Biscuits with berries

I'm sort of obsessed with a particular flavor combination at the moment. I'm not sure if it's my sweet-tooth kicking into overdrive, or the fact that berries are so cheap at the moment... but all I want to do is bake things with chocolate and raspberries! I'm pretty powerless against this desire, so the other day I succumbed by baking Raspberry Chocolate Chip Biscuits!

I poured whole-wheat flour...

Baking powder...

And salt into a mixing bowl.

Then I added ice-cold butter and used a pastry cutter to blend the mixture into something that resembled "course crumbs".

To that I added mini chocolate chips (I love these things)...

And fresh raspberries... delish!

Then, I poured in some half-and-half and used a spatula to stir the mixture until it came together in a ball.

And while I could have used a biscuit cutter to make traditional biscuits, I went with something a little more rustic. So I balled the dough into loosely formed spheres...

And placed them onto a baking sheet before brushing their tops with half-and-half and sprinkling on a healthy pinch of sugar.

After about 12 minutes in the oven (and a half-turn of the baking sheet midway through the baking time)...

I had a plate full of delicious, rustic, sweet and tart biscuits.

And boy, were they tasty!!

Here's the recipe if you'd like to make these biscuits someday:

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Biscuits

Recipe from: Hungry Girl Por Vida

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup half and half, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F. Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add chocolate and raspberries, and toss mixture with hands. Add half and half and stir until dough just comes together to form a ball. At this point place the whole bowl, covered with a towel, into the refrigerator to rest for about 20 minutes. Then, ball using your hands form dough into rough balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush tops with remaining half and half and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 10-14 minutes, until bottoms are golden brown and tops are beginning to brown around the edges.

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!

Rasberry-Chocolate Scones

I love scones.

Ever since I worked at Panera in undergrad (where I used to eat scones, for free, whenever I wanted), I've had an obsession with the scrumptious little triangles.

However, I completely stink at making them. It's true- every time I try, there's always something "not right" about the finished product. A few months ago, I decided that my quest to bake a decent scone should be put on hold, so I tackled other types of pastries for a few months. But a couple of weeks ago, my co-worker treated me to a Raspberry-Chocolate scone from a local tea-house (gotta love NYC, right?), and I fell in the love.

So the other day, I decided to try my hand at scones- more specifically, the delicious Raspberry-Chocolate Scone I had tasted at work one day. And you know what- these weren't half bad!

Since raspberries are in season right now (i.e. cheap), I purchased a pint from the local green grocer.

Along with the raspberries, I grabbed a few other ingredients:

And got to work measuring, sifting, and stirring.

Once I had all the dry ingredients in the bowl, I added some cold butter and mixed away with my pastry blender.

When everything in the bowl looked like this...

I added the egg and milk (which I had whisked together in the mixing cup).

And then, I added the best part- the raspberries and chocolate (I went with mini-chocolate chips).

When the dough was just combined, I plopped it onto my counter (along with a ridiculous amount of extra flour because the raspberries were extra juicy and my dough was pretty sticky). After I padded it into a disc, I sliced it into 6 portions...

And placed them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

And a few minutes later...

I had finally made edible scones!

They're certainly not perfect, but they taste good... which is good enough for me!

If you'd like to try this simple (and mixer-free) free recipe, here you go:

Raspberry-Chocolate Scones


Recipe adapted from Naturally Ella

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup pastry flour
2 tablespoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoon butter
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup + 2 T of buttermilk
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup raspberries (fresh if you have them)
Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water)*
*I totally forgot this step and mine turned out okay!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425˚ and cover a sheet tray in parchment paper. In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. Cut in butter (using pastry blender) until butter is in little pea size pieces. In a smaller bowl, whisk together egg yolk and butter milk and then stir into dry ingredients until dough pulls together. Fold in chocolate chips and raspberries and roll out onto a floured surface. Pat dough into a circle and cut into 6 pieces. Place on the tray and brush egg wash (if you remember it) over scones. Place tray in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden.

Not only are these scones good right out of the oven, but they freeze well and defrost in the microwave in about 2 minutes!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Swedish Cinnamon Butterhorns (Kanelbullar)

 Since I am part Swedish, I've been wanting to attempt some traditional Swedish dishes. I have grand plans of making huge, Swedish meals for my family someday... so I've got to start trying new recipes- one concoction at a time! When I came across these Kanelbullars on The Cilantropist the other day, I figured it would be a good start! Here's what I needed:

 I started by putting some yeast in warm water...

 And melting butter in milk (the recipe told me to do this over the stove, but I'm lazy so I used the microwave).

 In a mixing bowl I broke 3 eggs...

 And added sugar...

 Salt...

 The milk/butter mixture, and the water/yeast mixture.

 While the mixer whirled away, I added some flour and waited for the dough to come together.

 Once everything was combined, I put some plastic wrap over the bowl and tucked it into the fridge to rise for a few hours.

 Meanwhile I mixed some cinnamon together with sugar (for the inside of the butterhorns, of course).

 When I pulled the dough from the fridge, it has risen pretty significantly. I punched it down a bit and split it into 4 pieces.

 Working in batches, I rolled the dough (making sure to dust my counter surface and rolling pin with extra flour) into rounds about 12 inches across.

 After spreading liberally with softened butter...

I sprinkled the cinnamon/sugar mixture over the top of the rolled dough.

 I then took a sharp knife and sliced the round into 8 slices (kind of like a pizza).

 Starting at the edge of each slice, I rolled it towards the tip to make crescent-shaped rolls.

 After they were rolled, I placed the pan in a warm place to rise under a towel for about 45 minutes. When they were fully risen, I brushed them with a bit of egg and milk before popping them into a pre-heated oven.

 And in just about12 minutes, I had a tray full of cinnamon butterhorns to enjoy!

 Doesn't that look delish?

 I still have a bit of work to do in order to keep the crescents from unrolling when baking... so while these may not look perfect, they sure taste amazing!!

Swedish Cinnamon Butterhorns (Kanelbullar)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup warm water (ideally between 90-115 degrees F)
1 package active dry yeast (3/4 oz, or 21 g)
6 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:
1/2 cup softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Egg wash:
1 large egg beaten with 2 tbsp milk

Directions:
In a microwave safe bowl, heat milk until hot, then add butter and stir until butter is dissolved and set aside. In a small dish, add yeast to warm water and let stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat together eggs, sugar, and salt in a large bowl, then beat in milk as well as yeast mixture. Add flour, mixing well to make a smooth but thick batter. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. Remove dough from the fridge and divide into four parts. Working with one quarter of the dough, roll it into a ball using your hands, then transfer it to a well-floured surface and roll it into a 12-inch circle. Spread 1/4 of the softened butter on the dough round, then mix together sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle 1/4 of the mixture over the butter. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, slice the round into 8 wedges. Starting at the wide, outer edge of one of the wedges, roll the dough towards the pointed edge, forming a crescent shape. Transfer to the lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough. Cover the rolls with a towel and let rise for about 45 minutes in a warm area.

Before baking, lightly brush the tops of the rolls with the egg wash. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown on the tops. Cool on a cooling rack, then transfer to an airtight container. Will keep for 3-4 days, or longer if refrigerated and well-sealed.

I think these yummy rolls will look a bit better after I make a few more batches for practice, but all in all I'm pretty pleased to have this new Swedish recipe under my belt.

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!