Sweet Pick Me Ups

Daniel and I have noticed (and are very very appreciative :)) of the rise in comments on our blog lately, so I thought it may be a little time for some reflection. Not too long ago, Eat Live Travel Write posted about why she began her blog, and although we've only been doing ours for a few months, its quickly become a part of our routine that is enjoyable and rewarding. It's interesting what our original thoughts about how the blog would shape up were in comparison to what it looks like. 

Because I like to bake, and Daniel likes to cook, we somewhat assumed my posts would mainly be baked goods or desserts, and Daniel would post on the never-ending experiments in the kitchen when he gets a chance to cook. Looking back, I realize that we are at the brink of the holiday season, and I haven't posted a single solitary sweet so far. As I began writing a post on this super-super-sweet Caramel Cashew Tart from a recent issue of Bon Appetit, I felt a slight twinge of guilt however. I know that I'm already overwhelmed trying to decide what to desserts to make for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm even lucky enough to have a few birthdays throw in the mix (my dad was a Christmas eve baby) with the extra excuse to make more, and am still feeling stressed at the decision. So, fear no more, you will not get a desert from me. Not today anyway.

Instead, I thought I'd offer you not one, but two breakfast treats to hold you over until your turkey, ham, tofurkey, etc., has finished or to please your out of town or overnight guests. The pumpkin scone recipe is still under construction. I've struggled with the pumpkin scone for sometime, as I would like a traditional scone texture, but would still like it to...I don't know...taste like pumpkin. These come pretty close to what I've been searching for. They're a little more chewy than the traditional scone, but either way they still pair nicely with a cup of coffee. I didn't want them overpoweringly sweet, so I dusted mine with a little bit of granulated sugar while they were still warm. Alternatively, you could of course add a cinnamon and powdered sugar glaze or a nice frosting swirl to achieve some extra sweetness.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Scones

3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oat flour

1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup dried cranberries

3 tbsp chilled heavy cream plus more for glaze

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine first 10 ingredients in large bowl, blending well. Using back of fork or pastry cutter, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cranberries and toss to distribute evenly. Whisk heavy cream ,pumpkin, and egg to blend in small bowl. Gradually add pumpkin mixture to dry ingredients, stirring minimally until evenly moistened.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Gently knead to bind. Pat inf 3/4-inch-thick round. Cut the round into 6 wedges. Arrange scones on prepared sheet, spacing at least 1 inch apart. Brush scones with cream to glaze* (optional).

Bake scones until puffed and brown and tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Serve warm. 

The second breakfast treat pictured above are part of a batch of pumpkin biscotti from Simply Recipes . Suffice it to say, these were amazing. Daniel I think was a little bored with my overzealous use of pumpkin this fall, and he was not excited about the infamously dry hard biscotti, but these were quite tasty. The link to the recipe is posted above. I did have to bake mine a little longer and leave them out a little to dry, and of course I had to alter the spice's a little (or double the cinnamon, ginger, and cloves), but the cookies were quite tasty and the recipe was quick and simple getting them into the oven. 

Hope these ideas come in handy as you get ready!!