More Scones!

I still haven't had enough pumpkin treats yet, so after making pumpkin cupcakes, pancakes, and cakeballs, I decided to make some pumpkin scones (stay tuned for mini pumpkin cheesecakes, too). I went searching for a recipe and found one that claimed to be better than Starbucks. I've never had pumpkin scones from Starbucks, but I thought they sounded good.

I got the recipe from Food.com and I mostly followed it, except for a few minor details...1. I used whole wheat white flour, 2. Instead of half-and-half, I used skim milk 3. I kept adding more milk because the dough was so crumbly.

They turned out pretty tasty, and I think they look kind of pretty on the baking rack.

I made 2 different kinds of glaze to go on them. One just powdered sugar and milk with some cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. The other molasses, milk, and powdered sugar. They were both pretty tasty!

The One with the Scones

I know most of you just read the title and pronounced "scones" like it rhymes with cones. Allow me to instruct you on the correct pronunciation: It's really "scones" like it rhymes with cons (like a con artist). How do I know this, you might ask? From spending time in the "Mother Country" (AKA Scotland), where my Great Auntie Grace and Uncle Bill owned a book shop/tea room and sold scones for many years. So now that you know, feel free to instruct others. (Just continue calling them scones, rhymes with cones, at Starbucks otherwise they look at you like you're crazy.)

Anyway, my mom's work has been CRAZY lately, so I thought they deserved a special treat. I decided to whip up a batch of "Sara's Scones" for her to share. This recipe is from a friend of my aunt. Her sister, Sara, came up with the recipe. It is such a simple recipe, but also really tasty. Everytime I make these, they are a hit! So here's the basic recipe...

• 3 c. flour (I use whole wheat white flour and I actually use a little less than 3 cups or it's too crumbly)
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbs. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. filler: cinnamon chips, craisins, blueberries, etc... (I like to use cinnamon chips, buy them at Mejer)
• 2 c. heavy cream (save a little for brushing on top)
• Extra sugar for sprinkling on top

1. Mix the dry ingredients with whatever filler you choose. I actually like to use a little more than 1/2 a cup, FYI. Then add the cream. It will be a little crumbly, like this...

2. Split the dough into 2 balls and use a little flour to form each half into a ball. Then just kind of smoosh it down onto the counter so that it is a flat circle, like this...

3. There are 2 options for scone shapes: triangles or circles. In the Mother Country, scones are mostly circles, but around here they seem to be mostly rectangle. To make rectangles, cut the circle into 8 triangles (you can also cut those triangles in half for mini scones).

3a. To make circles, I use these great circle cutters I bought in Scotland. I love them for so many reasons: the fun color, the great handles, the crinkle edges...

4. Once they are cut, put them on a cookie sheet or pizza stone, and brush them with the leftover cream. I don't actually have a brush, so I just dump a little on with a spoon and kind of smear it around. Then sprinkle some sugar on top of each one. I like to use what I call "Big Sugar".

5. Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes (make sure to check on them for browning early).

They come out looking good, no matter what shape they were when they went in!

Grab yourself some tea, and go enjoy your scones (and make sure you pronounce it correctly!)

The One With All the Pumpkin!

A few weeks ago when I was making all the cake balls, I had some leftover pumpkin in the fridge from making pumpkin pancakes. I thought, how great would pumpkin cake balls be?! So I went in search of a good recipe. I found this super easy, super good one at Bake at 360. All you do is get a cake mix (hopefully one with 2 box tops like the one I got, so then you can give them to me, so my class can win!) Mix that together with...

1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp allspice (I didn't have any, but I don't think it made a difference)
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs (Actually, I only used 3 and it turned out fine)

Bake the cake, then crumble it up and mix it with cream cheese frosting (I used a can, with box tops, since it was just for cake balls). Roll them, freeze them, dip them (see more detailed instructions here), and you have...

Pumpkin Cake Balls!

These were so good, (and I also really liked the way the cake tasted all by itself), that I decided to make some pumpkin cupcakes using the same recipe. This time instead of using canned frosting, I made some spiced cream cheese frosting to go on top (so much better than canned). I also wanted to make frosting because, the last time I was at Whole Foods, I discovered fair trade powdered sugar and it was ON SALE!

So not only did these cupcakes taste great, they also helped out the sugar makers farmers producers.

I added a candy corn on top to finish it off, but I kind of like this picutre with the little pumpkin in the background (look close, you'll see it!) Happy Fall!

A Funny Halloween Story...

On Thursday at school, my 1st graders were lined up in the hallway near the gym, waiting to walk back to the classroom from music. One of the 4th grade classes was waiting to go into the gym for their class. Around Halloween, our PE teacher does some activities with the human body - learning about bones, skeletons, etc... So things are a little bit fun and different. Inside the gym was completely dark, with some spooky noises coming from inside.

All of the sudden, the door nearest to where my class was standing opened and out scurried a black, furry mouse. (Not real, of course, but the kids didn't know.) The 1st graders SCREAMED at the top of their lungs! I didn't even know what was happening until they screamed, but it was hilarious! After all of the screaming, the PE teacher realized that it was not just 4th graders sitting in the hallway, and came out to apologize. I think most of my kids really were pretty scared, although one of the boys informed me that he wasn't scared, he just screamed because everyone else did!

The story continued when, on the way back from lunch, the PE teacher followed me to my classroom. She went inside and started to get something out of a bag. I went in to see, and she pulled this out of her bag...

It's a brownie that looks almost exactly like the mouse that came out to scare us! So funny and so yummy! Happy Halloween!

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh...the white stuff

Does anyone else remember that Weird Al song based on the New Kids on the Block song? Sometimes when I think about Oreos, that song just randomly pops into my head! Ok, maybe that's just me. In case you haven't guessed, this one is all about Oreos, specifically, Oreo balls (the cousin of cake balls).

When I got this recipe from a friend at work (thanks, Jessica!), she warned me to be careful, because people invite her to parties just so she can make these Oreo balls. I think she might have been right!

Here's the basic recipe...

• Crush up some Oreos and a block of cream cheese in the food processor.
• Roll them into little balls and put the balls in the freezer for about 1/2 an hour.
• Dip them in white chocolate (I used vanilla almond bark).
• Optional: Roll in sprinkles.

Here's how mine turned out...

 I don't have a food processor, so I decided to use the smoothie maker. FYI, this was not a good idea. The cookies all got stuck in the bottom, so I had to do them a little bit at a time, then transfer them to a mixing bowl and mix in the cream cheese with the hand mixer.

After rolling out about 1/2 of the mixture, I decided to add peanut butter to the rest of it (Did anyone else get the idea of eating Oreo's and peanut butter together from watching the new version of The Parent Trap?)

To keep the plain and peanut butter ones separate, I did orange sprinkles on the ones with peanut butter and left the other ones plain.

I know these ones are not the most beautiful (I am working on finding a better way to dip them) but look at the ones with sprinkles...

Now I don't mean to brag, but doesn't this picture look like it belongs in a magazine?!

The One With Funny Foods

I guess in Texas, they even show their state pride in the waffles...

(Yep, that was really a waffle I ate in San Antonio)



And here is what happens when you leave oddly misshapen cupcakes sitting around the house for too long...

(Yep, that really is a cupcake)

I thought these were funny...hope you do, too! 

The One With All The Cake Balls!

Wow! This week was full of cakeballs. You might be thinking, What is a cakeball? Well, they are just what they sound like - a little ball of cake and frosting mixed together and then covered with chocolate.
There are 3 basic steps:

1. Bake a cake, crumble it up, and mix it with frosting. Any flavor of cake or frosting will work - chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, the possibilities are endless! If you really want to get crazy, throw in some peanut butter or cookie dough!

2. Roll the mixture into little balls and put them in the freezer for a while. (The freezing makes it easier to dip them in chocolate later). Here is what your hands will look like when you are finished...

And here is what the cakeballs should look like...

3. Once the cakeballs are frozen (about 1/2 hour), melt some almond bark or other melting chocolate and dip the cakeballs in. They can be rolled in sprinkles afterwards or just left plain. You can also put them on a stick to make cakepops. Here are my attempts.

This week I had 3 "orders" for cakeballs. All different, all delicious...

1st - Cookie Dough and Sugar Sprinkles. These don't actually have cake in them, just cookie dough (as requested by Danny for his birthday).

2nd - Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Frosting. Not the prettiest looking things, but still very tasty...

3rd - Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting and Sprinkles. These ones turned out the best looking, I think...

What other ideas do you have for interesting cake/frosting combinations?