Tag Archives: summer breakfast

Buttermilk Scones with Strawberry Jam + 5 Summer Scone Recipes

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sjbs056Our CSA with Warner Farm started this week and we are very excited. We joined this csa a couple of years ago and it has really changed how we, as a family, look at food. The kids enjoy picking up our share each week and guessing the names of the different vegetables. They may not eat the Swiss chard or kale or beets we receive, but they can identify them! Bubba and I can taste the difference and eating the fruits and veggies from our share feels like a treat. It is a treat.

The other day C said “the Swiss leaves are pretty.” I love that she can see beauty in food.

G saw me rinsing the swiss chard and asked “can I help you, Mommy?”

“Sure buddy.” He rinsed the dirt from the leaves and patted them dry. “Why is there dirt?’

“Because it grows in the ground..”

“Like our carrots.” “That’s right, buddy.” (Keep asking questions G.)

I think their favorite part of our weekly share is the fruit. They usually eat most of the fruit in the car on the way home, which is less than 10 minutes away. This week we received 2 quarts of beautiful strawberries.

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“Mama, they taste better than the grocery store strawberries.” Kids are so smart. By the time we reached our driveway little green strawberry tops littered the back seat. We are still learning about picking up after ourselves. As I unpacked the vegetables, they continued to eat the strawberries, and little red mustaches formed around their mouths. It was close to dinnertime, but I didn’t stop them. I was so happy to see them eating these well cared for beauties with such joy. After their bellies were full, they went outside to play. I set aside the remaining berries and decided to make strawberry jam. This was my first time making strawberry jam and it was super easy. I’ll still buy jam, but maybe in the summer when the berries are ripe I’ll make my own.

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The kids and Bubba love this jam. I think in season strawberries work really well, because they are naturally so sweet and flavorful. The fresh lemon juice balances the flavors and adds brightness. The jam is perfectly sweet, but I think you could reduce the sugar a bit and it would taste just as good.

After the kids went to bed I made buttermilk scones, just the dough, and popped them into the freezer. The next morning the baby was up at 5:30. (Though not ideal, I can handle 6; 5:30 is just to early.) A few minutes later G and C wandered down the stairs, still sleepy. I quickly sipped my coffee and asked them:

“What do you want for breakfast?”

“Jam, mama.”

Jam sounds good and easy. Can I give them a jar of jam and a couple of spoons? No, dam it, they’ll be hungry again in an hour. I’m so tired. I need more coffee.

“Want to try a scone?”

 

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I placed the frozen scones on a baking sheet and baked them for about 20 minutes. The house smelled amazing! The scones came out golden brown and tender.

They each ate a scone, warm and covered with jam. “So good.”

I love when their bellies are happy.

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Strawberry Jam

Makes about 2 cups

recipe barely adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients:

2 cups of strawberries, mashed

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice

Directions:

In a large bowl, mash the strawberries until you have about 2 cups of berries. Grab a heavy saucepan and  mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice.

Stir over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil for about 10 minutes, stirring often. The mixture should reach 220 degrees F.  For more information on making sure your jam sets ups head to the Kitchn.

Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch space from the top, and seal. Process in a water bath. For information about canning head over to The Pioneer Woman.

If you plan on eating the jam right away like we did, just refrigerate. The jam will last for several weeks.

Enjoy!

 

Buttermilk Scones

Makes 12 triangular scones

Recipe adapted from Baking with Julia

Ingredients:

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

21/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

11/2 sticks very cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup of buttermilk

the zest of 1 orange

1 egg yolk for brushing

1/4 cup raw sugar for dusting

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingers, add the cold butter pieces. Work the butter in until it looks like wet sand. It is ok if some large pieces of butter remain. They will add flakiness to the scone.

Pour in buttermilk and add orange zest. Mix with a fork until the batter is just moistened. If the dough looks too dry, add another tablespoon of buttermilk.

Gather the dough into a ball and place it on a lightly floured surface. Knead it several times and then cut the dough in half. Roll each half of the dough into a 1/2 inch thick circle, about 7 inches across. Brush the dough with the egg yolk and sprinkle with raw sugar. Cut the circle into 6 triangles and place on prepared baking sheet. (At this point you can freeze the scones. Wrap each scone with plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. The scones can be frozen for up to a month. When ready to bake, no need to thaw them. You may just need a little extra cooking time.)

Bake the scones for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. (If frozen 15-18 minutes should do it.) Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature with jam or whipped cream and don’t forget the coffee or tea!

**You can freeze baked scones. Wrap them air-tight and they will last for a month. When ready to serve, defrost at room temperature, unwrap and reheat for 5 minutes at 350 F. **

5 Summer Scone Recipes

Strawberry and rhubarb season calls for strawberry-rhubarb scones! Oh Lady Cakes has a recipe with rye flour and sweet cream. They look and sound delicious!

If you love blueberries, try Pinch of Yum’s bakery style blueberry scones. The sugar topping looks heavenly!

On a whole wheat kick? The Law Student’s Wife has a recipe for healthy whole wheat rhubarb scones. It looks like her recipe is a great base for any scone mix-ins.

Looking for a unique scone combination? How about mixed berry scones with crème fraîche and lavender. Sounds interesting. One of my favorite blogs, The Vanilla Bean Blog, has the recipe.

I love peaches so Joy the Baker’s recipe for peach cobbler scones is on my must make list!

Blueberry Buckle + 5 Coffee Cake Links You Should Check Out!

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bb0019“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

The door bell rang the other day. A casually dressed woman with short, dark hair stood at our door. She wore a pretty, white summer skirt and a black top. She was tan, tan enough that I thought: you don’t live around here. We don’t see that kind of sun. I said hello and she smiled easily. She seemed comfortable standing on our porch, like she had stood in that exact spot many times before. She quickly blurted out: “I don’t mean to bother you, but my grandmother lived here. She passed away in 68′ I have so many wonderful memories of this house.” She told me she lived in North Carolina (that explains the tan) and was up visiting a friend. Her daughter and grandson were waiting in the car. Before she could ask, I asked her: “Would you like to see the house?” She smiled so widely that her eyes smiled as well. “Yes. I’d love to!”

Her daughter and infant grandson joined us. We walked through the house, pausing in each room. She seemed overwhelmed with memories. She touched the banister as we walked up stairs not for support, but because she had to feel it again. She told me how much she loved the curve in the stairs as a kid. She pointed out her grandmother’s room, which is now N’s room. “I loved her bedroom.” As we walked downstairs she touched the knob at the bottom of the banister, and said “I can’t believe this is still here.” We stepped out, on to the wrap around porch. She looked around and smiled. Tears welled up in her eyes. It seemed the memories were too much for her to carry around anymore. Before she left she said, “If you find pink irises, my grandmother planted them. After she passed, I took some and planted them at my house. I still have them. They remind me of her.”  She and her daughter thanked me. “Enjoy this house!” she said just before getting in her car.

I never caught her name, but I have thought about our meeting every day for the last week. I thought of my grandmother and her house: the smells, the rooms, the big yard, her garden and the countless dinners. I picked up the phone and called her because I can: “Hi, Jer. Hi, Kel.” We spoke only briefly, but it was nice to hear her voice. I need to see her and be in her house again, soon. Someday, I will be that woman, asking to see my grandmother’s house.

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The recipe I have today is for a coffee cake called Blueberry Buckle. This recipe originally appeared the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook. My grandmother, Jerry, made this a lot when I was a kid. In fact, my oldest and dearest friends have tried her blueberry buckle. This is the kind of coffee cake people remember, and for good reason. It is dam good! I tweaked this recipe only slightly by reducing the sugar a bit and adding lemon zest for brightness. If you don’t have a lemon on hand, leave it out. This cake is just as good without it. Enjoy!

 

Blueberry Buckle

Recipe adapted from my grandmother, Jerry, and Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook

Makes 9 3 inch squares

Ingredients for Cake:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 egg

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract

zest of 1 lemon

2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen do not thaw)

Ingredients for Crumb Mixture:

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 375. Grease  and flour a 9 inch square baking pan and set aside.  In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt. Add the blueberries and gently toss to coat. Set aside. Using your fingers, combine the ingredients for the crumb mixture in a small bowl and set aside. You will top the cake batter with this mixture before it goes into the oven.

Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl once or twice. Add the egg and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add the lemon zest and vanilla extract. Slowly add the milk.

Gently fold the dry ingredients plus the blueberries into the wet ingredients until combined. A few flour streaks is ok. Do not over mix! This batter will be dry and tacky. This is ok too.

Spread the batter evenly into your prepared pan. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of the cake and bake for 40-45 minutes. I baked my cake for 45 minutes,  and it was perfect, but start checking at 40 minutes.

Allow to cool in pan on wire rack. Once cool, cut into squares and serve at room temperature or slightly warm. Cake will last well wrapped in an air tight container for a couple of days. Enjoy!

5 Coffee Cake Links You Should Check Out!

If you are a butterscotch lover, you should check out this sweet treat over at The Galley Gourmet.

Looking for a coffee cake that uses Greek yogurt instead of sour cream? Oh, and do you want a cinnamon streusel filling and a cream cheese glaze? Head over to Two Peas and Their Pod for their amazing Yogurt Coffee Cake recipe.

Need a gluten-free option for your next brunch? Head to Bakers Royal for a gluten-free blueberry coffee cake recipe. Have I mentioned how much I love Naomi’s photography? She is incredibly talented both as a photographer and baker!

Take advantage of strawberry season and make a strawberry and cream coffee cake. Averie Cooks has the recipe for you.

Want a traditional coffee cake in muffin shape form? The Sugar Hit has a great cinnamon coffee cake recipe for you.