Apple Cheddar Scones

Well I am finally back in the swing of things. I had a great time in California visiting family for just over two weeks. I missed some really great recipes.....I had contemplated bringing my cookbook with me, but considering I didn't even have time to crack open my laptop to do scrapbooking I am glad I didn't. We were so busy zooming from one place to the next. To read all about my adventures go here.

A big thanks to Karina from The Floured Apron for choosing Apple Cheddar Scones.

I was a little leery of making Apple Cheddar scones, not that I dislike the combination. One of my favorite snacks growing up was apples and cheese slices. I just didn't know if the combo would work for me as a bread. Plus I had read in the comment section how bland these scones were. So I doubled the batch so I could play around a little with the flavors. I realized that I didn't have buttermilk or applejuice. I used milk w/lemon and cranberry juice to substitute. I divided it into three separate bowls for three different combos. I am not sure if I did something wrong, but my batter was quite dry. I ended up adding a drizzle of milk to the second two bowls.

I did what the recipe called for using the apples and the cheese, these were a little bland and dry for me although I imagine they would be great with butter and honey or crumbled into chili, or used as a side......

Then I did apples and cinamon with a sprinkle of sugar on top, I ended up taking these babies to work. They had a lot more flavor, but were still a little dry.....

The best combo was cheddar and garlic, I had planned on using fresh garlic, but I was in such a hurry to get these done so I could go to bed that I ended up using garlic powder. I also added a dash of oregeno/italian seasoning mix. These were very comparable to the bisquits you get at Red Lobster. I added a healthy dash of milk to these so that they would not be as dry. I loved them.....of course I commented to my hubs that they could use more garlic, but I am a definate garlic lover, I am sure that when he tries them later that they will be just fine.

Back from Vacation

I am back from a two+ week of vacation out in Sunny California and AZ. I will resume with my weekly TWD and other posts shortly. Thanks!

Crockpotting

I am in love with crockpotting.....it has been a while since I have used mine, but I am determined to use it more because who really wants to heat up the house during the summer in the South? I have a crockpot cookbook that I am looking forward to exploring. But I have also found a site that I like to check in on every once in a while. It is called http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/. This lady is trying to crockpot every day. I am also inspired to try things out - the easier the better because a good friend of mine is going moving through the military and will be living in a hotel for quite a bit until they get housing. So...that said look for some reviews of my crockpoting experience....past and present here.

Do you have a favorite recipe?

TWD: French Chocolate Brownies

This Week's Choice came from Di from Di's Kitchen Notebook. I have to admit that although I love rasiens I just couldn't put them into these brownies. I have heard people compare them to raisenette's which I adore, but I just couldn't. These brownies were easy to make and turned out great. I topped mine with fresh chocolate whipped cream and mini m&m. Although no one else has tried them I think that this will be my go to recipe, so much better than what comes out of a box.

French Chocolate Brownies
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup raisins (dark or golden) I just couldn't bear to add rasiens so I skipped this and the rum.

1 1/2 tablespoons water

1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces, at room temperature

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet. Whisk the flour, salt and cinnamon together. Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum and let it warm for about 30 seconds, then turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum with a long match. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate melts. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring until it melts. It’s important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you’ve got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it’s better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter mixture, mixing only until it is incorporated—you’ll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won’t be completely incorporated. Then finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula. Fold in the raisins, along with any liquid remaining in the pan. Scrape the batter into the pan.Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to warm or room temperature.Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.

Serving: The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they’re even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good accompaniments are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or, dare I suggest, all three!Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept a room temperature for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 2 months.