Fallish....
It's one of those cold, rainy Saturday mornings so prevalent in the autumn. One where time has slipped away without notice, and which left me saying, "OMG, it's nearly 11!", sans breakfast, when it became apparent by the audible tummy rumblings from both of us that breakfast did, indeed, require addressing.
So--a food post.
A couple of weeks ago, we did end up at Linvilla Orchards--at least for a brief time. It was the last really lovely Sunday of the late summer--temps in the 70's and the sun bright-bright--so it was, to put it lightly, a mob scene. Wall to wall people. This caused me no small measure of complete panic, of course, but I was determined to fetch me some stuffage, and it was a really beautiful day...
I picked up a load of two different kinds of apples, and one type went into this:
I found a new recipe that sounded intriguing on a couple of points--one, it called for brown sugar rather than white, which sounded to me like it would give a richer, more molasses-y flavor to the finished product, and two, it's BAKED, which also sounded like it would yield something with a fuller flavor.
I was right on both counts.
This is a really spicy apple butter, one that came out a little thinner than what I am used to, but overall a superior outcome, flavor-wise, to others I've tried.
Baked Apple Butter
12 large apples (any kind you like, but sweetish red ones would be best--NOT Delicious!)
3 cups apple cider
4 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
Peel and cut apples into eighths. Put the apples and the cider into a large pot. Cook over medium-high heat until the liquid is simmering. Cover the pot, lower the heat, and cook the apples until they are soft and mushy. This usually takes between 30 to 60 minutes. Pour the apple mush into a large casserole dish or Dutch oven. Add the sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and allspice. Stir well. Bake in the oven at 275° for 1 ½ - 2 hours or until the apple butter is dark and thick. Cool the apple butter, and store it in tightly covered jars in the refrigerator.
I actually went the full canning route, and it does lend itself well to that as well as to the refrigerator jam type method.
So this morning, I had another recipe that I wanted to try out, for scones infused with lots of whole oats.
This sounded great to me--lending a bit of heartiness and bite to the scones.
I wasn't wrong.
It did give me a bit of a struggle for a moment--my math foo was not strong this morning, so "2/3 cup melted butter" gave me pause enough to require my husband's assistance...
o.0
Yeah--I simplified it for both myself and for you, and recommend 10 tablespoons which is slightly more than the 9 1/3 tablespoons that actually constitutes 2/3 of a cup, but hey--it's butter, right?
That extra 2/3rds of a tablespoon didn't hurt them at all.
Scottish Oat Scones (from Bon Appetit, 1990)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten to blend
1/2 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 450°F. Grease cookie sheet. Combine first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Mix together butter, milk and egg in another bowl. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Mix in raisins. Shape dough into ball.
Place on lightly floured work surface. Pat out to form 3/4-inch-thick circle. Using sharp knife (I used my dough scraper, which is my favorite scone-cutting tool), cut into 12 wedges. Transfer to prepared cookies sheet. Bake until light brown, about 12 minutes. Cool slightly on rack. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Store in airtight container.)
Makes 12.
They are delicious. And not only do the oats add a bit of bite to the scone itself, the little bits of oat that stick up from the outside of the dough get all toasty and cripsy--a lovely little surprise of deliciousness.
One thing I will tell you, if you decide to use this recipe--they are yummy, but not really appropriate to a gathering where people will be eating off their knees. The oats make them VERY crumbly, which I love, actually, but which promises a crumb festooned disaster unless one is actually sitting at a table. Save these for a sit-down breakfast or brunch.
I served mine with the apple butter, for a completely made-from-scratch breakfast, and it was greeted with much appreciation from the DH.
So--a food post.
A couple of weeks ago, we did end up at Linvilla Orchards--at least for a brief time. It was the last really lovely Sunday of the late summer--temps in the 70's and the sun bright-bright--so it was, to put it lightly, a mob scene. Wall to wall people. This caused me no small measure of complete panic, of course, but I was determined to fetch me some stuffage, and it was a really beautiful day...
I picked up a load of two different kinds of apples, and one type went into this:
I found a new recipe that sounded intriguing on a couple of points--one, it called for brown sugar rather than white, which sounded to me like it would give a richer, more molasses-y flavor to the finished product, and two, it's BAKED, which also sounded like it would yield something with a fuller flavor.
I was right on both counts.
This is a really spicy apple butter, one that came out a little thinner than what I am used to, but overall a superior outcome, flavor-wise, to others I've tried.
Baked Apple Butter
12 large apples (any kind you like, but sweetish red ones would be best--NOT Delicious!)
3 cups apple cider
4 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
Peel and cut apples into eighths. Put the apples and the cider into a large pot. Cook over medium-high heat until the liquid is simmering. Cover the pot, lower the heat, and cook the apples until they are soft and mushy. This usually takes between 30 to 60 minutes. Pour the apple mush into a large casserole dish or Dutch oven. Add the sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and allspice. Stir well. Bake in the oven at 275° for 1 ½ - 2 hours or until the apple butter is dark and thick. Cool the apple butter, and store it in tightly covered jars in the refrigerator.
I actually went the full canning route, and it does lend itself well to that as well as to the refrigerator jam type method.
So this morning, I had another recipe that I wanted to try out, for scones infused with lots of whole oats.
This sounded great to me--lending a bit of heartiness and bite to the scones.
I wasn't wrong.
It did give me a bit of a struggle for a moment--my math foo was not strong this morning, so "2/3 cup melted butter" gave me pause enough to require my husband's assistance...
o.0
Yeah--I simplified it for both myself and for you, and recommend 10 tablespoons which is slightly more than the 9 1/3 tablespoons that actually constitutes 2/3 of a cup, but hey--it's butter, right?
That extra 2/3rds of a tablespoon didn't hurt them at all.
Scottish Oat Scones (from Bon Appetit, 1990)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten to blend
1/2 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 450°F. Grease cookie sheet. Combine first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Mix together butter, milk and egg in another bowl. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Mix in raisins. Shape dough into ball.
Place on lightly floured work surface. Pat out to form 3/4-inch-thick circle. Using sharp knife (I used my dough scraper, which is my favorite scone-cutting tool), cut into 12 wedges. Transfer to prepared cookies sheet. Bake until light brown, about 12 minutes. Cool slightly on rack. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Store in airtight container.)
Makes 12.
They are delicious. And not only do the oats add a bit of bite to the scone itself, the little bits of oat that stick up from the outside of the dough get all toasty and cripsy--a lovely little surprise of deliciousness.
One thing I will tell you, if you decide to use this recipe--they are yummy, but not really appropriate to a gathering where people will be eating off their knees. The oats make them VERY crumbly, which I love, actually, but which promises a crumb festooned disaster unless one is actually sitting at a table. Save these for a sit-down breakfast or brunch.
I served mine with the apple butter, for a completely made-from-scratch breakfast, and it was greeted with much appreciation from the DH.