We're going up to Maine for the July 4th Weekend (HOOORAY!) with several other friendsies so we wanted to bake a few goodies for the trip. After several email recipe exchanges and lots of thoughtful consideration, including an adventurous suggestion of macarons (too risky), we decided to make pound cake and batch of scones, both of which could keep for the remainder of this week in the freezer.
We met up at Cafe Pedlar to start our day with Stumptown, of course, then made what seemed like a Carroll Gardens supermarket Odyssey through Trader Joe's, KY Mart (hehe), the Natural Foods store, and finally the Fish Monger. Er, the fish wasn't for the pound cake nor the scones, it was so we could have a little lunch, let's just clear that up right here.
We baked the pound cake first, a super-easy recipe I found in this month's Martha Stewart Living. Yes, I subscribe to Martha Stewart Living.
After lunch and a short tv break/catnap, we moved onto baking the scones. Though we encountered a tiny problem when Donna's mini-cuisinart food processor couldn't handle the entire recipe at once, we solved it by breaking up the ingredients in two and processing the necessary ingredients in two batches. Other than that minor snafu, the recipe was easy-peasy, and didn't take longer than 30 minutes to bake. They look fabulous, so delicioius! So here's to hoping they will taste that way, too.
From left to right: Unloading Trader Joe's groceries (!), pound cake on the cooling rack, and our decadent lunch spread.
Blueberry Oat Scones
adapted from Molly Wizenberg's recipe in Bon Appetit July 2009
Prep Time: 30 min
Bake Time: 30 min
Plus time to cool
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp coarse kosher salt
11 tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 cup plus 3 tbsp old-fashioned oats
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 3/4 cups half and half
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tsp raw sugar
Our ingredients, all set out on the table. Look! You can see mini-upside-down-me in the stainless steel bowl!!
Position rack in upper and bottom thirds of oven an preheat to 350 degrees (F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Alternatively, you may line the sheets with foil and lightly butter the foil.
Combine first five ingredients in a processor, blend for 5 seconds. Add butter. Using on/off turns, blend until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. If you have a mini-processor like we did, halve all ingredients and do the same thing twice. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, mix in oats and blueberries. Stir blend evenly.
Stir half and half and vanilla together, gradually add to flour mixture and toss until dough just comes together. (dough will be very moist and sticky!)
Using 1/2 cup measuring cup for each scone, drop dough in high mounds onto prepared baking sheets, spacing a few inches apart (as they will flatten during baking). Sprinkle tops with remaining 3 tbsp oats, then raw sugar.
Bake 15 minutes. Reverse sheets and continue baking until the scones are golden and tester inserted into the center from side comes out clean, about 12 minutes longer. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature
Improv cooling rack: The bottom side of muffin pans!
*1/2 cup portions ensures 12 large scones. Use smaller portions if desired.
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