Earl Grey Chocolate Chip Scones

Just about every Mother’s Day I make my mom blueberry scones. And if I don’t she is up my butt about it so yeah I just do it. She is my mom after all. Anyways, I forgot blueberries the last time I went to the grocery store. Sooooo yeah. These are different scones. Earl grey chocolate chip scones.

I figured earl grey is a delicious tea so it would make for a delicious scone and chocolate chips because everyone liked them their chocolate. Is my mom going to like these? Probably not because I don’t think she likes tea but that is actually a moot point because this batch was already gobbled up by the mr and Barb. They loved them. But hey, I made scones so that counts t towards Mother’s Day right? (I know I know. I have to go back to the grocery store for the blueberries)

If you or the people you bake for like a good cup of earl grey, well these here sones are for you.

To the scones!

The stuff. Flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, earl grey tea, plant butter, plant milk, vanilla extract, and orange, a little raw sugar, and chocolate chips.

To start dough first mix the flour together with the salt, baking powder, sugar, tea, and orange zest. Next grate the butter into the flour mixture and gently toss around until evenly incorporated. Then add in the milk and the juice if half the orange and gently mix until dough starts to come together and then finally, add in the chocolate chips and finish mixing. Don’t overly mix, the dough should look kind of shaggy.

Dump dough onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball.

Squash dough into a round flat disk about an inch thick then cut into 8 equal pieces.

Place scones on a lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little milk and then sprinkle with raw sugar.

Pop into the oven bake.

Baked and ready.. You should be too. Ready that is and baked if that is how you roll. Ha.

Place hot scones on a wire rack to cool a bit.

Now grab a plate, a hot cup of something, and enjoy.

-C

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Earl Grey Chocolate Chip Scones

makes 8 scones

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3 earl grey tea bags (or 2 tablespoons loose leaf) finely ground in a spice mill of food processor

• 6 tablespoons vegan butter (very cold or frozen)

• 2/3 cup plant based milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• an orange

• 1/4 cup small chocolate chips

• 2 tablespoons raw sugar (can use graduated if you don’t have it)

Preheat oven to 375.

Grab a large bowl and add in the flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, earl grey tea, and the zest of the orange. Mix together. Next grate the cold or frozen butter directly into bowl. Gently mix into the flour mixture with a fork until the pieces are covered in flour. Add in the milk, along with juice of half the orange. Mix until a shaggy dough forms. Add in chocolate chips and lightly mix again until they are evenly dispersed in dough.

Dump dough (it will be slightly shaggy) on a lightly floured surface. Gather into a ball and squash into a round flat disk about an inch thick. With knife or dough knife cut in 8 even slices (like a pie). Place each piece on a lined baking sheet and brush tops with a little milk and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Place into preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or unit bottoms are browned and tops are alight golden brown. One baked, remove from oven and transfer to a wire rake to cool.

Eat warm or room temperature. Store left overs completely cooled in an air tight container for a few days.

Apple Spice Donuts

Have you ever sat in front of all your baking pans and tins just go through them and see which ones haven’t gotten much baking time lately? That is basically what I did the other day and that is when I realized that the donut pan hasn't seen the light of the oven in quite some time.

I fixed that right then and there. I made apple donuts. Donuts are always a good idea and apple donuts are always Always a good idea, especially when it is fall and the weather is nice and cool and crisp and you just want to bake stuff to keep the kitchen warm.

And the guilt of not using my donut pan in a while pan is no longer an issue… But the big bundt pan, that is another story. (Probably going to be a bundt cake coming soon)

So donuts. Baked in a pan (obviously), super easy to throw together, and bake up really fast. Full of warm spices and small shreds of apples then tossed in cinnamon sugar after baking and there it is. Everyones favorite fall donut. Don’t think about it to much, just make these donuts because you will be happy eating the donuts and make anyone you choose to share with happy too.

Now to the donuts!

The stuff. A couple apples. Flour, baking powder and soda, salt. Cinnamon, ginger, and cardamon, and vanilla extract. Apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, oil, water. a little white sugar with cinnamon, and vegan butter.

First to do is grate the apples. They will turn brown fast but it don’t matter.

Add in the wet and mix, add in the dry, and mix and Ta da! Donut batter.

Scoop batter into well greased donut pan. (if you have 2 pans you are better then me. I have to do one batch a a time)

Poof. Baked and donut.

Flip hot donuts out of pan and let cool for a few minutes. Once they are cool enough to handle, brush each donut with melted butter all ver and toss in cinnamon sugar mixture.

Donuts are done.

We are good.

-C

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Apple Spice Donuts

makes 12

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup warm sugar

• 1/2 cup boiling water

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/2 teaspoon each ground ginger and cardamon

• 2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/3 cup neutral oil (I used canola)

• 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 2-3 apples that equal 1cup shredded (I used 2 big Macintosh)

  For cinnamon sugar coating

• 2 tablespoon melted vegan butter

• 3 tablespoons white sugar

• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl, shred your apples until you have 1 packed cup. Eat any left over apple.

Add in the brown sugar, oil, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, and water and mix until combined. In seperate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and powder, and all cinnamon, ginger, and cardamon. Dump dry into wet and gently mix until completely incorporated.

Scoop batter into greased donut pan(s) and place into oven. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the donut is big and fluffy and a when poked with a tester, it comes out clean.

Remove donuts from oven and flip our of pan onto a wire rack. (Clean and and bake second batch if you are working with one pan.) Mix together the cinnamon and white sugar into a wide shallow bowl. Once donuts cool enough to handle, bruh each donut with melted butter all over then toss around in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place back on rack to cool completely.

Eat.

Left overs wiill last in air tight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. The cinnamon sugar crunch will just not be crunchy anymore after the first day.

Raspberry Danishes

When your neighbor tells you to pick as many raspberries as you can, well you go pick as many raspberries as you can. Just a few houses down the street, she has a yard full of the heaviest fruited raspberry bushes that have seen. So I grabbed my biggest mixing bowl and went at it. So many raspberries, they were basically falling off into the bowl (and into my mouth). Fresh raspberries, there is not much better.

And she wants me to come back for anther round. We have good neighbors.

I had quite the raspberry loot. The mr and I ate some (maybe too many), froze some, and then I made danishes for no other reason then I wanted to. And that was a just decision because everyone loves a good danish.

And these were good, or sooo good, according to the mr. He ate half while the other half were demolished when I brought them to my moms for dessert which was the plan so it worked out. People and their danishes. It’s a thing you know.(No, not really)

Now to the danishes!

The stuff. Fresh raspberries (You can use frozen or if you really want, raspberry jam) flour, sugar, salt, plant milk, oil, yeast, a lemon, powdered sugar, vanilla. and that is it.

Start with mixing the yeast with the oil, milk, and sugar in a large bowl. Add in the flour and slat ads mix mix mix until you can’t mix no more.

Dough.

Dump onto a floured surface aaaaaanf. Knead. 5-8 minutes until the dough is all soft and smooth and uniformly dough.

Place the dough into cleaned bowl and cover. Set somewhere warm to rise.

In the mean time, make raspberry jam. Place raspberries and sugar into a pot and cook down until mixture is thick and jam like. Once the mixture sticks to a spoon like warm jam, turn heat off and let cool.

Dough doubled and ready.

Dump dough out and cut into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into ball then roll out into a dish about a 1/2 inch thick.

Place dough disks onto splat or parchment lined baking sheet then indent each dough disk with a spoon or your fingers. Dollop a good plop of raspberry jammy into said intents. Once they are all jammed, pop them into the oven to bake. 15-18 minute should do it.

Look at those. Get them out of the oven and on to a wire rack for cooling time.

Make glaze. Sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, and lemon juice Mix until combined and yeah, that it glaze.

Drizzle the glaze all over those lovelies.

And then you eat becucae that is why you made them.

Share with your people. Or just eat them all to yourself, you made them and they are yours.

-C

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Raspberry Danishes 

makes 12

• 4 cups of all purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons yeast

• 1 cup room temperature plant based milk

• 1/2 cup neutral oil

• 1/3 cup white sugar

  For raspberry jam

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 2 cups fresh raspberry

  For glaze

• 1 lemon

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

• splash of vanilla

In a large bowl combine the yeast, sugar, oil and milk. Really mix well and let sit for a minute to just get yeast activated. Dump in flour and salt and mix with a wooden spoon or whisk until it becomes to hard to stir. Dump mixture onto a lightly floured surface and knead dough for about 5-8 minutes or until the dough is soft and smooth. Place dough in a clean bowl and cover and let rise for about an hour or so or until the dough doubles in size.

While dough is rising, make raspberry jam. Mix raspberries and sugar together into a pot and place on medium heat on stove. Let cook for a couple minutes and once the raspebrries start to break down, stir. Let mixture cook down for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture becomes thick and sticks to a spoon like warm jam should. Take off heat and let cool.

Preheat oven to 350

Once dough has doubled in size, dump onto it onto a floured surface and with a knife or dough scraper, cut into 12 equal sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball then flatten out into a disk about 1/2 inch thick. Place dough disks on a parchment or splat mat lined baking sheets (you will need 2). With a spoon, lightly push a intent into the center of each disk then place a good plop or the cooled raspberry jam into the intent. Once all the dough has its berries, place the baking sheets into the oven to bake, for about 15-18 minutes, or until the danishes are a nice golden brown.

When they are done baking, remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.

While cooling, make the glaze. Zest lemon and place in a bowl with the powdered sugar and vanilla. Add in half the juice of the lemon and stir until completely combined. If the mixture is too thick, add more juice, to thin, add a little more powdered sugar.

And once the danishes are cooled, drizzle on the glaze. And then thats it. You can eat them now.

Any left over why are there left overs?) should be stored in a airtight container for a few days at room temp or in the fridge . They also freeze well.

Peanut Flour and Banana Oats

I have been on a good long kick here with eating oats at night for my after dinner snack. Just about every night after cleaning up the dinner dishes, sweeping the floors, going for a nice after dinner walk with the mr, I come home, put the hot water on, grab my oats, my peanut flour, and sometimes a banana. As soon as the water boils I mash up some banana (if using), add in some oats, pour in some boiling water, and let them sit. I also pour a huge jar of tea then plop my butt down at the counter to do any brain tasks that need doing like checking the email, left over billing things, maybe check the old phone for the first time in hours… After about 5 minutes of that, I stop brain tasks because I just can’t, grab oats, and dump in a few big ass tablespoons of peanut flour and cinnamon and give it a good stir. Voila, snack time. A delicious, nutritious, tummy filling and easy dish that is full of all sorts of things that my body needs. I grab a spoon, my tea, and open my book. For sure one of my favorite times of day.

Now lets talk about peanut flour. I have been eating peanut flour for a few years now. Not to confuse with powered peanut butter which is basically peanut flour but usually with added sugar and salt. Peanut flour is just peanuts, with the oil pressed out and then ground up into a super fine flour. And not a flour is the typical sense. Like you can’t make bread with it, but you could add it to bread. You can also use it to thicken things like soups or sauces up. Or add it to smoothies, make a cake frosting with it , or just mix it with a little water and eat it with a spoon. It is delicious and amazing and full of protein without all the added fat and high calorie content. I started to add it to foods because of the protein but now I just eat it all the time because I freaking love the stuff. (Another favorite way to eat it is cut up carrot sticks tossed in the flour… SO GOOD!) Anyway, truth be told, it is not the most widely available stuff. I have only seen it in a few store over the years, so I have been buying it online. But recently someone told me that Trader Joes is selling it now (I haven’t checked yet) so I figured now is a good time to share the greatness of the flour and how you might want to use it.

Anyway, these oats here are my favorite way to eat oats. Warm and creamy, but not cooked and gruel like. They are like a cross between stove top oats and overnight oats except they take all of 5 minutes to make and you don’t need to dirty a pot. Then mixed with banana for extra sweetness and flavor, the peanut flour for all the peanut butter taste and protein. These oats are unstoppable.  Delicious and nutritious for breakfast, lunch, snack time, or dessert, these oats are all win win. Add another win just because. Win, Win, WIN!

Now to the oats!

The stuff. Old fashion oats, a small banana, peanut flour, cinnamon, and boiling hot water.

Mash up the banana until smoothish then add in half the hot water and mix. Dump in the oats and mix those too.

Top with the rest of the boiling water and let sit for about 5 minutes.

After the oats absorbed the hot banana water, dump on the cinnamon and the peanut butter flour and mix in.

Grab yourself a spoon friend.

Eat.

-C

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Peanut Flour and Banana Oats

Makes 1 serving. Can be halved for smaller portion

• 1 small banana

• 1/2 cup old fashion oats

• 2 (or more if you want) tablespoons peanut flour

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

• 1 cup boiling water

Place peeled banana in a bowl and mash with a fork unit smooth. Add in half the boiling water and mix.. Dump in oats and mix until incorporated then add in the rest of the hot water. Let sit for 5 minutes until oats absorb all the water. Stir in peanut flour and cinnamon. Eat.

Poppy seed Crusted Apricot Jam Muffins

Mid week, I was doing a little pantry cleaning/ inventorying of what I had and needed when I came upon not one, not two, or even three. No, six. SIX, jars of jam. And there are 2 that are already opened in the fridge. I don’t know why, but knowing that there was that much jam in the house made me a little uneasy. Six unopened jars is about 3 jars past my comfort zone. Sure there are so many things you can do with a jar of jam (jelly, preserves, and marmalade included) and now that I am thinking about it, is one of the reasons why I bought a few jars a while back. Then there was Christmas and I think we got at least two jars as gifts so it’s not all my fault, but still, that is just too many jars of jam. Right there I needed to get rid of at least one jar. So muffins. Jam muffins, with poppyseed crust because it’s pretty and nobody ever complains about poppy seeds, or at least they don’t until after they eat them and have poppy seeds stuck in their teeth all day. But that is just our mouths way of saving a little for later, am I right? HA

Anyway, a quick and simple muffin recipe for all of you people out there that might have a jar or two too many of jam in the fridge or pantry (I used apricot but any flavor(s) would work) and could use yourself a tasty little muffin situation. I mean who doesn’t want a tasty muffin?

To the muffins.

The stuff. In the bowl is white and white whole wheat flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Also have apricot jam, oil, almond milk, apple cider vinegar, and orange, and some poppy seeds.

Grab a zester and zest the orange into the bowl with all the dry stuff. Whisk to combine.

Jam, oil, milk, and vinegar. All on top of dry. Whisk that up until just combined. No over mixing. You will get tough (not in a good way) muffins.

Apricot muffin batter.

Scoop into well greased muffins tins then cover the tops with poppy seeds.

Ready for that hot oven.

And out of the oven, looking all pretty like.

Pop those muffins out of the tins and cool on a wire rack for a bit. And by all means, don’t wait until they are completely cool.

Now eat you a warm muffin and if they are mini, grab a few. You can’t just eat one mini muffin, that is just crazy.

-C

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Poppy seed Crusted Apricot Jam Muffins

Make 12 normal size muffins or 24 mini muffins

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour

• 2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup plant milk

• 1/3 cup neutral oil

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• zest of an orange

• 1 heaping cup apricot jam or preserves (can sub in any flavor you like)

• 1/3 cup poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl whisk together the flours, salt, baking powder and soda, and the zest of the orange. Add in the oil, milk, jam, and vinegar and whisk until just incorporated. Scoop batter into well grease muffin pans (12 regular or 24 mini) then cover the tops with poppy seeds. Pop into hot oven and bake until risen and a tester comes out clean when one is poked. For mini muffins, check after 13 minutes, for normal muffins, after 16 minutes.

Once baked, remove from oven and pop out of pans when cool enough to handle. Place on a wire rack to cool completely or just start eating them warm.

Store left over muffins in an airtight container for 3-4 days at room temperature. They also freeze well.