meaning, I seem to have a dark cloud over my head & not only has it been there for quite sometime, it also doesnt seem to have any plans on leaving anytime soon. We'll just leave it at that for now. Because now it's time for one of my favorite recipes from pastry school..........cranberry drop scones!

Its a pretty basic recipe, just make sure not to overmix.

Oh yeah, and I also added some chopped white chocolate. I love the combination. mmm-mmm-mmm!

Ice cream scoops are my favorite gadget! They make things look so neat and uniform ( & keep my OCD in check! )

I also sprinkle some granulated sugar on top before baking them. I just love that extra sweet crunch on top!

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Look at these beauties. They smell super fabulous too. Try not to over bake them because a dry scone is a not a happy scone.

I wanted to show the middle, the top and the bottom so you can see what they're supposed to look like.

Heres the recipe: (from Professional Baking, fifth edition, Gisslen)

butter 6oz

sugar 5oz

salt 0.25oz

egg yolks 1.33oz (2yolks)

pastry flour 1# & 8oz ( i used 1/2 AP flour & 1/2 cake flour)

baking powder 1.25 oz

milk 14oz

dried cranberries 4oz

white chocolate ~2oz

Preheat oven to 400. combine butter, sugar & salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Blend to a smooth paste. Add the eggs gradually & blend in thoroughly. Add the milk & mix in. Sift together the flour(s) & the baking powder. Add to the bowl and mix to a smooth dough. Add the cranberries and chocolate just until mixed in. Drop mounds onto parchment-lined sheet pan, ( I didnt have any, it was fine- or you can use a silpat). Bake until golden brown and slightly firm to the touch.( probably about 15mins) Let cool for 5 minutes on pan before removing.

I highly recommend these, they're amazing. They're not too sweet and when you bite into a cranberry piece as well as a white chocolate piece.......heavenly!!

I welcome all comments and i'd love to see pics if anyone is tempted to bake them.