Good Morning Love

Daniel & I are always torn about what to do around Valentine's day. Do we go out for a nice dinner and fight the crowds, stay in and make a nice dinner together. Or do something else entirely. Maybe we're not the only bloggers in the world who face this dilemma, but whenever it comes up, I typically favor some sort of compromise, usually a baked one. 

No matter what your plans are for the day, a nice freshly baked breakfast treat is a nice way to show anyone that you care and were thinking about them first thing in the morning. I've included three baked treats on the post, but feel free to check out any of these other recipes:

Pumpkin Cranberry Scones or Biscotti  

Or if you're interested in something a little more savory:

Baked Eggs or Toast from Freshly Baked Bread 

Roasted Pepper & Bacon Fritatta  

Savory Cheddar Bacon Scone

Traditional English Scone

 2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 Cup Raisins

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup white sugar (reserve 2 tbsp)

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with nonstick slipmat or parchment paper. Next, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and into a bowl.Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the raisins, sugar (except for reserved 2 tbsp), and enough milk to mix to a soft dough. Knead lightly. Using 1/4 cup measuring cup, measure out scone and place on baking sheet. Brush with milk to glaze and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake  10 minutes then cool on a wire rack. Serve with butter, jelly, or clotted cream if you're lucky enough to find it!

Cranberry Pistachio "un"Coffee Cake (no topping)

1/2 granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup butter or margarine
  2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup FlaxseedMeal
1/4 cup pistachios
1/4 Cup Cranberries teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp Flax Seed Meal Dissolved in 6 Tbsp Water (or two eggs)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon  baking powder 
1 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 350*F (175*C). Grease a 9 inch square baking pan.
Combine sugars and butter. In separate bowl, combine flours, flax seed meal (not the one dissolved in water), baking powder, soda, and salt. Add dissolved flax seed and vanilla to sugar/butter mixture.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix in buttermilk. Add pistachios and cranberries. Stir until just combined. Mixture should be lumpy.
To the remaining crumb mixture add the rest of the ingredients from the buttermilk to the baking soda and stir by hand to combine. Mixture will be slightly lumpy.
Pour into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 or 30 minutes or until tested done when wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Double Chocolate Biscotti

4 oz semisweet chocolate chopped finely

1 cup packed brown sugar

1-3/4 Cup All Purpose Flours

1/3 Cup Dutch Processed cocoa

1 Tsp Baking Soda

3 Eggs

2 Tsp Vanilla

1/2 Cup Mini Chips*

Preheat oven to 300. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. In food processor or magic bullet, pulse chocolate and brown sugar until fine. In bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda. In separate bowl, beat eggs and vanilla. Add flour and chocolate mixture to eggs. When dough begins to come together, add chips. Continue mixing until a stiff dough forms. 

Divide dough in half. Roll each half into one long log (about 1 ft), and place on sheet. 

Bake at 300 for 35-40 minutes until firm. Remove from oven and let cool 10-15 minutes. Transfer logs to cutting board (carefully) and using serrated knife cut along the bias to make cookies between 1/2 and 1 inch wide. Place cookies, one cut side down, back on sheet. Bake 15 minutes on each side (30 total), until crisp and dry. Let cool. Ice with chocolate frosting or a chocolate glaze

*consider trying nuts, white chocolate, or experimenting!!

Enjoy