breads

Vanilla Blueberry Almond Scones

by Lisa on January 15, 2013

Blueberry Almond Scones

I know you voted for savory, but I have to give you a sweet too, only because if you make these at home you’ll find that they’re really not all that sweet at all!

Generally speaking, I love having fresh baked goods available for my family. But I recognize that eating too many baked goods does not do anyone any good, so I try to save them for special occasions. Sometimes, Saturday morning is a special occasion. I whipped up these scones one day when we were looking for something to eat with our coffee, but we were completely over the sugar overload of the holidays. I used a moderate amount of sugar so that these scones have just a touch of sweetness and I saved 10 calories per scone by using Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened Vanilla instead of skim milk. That simple switch also reduced the amount of sugar per serving while providing more almond flavor. Using almondmilk instead of cow’s milk makes this recipe vegan. Who said vegans can’t have delicious baked goods? It wasn’t me!

My husband ate one scone and immediately went back for another. My toddler, who doesn’t really favor sweets and baked goods, devoured one for a snack. I enjoyed one alongside my coffee. Three happy customers, I’d say this is a recipe I’ll be making over and over again.

The dough will be very wet for a scone, so rather than having eight perfect shaped and even scones, this recipe yields eight free form scones. Don’t worry, they still taste great. Alternatively, you could refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to help it firm up before shaping and cutting, but we all should know I lack patience. The blueberries are delicious in this scone, but can easily be substituted by a different berry or dried fruit.

Vanilla Blueberry Almond Scones

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20-22 minutes

Keywords: bake breakfast bread almonds

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Ingredients (8 scones)

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup almond meal
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cup Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened Vanilla
Beans of ½ a vanilla pod
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup frozen blueberries, rinsed (Can substitute fresh blueberries. I rinsed them frozen to keep the dough from turning blue.)
1 cup Sliced almonds, toasted
1 tablespoon Turbinado sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Toast the almond slices until just slightly browned and fragrant, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the almondmilk, vanilla beans and vanilla.

Add the almondmilk to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Fold in the blueberries and toasted almond slices.

Turn the dough out onto a clean, floured surface. Keep in mind the dough will be sticky so use plenty of flour to hold it together.

Form a circle with the dough. Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 equal triangles.

The dough is not as stiff as a traditional scone, so when they are moved to a lined baking sheet they will likely lose their shape.

Once the scones are on lined baking sheet, sprinkle them with Turbinado sugar.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, until the tops are browned.

Serve immediately, or store in an air-tight container.

Nutrition Label Vanilla Blueberry Almond Scones The Splattered Apron

To find more recipes featuring Silk Pure Almondmilk, check out the Facebook page!

Enjoy!

This post is part of a sponsored campaign with Silk and FitFluential, LLC. All opinions are my own. Learn more about Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened on Facebook and Twitter.

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{ 6 comments }

Pumpkin Bread, Revisited

by Lisa on November 1, 2012

pumpkin_bread_recipe_Splattered_Apron

Oh, MAN I love this pumpkin bread recipe. So much so that I’ve written about it before, and I felt the need to share the recipe again. Two years ago when I started this blog I 1) had barely any idea of how to take good food photos {and I’m still learning—every day!} and 2) I wrote recipes with photos interspersed. Great if you’re reading, not so great when you’re trying to follow along and cook without getting your computer all dirty.

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This is seriously my very favorite pumpkin bread ever. Talk about hyerbole, huh? There was a point in time when I couldn’t find the recipe so I tried a few others. None came even close to this one. Thank God my mom had her copy of the recipe. Because honestly, if I couldn’t make THIS pumpkin bread, I probably never would have eaten pumpkin bread again.

Pumpkin Bread

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Keywords: bake bread pumpkin fall

Ingredients (1 loaf)

1 2/3 cup flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup pumpkin {I always use canned, but I bet fresh would be great too}
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup water
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together the dry ingredients.

Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl until smooth.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until they are all incorporated.

Grease and flour a loaf pan. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for an hour.

Allow to cool in the pan until it can be handled, then transfer the bread to a cooling rack.

Store, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature.

pumpkin_bread_recipe_Splattered_Apron

Some people like to butter their bread, but I love how this one tastes just as it is. The nutmeg really stands out and gives it a delicious spiciness. The texture is crumbly and moist, dense and chewy. If you’re a pumpkin fan, I urge you to bake this bread as soon as you can.

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Enjoy!

{ 3 comments }

Zucchini Apple Muffins, Take 2

by Lisa on July 23, 2012

Zucchini Apple Muffins

Remember these muffins from last year? I loved them. But I thought I could make them better. This weekend, when the temperature was low enough {yaay high 70s – low 80s!} to actually turn on the oven, I did just that.

I added in almond meal in place of some of the all purpose flour and omitted the walnuts and shredded apples. And let me tell you, I like these ones better.

Zucchini Apple Muffins, Take 2

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Keywords: bake bread vegan dairy-free zucchini summer

Ingredients (1 dozen muffins)

1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 medium zucchini, shredded and squeezed to get out excess moisture
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 flax egg {1 tablespoon flax meal plus 3 tablespoons water}
1 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Set aside the flax egg to gel and shred the zucchini. Squeeze the zucchini to get rid of as much excess water as possible.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Next, combine the dry ingredients {flour, almond meal, sugars, baking powder, salt and cinnamon}.

In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients {applesauce, flax egg, milk and vanilla}.

Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined. Then stir in the zucchini until just combined.

Spoon the batter into a prepared muffin tin {I prefer not to use muffin liners}.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the muffins are puffed up, brown around the edges and a toothpick comes out clean.

zucchini apple vegan muffins

I have to confess. I baked these at 11 pm on Saturday night. As soon as they came out of the oven, I ate one. It was an awesome midnight snack on what was clearly a wide and crazy night.

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The combination of apple and zucchini is one of my favorites.

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I can’t wait to have one of these for breakfast.

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Okay, fine. I’ll be eating two.

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Enjoy!

{ 9 comments }

Greek Easter Bread

by Lisa on April 10, 2012

Easter, for the majority of the Christian religions, was yesterday. If you are of the Orthodox faith, Easter is this coming Sunday. If you’re Greek, you’ve almost certainly had this bread before. The symbolism of the egg, I understand, but when I was asked yesterday why we serve this bread in particular, I had no answer. Isn’t “it’s tradition” enough? I think so.

This recipe comes from the book my Yiayia gave me. I’ll be honest, baking with yeast really intimidated me. It’s why I’ve never made this or the New Year’s bread before. But, as this was Caroline’s first Easter and we were hosting dinner with friends, I had to give it a shot.

Greek Easter Bread

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 10 minutes hands on, 2 1/2 hours rising time

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Keywords: bake bread Easter Greek

Ingredients (1 9-inch loaf)

1/4 cup warm water
1 packet dry, active yeast
2 eggs, divided, at room temperature
1/6 cup of sugar
8 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Tablespoon of almond extract
3/4 cup lukewarm milk {I used 1%}
3.5 cups of flour, divided

Instructions

Dissolve the packet of yeast in the warm water, set aside.

Using a stand mixer or a handheld mixer, beat 1 1/2 eggs and sugar together for 1 minute.

Add the butter and beat until creamy.

Add in the almond extract.

Add the yeast mixture, warm milk and salt to the butter, sugar and egg mixture. Beat until combined.

Add 1 1/2 cups of flour and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Add the next 1/2 cups of flour and combine with your hands.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Add up to another 1/2 cup of flour while kneading to get the dough to come together.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover and set it in a warm place to rise for 1 1/2 hours, until it has doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and let it rise for another 1/2 hour, it should almost double in size again.

After 1/2 hour, divide the dough into 2 even portions for a twist or 3 for a braid. Shape the bread then wrap it in a circle and place it is a 9 inch cake pan. {To be traditional, place an egg, dyed red, in the center of the bread. Let it rise for another 1/2 hour. {To help with rising, I preheated the oven to 350 degrees for the second and third risings and placed the dough on top of the stove.}

Brush the dough with the remaining beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool completely before wrapping in plastic wrap. Store at room temperature.

I’m pretty sure this recipe is not the one my Yiayia used but somehow, the flavor still takes me back. The sensory memory of eating this bread as a little girl, wearing a pretty Easter dress surrounded by my cousins and all of the treats from our baskets was vivid as I smelled and tasted the bread.

I hope that someday Caroline will have memories like that of holidays growing up.

My Yiayia always braided her bread but at the time I was about to braid it and let it rise once more, Caroline needed me to hold her. So twisting it with an almost 8 month old in the Ergo was the best I could do.

This bread has a slight sweetness, which gives it such a unique flavor. Truly, working with a yeast dough was not nearly as scary as I thought. The trick is to make sure the water is not too warm so that it won’t kill the yeast. We did that once. Gave a whole new meaning to the term thin crust pizza.

Greek or not, you’ll want to make this bread. I promise.

Christos Anesti!

Recipe halved from Greek Cooking for All Seasons published by Ladies’ Philoptochos Society “Pantanassa” of the Holy Trinity Church in Lowell, Massachusetts

{ 9 comments }

Mom’s Cinnamon Rolls

by Lisa on January 6, 2012

My mom has been making cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning ever since I can remember. Technically, cinnamon rolls can be enjoyed at any time of the year, but our family only eats them at Christmas. I’m fairly certain I need to change this trend, but for now, let’s just focus on my mom’s cinnamon rolls.

I’m not even sure where this recipe came from. Mom? A little help?

Speaking of a little help, this is the fourth recipe that my mom prepared and photographed while we were visiting for Christmas. She also made snack mix, peppermint stick ice cream pie and sun dried tomato dip, among the other dishes that she didn’t document. Let’s all say thank you. Thank you, Mom!!!

The prep for this recipe is a little time intensive. My mom cuts down on it by using her bread machine to make the dough. Since I don’t think that many people have bread machines, I’m going to provide the recipe as it would be prepared with a stand mixer {and without pictures to accompany the instructions}. If you want to know how to use a bread machine let me know and I’ll have my mom tell you!

Mom’s Cinnamon Rolls

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 2 hours 40 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients (18 rolls)

For the Cinnamon Rolls

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package active dry yeast
about 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup butter, divided
1 egg
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the Sugar Glaze

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
4 teaspoons water

Instructions

In a bowl, combine sugar, salt, yeast and 1 cup of flour. set aside.

In a saucepan, warm the milk and 1/4 cup of butter to 120 to 130 degrees. The butter does not need to melt completely.

Using a stand or handheld mixer, beat the warm milk and butter mixture into the dry ingredients on low speed. Once slightly incorporated, raise the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.

Add in the egg and another cup of flour, then beat for 2 minutes.

Using a spoon or spatula, stir in 1 1/2 cups of flour.

On a clean, floured surface, knead the dough until smooth, about 10 minutes.

Shape the dough into a bowl and place in a large greased bowl, being sure to coat the dough in the oil. Set in a warm place to rise for an hour.

After 1 hour, punch down the dough. Place the dough on a floured surface, cover and allow to rest for another 15 minutes.

While the dough is rising, make the filling. Combine the brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon and raisins {if using}.

Grease a 13×9 inch pan and melt 1/4 cup of butter.

After 15 minutes, roll the dough out to an 18 x 12 inch rectangle and brush with the melted butter.

Cover with the brown sugar mixture.

Starting on the long side of the dough, begin rolling up the dough. Seal the seam by pinching.

Cut the roll into 18 even slices with the seam side down.

Arrange the rolls in the baking pan with the cut sides down.

Cover and allow to rise for another hour, until they are doubled in size.

If you’d like to wait to bake these, stick them in the fridge at this point then place them in the oven during preheating.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 20 minutes.

While baking, prepare the sugar glaze. Stir together the confectioners’ sugar and water until smooth.

Allow to cool slightly then drizzle with sugar glaze.

These cinnamon rolls are the perfect addition to any holiday breakfast table. Or the everyday breakfast table. We always serve ours alongside eggs, Greek sausage, bacon, feta and olives. And coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.