Three Spoons Café

Cranberry-Orange Scones

Susan — Mon, 17 May 2010 16:00:27 +0000

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

Susan — Mon, 03 May 2010 18:00:14 +0000

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

Susan — Sat, 01 May 2010 15:00:21 +0000

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

Susan — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:00:18 +0000

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

Susan — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:50:21 +0000

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

Susan — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:00:46 +0000

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

Susan — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:00:20 +0000

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

Susan — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:00:47 +0000

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!

Susan — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:00:53 +0000

Vanilla Pretzel Cookies

Susan — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:00:55 +0000

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.