This was the beginning of it all. Way back in middle school, before I realized how much I really did like cooking, I made blueberry scones for a class project. I've never been the same since. 

Perfecting a recipe is kind of tedious. You make a little change here, a little change there, hope you can remember how the final product differed, and start all over again. I don't do this. I usually tweak in large ways, for example, replacing blueberries with cut up dried mango and adding cayenne and lime. But I have decided that in my lifetime I will perfect this recipe. 

I don't even particularly like blueberries that much. Fresh ones, that is. But put them in the right baked good and they can be divine. 

These scones were not that 'right baked good.' My tweaks in seeking perfection backfired (I'm going to blame it on the altitude). I tried adding egg whites, which, to me at least, drastically changed the flavor, especially since I always decrease the amount of sugar. Also, I sort of managed to fill the oven with smoke (again, blaming the altitude and its ability to mess with proportions). 

But, since I am basically Martha Stewart, I managed to salvage the scones. A little quick thinking, some open windows and a pathological need to not fail saved the day. I've made better, but these are definitely still worth eating. Or scarfing. Whichever eating method you prefer. 

Another day, another scone recipe. This is the second time I have tried out this combination in scone form, and I hardly doubt it will be the last. The inspiration behind this scone lies in some random snack food The Weng and I picked up in Oxford one day. Ever since then this idea has been floating around my head as an interesting and different flavour combination. 

Like I noted in my last post, it is easier to make true scone texture when you cube the butter beforehand. Here are my prepped butter cubes and mango pieces, sitting pretty in my new mise en place bowls. 

I used dried sliced mango from Trader Joe's. I just snipped them up with my herb shears while I ate breakfast and voila! Prepped main ingredient. I haven't ever tried cooking with fresh mango, but I just don't think it would work as well. Too much liquid, perhaps too much acidity- if you want to try it however, let me know how it goes. 

The other two star ingredients of this recipe: lime and cayenne. I don't know all the ins and outs of the 'chili' debate, but I use cayenne because it has a distinct heat without adding too much pungency. 

I love colour! Anyways, I used a little bit less sugar than normal, mostly because the dried mango is cured with sugar and I wanted the other flavors to have a solid place in the overall taste. I think I could have used more zest (I used 1 lime's worth) or perhaps a drop or two of lime oil. 

I used the drop-method this time because...well, because I felt like it. I just like the way haphazard food looks and feels in my hand. Plus, this is fun in a sneak- broken-bits-off sort of way. 

Yum. Understated with a lingering bloom of cayenne. Eating them right out of the oven really highlights the cayenne, so if you're weary of the combo, make them anyway and just wait until they're cool to nosh. 


-Bizzle

I love scones. I love eating scones and I love making scones. So it's about time they made their appearance on this blog. 

The main ingredient in these scones is that alien creature pictured above. It's a dried hibiscus flower my friend and I picked up on a whim at Trader Joe's. Now, they may look totally foreign, but they taste quite normal. Rather like a less tart version of a dried cranberry. 

Kitchen shears are a culinary tool I currently covet, especially when it comes to things like dried hibiscus. The knife eventually did the job but it took way more time than it should have. 

The second main ingredient in these scones is an ample amount of orange zest. I was hoping to use the candied orange peels from a couple of posts ago, but nature worked a little dark magic on those and they were no longer fit for consumption. Hence, the punch of citrus had to be brought in by something else. 

Another tool I wish I had was a pastry cutter. Normally I use my hands to cut the butter into the flour; one time this resulted in butter melted more than I desired and little cakes rather than little scones. This time I used hands and a pair of forks and I think it worked alright. The scones came out with the right texture at least. 

The majority of the time I make scones I tend to use the drop method, resulting in lumpy, irregular and crumbly scones. This time I chose to go with the wedge style, mostly because I thought it would fit on my Silpat better. 

The hibiscus didn't add much flavour to the scones but the little bit of chewy texture adds a lot to the overall feel of the scones. The downside of the hibiscus is that they are pretty expensive. I recommend that if you're going to spring for them at all, find a recipe that capitalizes on their shape when whole. Otherwise, use some other dried fruit. 

The best way to eat scones, and the world standard, I believe, is with tea. Add some milk and sugar to that tea and you will have an authentically British afternoon. 


-Bizzle