Homemade Scones and Cream Recipe

This recipe is perfect for Valentine’s Day if you want to create a treat for the special day! Some of my favorite Valentine’s Day memories involve my dad putting those little candy hearts allll over the house and me getting to look and find them. Onto the yummy stuff. I have watched my mum make her scones year after year growing up throughout my childhood, but I never actually made them myself. Sure, I helped her put on the jam or whip the cream, but I was just helping, not creating. I was thinking of what I wanted to bring to work for Valentine’s Day (I’m not a huge proponent of this day because it’s normally too gushy, but I always like an excuse to make something yummy), and then it came to me! Mum’s scones! Simple, delicious, and not too sweet. Looking back, I have to laugh, because when I asked mum for the recipe, and then when we were FaceTiming while I was making it at 6:30am (5:30am her time–sorry, Mum!), the way she actually did it was completely different. Here is a family recipe, rooting back in New Zealand that promises to not be too heavy or sweet but a definite crowd-pleaser.

The finished product

Scones

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Baking Time: 10 minutes
Makes: 20 scones (40 halves)

Ingredients

3 cups unbleached white flour
1/4 tsp salt
5 level tsp baking powder
1/2 stick butter
1 1/4 cup milk

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 450 degree F
Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a big bowl
Heat the butter in the microwave for 5 seconds and then chop up into itty bitty pieces. Throw those pieces into the flour mixture and start rubbing it in until it gets gritty similar to bread crumbs

Pre-rubbed

Now slowly pour the milk in, mixing as you pour. It should end in a dough-like consistency

Put a dusting of flour on a large cutting board and knead it out, but not a lot. You want them an inch, inch and a half thick

Now cut them all at once, vertical lines and then horizontal lines into two inch pieces. Place on the baking sheet, no greasing needed

Check on it after 8 minutes and until 10 minutes. Check the bottom of them, don’t let them burn. After you take them out of the oven, they should cool for at least 10 minutes before you put the toppings on them

All cooked!

Okay, so while they are cooling….let’s make some cream! Super easy.

Cream

Creation Time: …1 minute

Ingredients

1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tsp sugar

Directions

Put ingredients into bowl and beat them until it turns into the whipped cream you know and love

NOW to put it all together! This is what you’re going to need to finish these puppies up…

jam (any kind you like)
chocolate

Directions

Cut open the scones into halves and lay them out
Spread jam on each one (yes, takes some time)
Dollop the cream on each one (you can make it pretty by spreading it out, I didn’t)

Use a grater that can grate super finely and grate chocolate over the scones. I added some red sprinkles to make it more Valentine-y

And you’re done. I know this was a long post, but it actually doesn’t take that long and is worth it ten times over. These were a HUGE hit at work and they don’t leave you feeling guilty because they are certainly not heavy nor are they too sweet. That’s why Americans sometimes don’t like these kind! I am very proud to have successfully produced these, they taste very close to my mum’s. Whip these up for this lovey-dovey weekend and make people happy! You can thank my mum, not me! And as always…stay hungry and fit!

BONUS KITTY PIC

Sleeepy baby

Feb062014

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Muffins

A muffin we don’t have to regret eating! Hurray! Ever since I got my new hand mixer (thanks, mum), I’ve been wanting to try out the recipes that came with it in a little booklet. This muffin recipe is from that booklet (Cuisinart), but I changed it to what I wanted it to be. These muffins are perfect to me because it’s a good ball of energy when I don’t have a lot of time to eat (mostly between clients). They are tasty, without being overly sweet, and leave you feeling great (rather than the sugar-coated, fat-loaded ones you will find elsewhere). I also made a maple orange butter to go along with it, but let’s save that for another post. This recipe is super easy too! I always value that.

Yum yum yum

Prep Time: 5-7 minutes
Bake Time: 18-20 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups whole-wheat flour
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup whipped butter
1/2 cup raisins

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Grease up your muffin tin. I made 12 muffins, but you can make 24 mini muffins and it will take less time to bake

2. Put the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder into a big bowl and mix

3. Put the eggs in a smaller bowl and beat them until they become foamy.

4. Add the evaporated milk and butter into the egg mixture

5. Pour the small bowl of wet ingredients into the large bowl of dry ingredients. Mix everything together

6. Fold in your raisins, can be any type, I chose golden raisins

7. Spread your mixture evenly into the muffin tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes for 12 muffins, 14-16 minutes for 24 mini muffins.

And that’s it! Really simple, huh? My favorite pair is simple and healthy. It can’t get much better than that, at least in my opinion. Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!

Question of the Day: What’s your favorite type of muffin?

BONUS KITTY PIC

Sajah loves the sheepskin from New Zealand!

Feb022014

Seriously Guilt-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Seriously. We all want to get our yummy cookie fix but without all the grams of fat and sugar that weigh us down, especially around the Super Bowl where we are already going to be stuffing our face! I felt super experiment-y in the kitchen today between playing bouts of video games. This recipe is based off one of my previous ones, but it’s more healthified (yes, that’s a word) and still tasty!

It’s as good as it looks

Prep Time: 5-7 minutes
Baking Time: 10-12 minutes
Makes: between 12-18 cookies, I didn’t count

Ingredients

one half of avocado
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup oats
1/2 cup raisins

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease up a baking sheet

2. Mix together the avocado, applesauce, sugar and egg

I know it doesn’t look appetizing… but it turns out great

3. Literally just mix the rest of the ingredients of the above list

Before I added the raisins…can’t say that I didn’t eat some of the dough

4. Scoop them out with a spoon and place them apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes

No sense feeling bad about eating these..

And that’s it. Yeah–four steps. Four steps of guilt-free cookie munching. Yes, please! Perfect for last minute party ideas, whip them up in under twenty minutes and wow your friends with how yummy they taste and how guilt-free they are! Try this recipe out to stay hungry and fit!

Question of the Day: What’s your favorite kind of cookie?

BONUS KITTY PIC

^.^

Nov182013

Easy Dessert: Pear Tart with Crumble Atop

What do you do with pears that are getting soft? Bake them! At least that was my excuse for my next baking adventure: a pear tart…crumble…thing. It was a tart/pie in the way of having a crust and baking the fruit, but I also prepared a crumble for on top. It made to be a delectable combination and I will continue to use it in the future. The recipe is based on this, but I altered a good number of things.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Baking Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 pie crust (homemade or store-bought, whatever you’d like)
3-4 pears
2/3 cup turbinado sugar (used in separate times)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 stick butter
1 tspb lemon juice

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
Peel your pears and slice them up

Chop, chop!

Mix the sliced pears with 1/3 cup sugar in a bowl
Put the sliced pears with sugars into your pie crust
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and the rest of the sugar together. Then chop up your butter and “cut it” into the flour. You can use a pastry blender, but if you don’t have one like me, then you can just use a fork. You want to press the butter into the flour and sugar until it has a breadcrumb-like consistency
Pile it on top of the tart and put it in the oven for 45 minutes!

Putting in da oven

I was a little nervous about mixing a tart recipe and a crumble, but it actually turned out really well! And luckily, I didn’t have to use too much sugar. The pears give enough sweetness that you don’t need to dump cups and cups of sugar onto it. Try this recipe out, you won’t regret it! It’s pretty darn easy. And as always…stay hungry and fit!

Voila

Nomnomnom

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BONUS KITTY PIC

Little baby

Nov052013

Mama’s Rhubarb Pie

Let me start by saying I have the best mum in the whole world. Let me say next that she makes the best rhubarb pie in the whole world. And let me say NEXT that she surprised me by sending me a package Halloween day with fresh-cut rhubarb from her garden two states away along with goodies like a movie and candy. She sent it that morning and it came that afternoon. I couldn’t believe it. Totally surprised me. She’s always sending me pictures and telling me she’s baking a rhubarb pie or crumble and I’m always unhappily drooling in Colorado (she lives in California). SO, I have rhubarb (a lot of people curiously don’t even know what this tart food is) and it really doesn’t require many more ingredients. It’s an easy recipe, but I called my mum a few times to make sure I was doing it right.

My mum and I trying not to laugh

Finished product. Yes I did make shapes on it

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Baking Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

4 cups rhubarb (roughly)
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 piece pie crust

Directions

Thaw out the pie crusts (if you’re doing frozen) by leaving out for at least 15 minutes
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F
Chop up the rhubarb into 3/4 inch pieces (roughly) and toss them in a large bowl

Rhubarb from California! Straight from the garden

In a small bowl, mix the sugar and flour together
Now, toss the sugar/flour mixture with the chopped up rhubarb in the big bowl. Mix it around so that the sugar is evenly distributed among the rhubarb

This is the part where I always snack

Put that sugar-coated rhubarb in the first pie tin

Drooling…

Now, this is probably the trickiest part: getting the other crust to come down evenly on the bottom crust. So the rhubarb should be a little heaping in the bottom pie tin. Thus, you want to flip that second pie crust so that its bottom is on top.
Press upon the bottom crust and rhubarb. Use a fork to press and bind the two crust together all away around the edges. You will get some extra dough so get a sharp knife and slice around the edge to get the rest. Use the extra dough to make shapes or faces!

Looks weird, but I promise it turns out well!

Make three small slits in the pie to let it breathe
Now this next step is to ensure that the pie crust doesn’t burn: get some tin foil, fold it in half and just cover the edge of the crust. It may take a few pieces of foil. Nobody likes a burnt crust!

Put it on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake it for 15 minutes at 450 degrees F. Then turn it down to 350 degrees F for 40 to 50 minutes. It should be golden brown on top and you should be able to go through those slits cleanly

Just waiting for me to dig in

And that is it! This pie isn’t as fun to make without my mum because I have nobody to tell me not to eat the sugar-laden rhubarb and smack my hand. But it still turned out pretty well. Actually, it turned out to be delicious. The rhubarb was still tart but balanced off with the sugar, and the crust didn’t get burned at all! Maybe it’s in the blood. I’m glad I didn’t botch this one! Thanks, mum! And as always…stay hungry and fit!

Nommmmmmmmmmmm

BONUS KITTY PIC

Cuddles, obviously.

Aug282013

Sweetie-Pie Peach Cobbler

Sweetie-Pie? Huh? I say that because this recipe is sweet. Very sweet. So much so that I’m not a huge fan of it, but those who I made it for loved it (and that’s what matters, right?). At first, I thought I had done something wrong, and I was ready to angrily toss it in the bin, but I left it in the fridge overnight and it turned out great! Anyhow, this is a peach cobbler from this blog. I didn’t change much out of the recipe because I’m kind of new to cobblers. Alright, let’s take a look.

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Baking TIme: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup white flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup milk
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
4 peaches
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup oats
2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar (yes, it’s on the ingredient list twice)
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Put the stick of butter in a few-inch-deep pan, like a casserole dish and let it melt in the oven.
Let’s start with the batter. I’m not a huge fan of the batter–it’s very typical white cake type stuff. But again, other people liked this! Combine the flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Add the milk and vanilla to that dry mix and stir. Set it aside
Get out a pot and put in the peaches (they should be chopped up in little chunks), brown sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and then let it boil for 5 minutes.

Pretty peaches

Cinnamon added

Gettin’ juicy!

Pour the white batter into the casserole with the butter in it, but do not stir! Make a nice layer and then pour the hot peach mixture on top too, for a delicious, beautiful layer

Ready to bake!

Bake for 10 minutes.
While it’s baking, combine the oats, the (other) brown sugar, and nutmeg in a small bowl
Take the cobbler out and sprinkle the oat mixture on top. Put back in the oven for 10-15 minutes until it’s nice and brown on top and cooked through

Hot from the oven

You can serve hot with ice cream or chill it in the fridge for a nice cool cobbler. I would go for the latter. The more I kept trying it over time, the better it became. And it was perfect by the time I brought it to work. Two people had birthdays within the next two days so we decided to do a little birthday bash for them. One of them is picky about desserts (doesn’t like sweets), but mentioned that she loves peach cobbler so I gave it a go! I also made these muffins. And as always… stay hungry and fit!

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Aug132013

Whole-Wheat Churro Balls Recipe

Boy am I ecstatic to have found this recipe. And boy am I even happier to have not looked ahead and not have any regular flour on hand. What do I do when I don’t prepare properly (aka too busy drooling over the thought of churros)? I improvise! Would whole-wheat flour work with this recipe? Not so sure! Try it anyways? Sure! And guess what–I lucked out! Even though it wasn’t exactly a smooth recipe process for me, they turned out delicious and fuller with fiber without the processed flour. Yay for steps in a healthier direction! Anyone who knows me knows that I have a bad addiction to churros…and anything cinnamon. When I stumbled upon that recipe, I couldn’t contain my excitement. I finally finished my contest, so I jumped on the opportunity to do this.

Mmmm-mm!

Prep Time: 5-7 minutes
Cooking Time: 4-5 minutes

Macronutrients (per ball)

Makes: 10-15 balls (but it depends on the size you make them, mine came to 11)
Calories: 58
Fat: 1g
Carbs: 11g
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 1.5g

Ingredients

1 cup water
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon oil
oil for frying
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

Combine the water, tbsp sugar, and tbsp oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil
Stir in the flour until it forms into ball-like structures

Keep mixing!

There we go

Heat up oil in a deep pot to fry the churro balls in. Should be 190 degrees F and that’s when you need a thermometer (which I don’t have and consequently slightly burned them…only some!)
While the oil is heating up, mix together the 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a bowl

I could just eat this plain

With your hands pick up the dough in the cooled saucepan and roll them into donut hole-like balls. Make them whatever size you want. Pop them into the hot oil and let cook for 4-5 minutes. I didn’t put enough oil in so I had to roll them around. Make sure the oil isn’t too hot so you don’t smoke the apartment out (oops)!
Take them out and drain or pat with paper towel. When cool to touch, roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mix. Get them nice and covered!

Serve as a pile or just eat them all yourself! I couldn’t help myself and had four as soon as they were done. Oops.

Mmmm-mm!

This is such a simple recipe–I mean look at the ingredients! If you want to follow the traditional recipe, you can use regular white flour, but why not go a little healthier? Add some more fiber and whole-grain into your diet through deliciousness! They are a perfect treat for after dinner or to serve to friends. This is a recipe I will continue to use and perfect upon. I think next time I might add some cinnamon-sugar to the filling…Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!

Don’t mind if I take another…four!

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BONUS KITTY PIC

Nymeria being ridiculously cute…what’s new

Jul072013

The Perfect July 4th Treat: Stuffed Strawberries

Now that I think about it, it doesn’t need to be July 4th…it can be any nation’s pride day who has red white and blue. And you aren’t limited just to July 4th either because it’s a healthy and delicious treat! I may have served these on July 5th, but that’s only because we already had rhubarb pies made by my grandma. This special dish involves fruit, dairy, and happiness and doesn’t take longer than 15-20 minutes to make! I got it from here and added a bit of lemon into it and took out some sugar.

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking Time: …non-existent

Ingredients

a tin of strawberries (I just usually get the regular pound at the grocery)
a tin of blueberries (same thing)
5 oz marscapone
juice of a lemon
lemon zest
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Wash the fruit and pat dry all of it

Beautiful sight

Take the strawberries and cut the green ends off and also a little portion of the tip so they can stand upright on a platter
Take a melon baller and ball out of the bottom, creating a crevasse.

Once your strawberries are all “pitted” and plated, let’s turn to the filling. Put 5 ounces of marscapone cheese and put it in a small-medium bowl

I would next do the lemon juice. Cut the lemon in half and squeeeeeze all that juice out.
Next, grind the lemon on a grater and get a good amount of zest (people say 1 tsp, but I eyeball it)
Then, throw the powdered sugar and vanilla in and stir! Mix it all up really well

Hard not to eat it all

Now comes the most difficult part: take the marscapone mixture and put it into a re-sealable bag and snip a corner off. Use this contraption to fill the pits in the strawberries up with the mixture

Once all the strawberries are filled to perfection, place the blueberries on top of the cream in the strawberries. And that’s it!

Yum yum yum

This is an easy, healthy treat you can substitute for pie or something else you’d like to stay away from on those holiday food feasts. Fresh fruit and sweet cheese. How could it go wrong? It’s easy to do, pretty to the eye, and delicious enough to impress. Make this recipe if you’re looking to stay hungry and fit!