Cranberry-Orange Scones

I’m following this recipe for scones with the usual substitutions, and I forget to put in the eggs. Well, the scones turned out better than with the eggs added. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

cranberry-orange scones

Cranberry-Orange Scones

2 cups unbleached white flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons margarine, cold (Earth Balance)
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk (Pacific)
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup dried cranberries
zest of one orange

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, stir the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Mix the vanilla almond milk and orange juice together; set aside. Cut in the cold margarine into the flour mixture until crumbly. Toss the dried cranberries and the orange zest into the flour; add liquid mixture and stir until moistened. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a rough circle. Slice into eight triangles; place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 20 – 25 minutes. Cool slightly; glaze.

Glaze: mix powdered sugar and enough orange juice for spreading consistency

For a non-vegan scone: before baking, brush tops of scones with the yolk of one egg mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water.

Thin and Chewy Chocolate Delights

My attempts at sifting through my recipes so I can purge the bad ones and organize the good ones usually results in a pile of “I must try these!” and nothing thrown away. Well, I’m glad I kept this one, even though I’ve had this recipe for so long I don’t know where I got it. Nonetheless, I tried it (with the usual adjustments) and it was an instant hit. The trick is not to eat too many.

chewy chocolate delights

Chocolate Cookies

1 1/4 cup margarine, Earth Balance
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla, Frontier Vanilla Flavoring
1 3/4 cup unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cocoa, Valrohna or Scharffen Berger

Beat margarine at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add the sugar, beating well. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa; stir. Gradually add to margarine mixture until well combined. Chill until easier to handle, about an hour.

Either lightly grease or use parchment paper on baking sheets. Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake 10 – 12 minutes at 350°. Cool on baking sheets for 1 minute; remove to wire racks.

April Absence

Sorry for not having any posts for a month, but I’ve been busy with things that don’t have to do with food. I helped with two moves; one in California and one in Kansas City. I drove to Waco, Texas, took a train to San Jose, California, drove to St. Louis, Missouri, stayed three days, drove back to Kansas City, stayed four days, and took the train back to St. Louis. I am now back in Georgia and back to baking!

I did manage to visit the Whole Foods in Palo Alto with my boys.

Whole Foods in Palo Alto, California

Cherry Scones

These scones are soft and sweet. I love them as a complement to a cherry-walnut salad or as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea.

cherry-vanilla scones with tea

Cherry-Vanilla Scones

2 cups unbleached white flour
1 tablespoon Rumford baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup Earth Balance margarine
1 ½ cups vanilla rice milk, divided
1 (3-ounce) package dried cherries
2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 375º.

Combine first 4 ingredients; cut in margarine with a fork or pastry blender until crumbly. Add 1 ¼ cups rice milk and cherries, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 5 or 6 times. Pat or roll dough to ½-inch thickness; cut with a 5-inch heart-shaped or 2-inch round cutter, and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Optional: Brush dough with remaining ¼ cup rice milk; sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake at 375º. for 12 to 15 minutes or until scones are golden.

Raspberries and Meringues

Raspberries and Meringues

Originally uploaded by susansbooks

This is such an easy dessert to make. I purchased the meringues at Whole Foods and filled them with a nondairy vanilla pudding. After topping them with raspberries, I drizzled some dairy-free chocolate sauce on top. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Soft Pretzels

Beer and Pretzels

Originally uploaded by susansbooks

I really wanted something salty and pretzels came to my mind. Of course it took me awhile to dig through my stacks of recipes-and I have a lot of them-to find this one. The original recipe called for butter, but the Earth Balance margarine tastes good.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 packages active dry yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup bread flour
3 cups unbleached white flour
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda

2 – 4 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine, melted

Sprinkle yeast on lukewarm water in mixing bowl; stir to dissolve. Add sugar, salt; stir to dissolve. Add flour; knead dough (I use a large stand mixer) until smooth and elastic. Allow to rise at least 1/2 hour. (I let the dough rise for at least an hour)

In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups warm water with 2 tablespoons baking soda. Stir often. Grease two large cookie sheets; set aside.

Once dough has risen (about double in size); pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope and shape. Dip shaped pretzel dough in baking soda solution; place on greased baking sheet. Allow to rise 10 minutes or more. Bake in a 450°F oven for 8 – 10 minutes. Brush with melted margarine and sprinkle with course salt, or for a sweeter option, cinnamon sugar.

Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup

Even though I am not at home, I am trying to get in some
cooking time. I made this roasted tomato-basil soup the other night
and will add this to my “I will make this again” list. I served the
soup with sourdough garlic bread from Whole Foods, but I think the
next time I will just add croutons.

tomato and basil
soup

Roasted Tomato
and Basil Soup 10 Roma tomatoes, halved
lengthwise 4 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped 4 – 6 cloves garlic,
minced 5 tablespoons olive oil 1/4 cup chopped onions 1/2 cup dry
white wine 1 – 1 1/2 cup chicken broth salt and pepper Preheat oven to 400°. Arrange tomato
halves in a roasting pan. With the cut side up, sprinkle 1
tablespoon of the basil and the minced garlic evenly over the
tomatoes. Then drizzle 4 tablespoons of the oil evenly over the
tomatoes. Roast the tomatoes until they are soft when pierced with
a fork and the skins slip off easily, 40 – 45 minutes. Remove from
the oven and discard the skins. In a saucepan over medium-high
heat, add the remaining 1-tablespoon oil and sauté the onions until
translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the roasted tomatoes, wine, and
chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and
simmer, uncovered, until the tomatoes have broken down, the mixture
has thickened, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and
pepper. Purée the soup in a blender until smooth. Return to the pan
and reheat. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the
remaining basil.

Soup trials

I know I have been a little lax lately, but I will be trying out some new soup recipes this week, and I will let you know how they turn out. In the mean time, stay warm!

Happy New Year!

Vanilla Pretzel Cookies

This is the first time I tried this recipe and the family wasn’t demanding more which makes me wonder. These lovely cookies are slightly sweet, but seem to have more the texture of a true pretzel rather than a cookie. I dipped the tops of about a half dozen or so in chocolate and that seemed to cause more excitement, but I make so many chocolate cookies, this may not make the cut next year.

vanilla pretzel cookies

Vanilla Pretzel Cookies

6 tablespoons margarine, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon Rumford baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup vanilla rice milk
2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water

White nonpareils

Beat margarine, sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add egg yolks and vanilla until combined. Gradually add rice milk; then beat in the flour. Place in a smaller bowl and cover with plastic wrap; chill for 4 hours or until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a tablespoon of the dough into a 9-inch long rope. Loop each rope into a pretzel shape and place on cookie sheet.

In a small bowl, combine egg and one tablespoon of water and beat lightly. Brush cookies with the egg mixture and sprinkle with nonpareils. Bake 12 – 15 minutes or until light brown along the edges. Cool on wire rack.