RECIPE: Rec: Apricot Swirl Scones

RECIPE:
R

ruthsf

Well-known member
I’m posting this recipe not just because it’s so good, but because I keep losing track of it! I want it to be in as many places as possible so I’m assured of always finding a copy (silly huh? g). My friend Marilyn first served these to me at a brunch in her home and they were so memorable that I was very happy when she shared the recipe. Very similar to some hauntingly delicious apricot scones I enjoyed at the tea room of the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA (near Pasadena).

Apricot Swirl Scones

from Elizabeth Alston’s Biscuits and Scones

Yield 12 scones

“As good for breakfast as they are for tea. You may omit the pre-baking refrigeration, although it does produce a finer texture and more intense apricot flavor. For a festive occasion, sprinkle the unbaked scones with 1/4 cup chopped pistachios once they are on the cookie sheet.”

Filling:

3/4 cup (4 oz) dried apricots

2 tablespoons honey

2 2-inch strips lemon peel, removed with a vegetable peeler (instead I zest a whole lemon with a microplane)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Dough:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

Finely chop the apricots and put into a small saucepan with remaining filling ingredients. Add 1/4 cup water. Cover and simmer 10 minutes over low heat until apricots are very soft. Discard lemon peel. Mash apricots with the back of a spoon to a coarse, thick puree.

While the filling cooks, mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Add sugar and beat 2 to 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla.

Scrape sides of bowl; reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; beat only until blended. Scrape sides; add buttermilk and mix only until blended.

Remove bowl from the machine. Fold apricot puree into the batter with a rubber spatula just until the puree is swirled through.

Scoop 1/3 cupfuls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, placing the mounds about 2 inches apart. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate about 45 minutes (or freeze, and, when hard, freeze in a plastic bag for up to 6 weeks.

Heat oven to 350F. Place the scones on a cookie sheet, bake 5 minutes, turn heat down to 325F and bake 10-13 minutes longer, or until pale golden brown. Cool, uncovered on a wire rack.

 
Wurzelnsuppe (Carrot, Celery Root, and Parsley Root Soup)

In large soup pot saute:

4 oz. bacon, diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 tbls. butter

until bacon is crispy and onions are transluscent.

Add 1/2 cup uncooked rice and saute for 5 more minutes, stirring.

Add:

2 liters strong broth
8 carrots, sliced
1 large celery root, peeled and chopped
4-6 parlsey root, peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp mace

Bring to simmer, cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are soft tender.

Puree soup, stir in 1 cup cream.

Serve with garnish of unsweetened whipped cream sprinkled with fresh chives.

 
Thronfolgerkartoffeln (Pommes Daulphine)

1 pound Yukon gold or other baking potatoes, scrubbed clean
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
Fine sea salt
1/2 cup flour, sifted
2 medium eggs
Freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil for deep frying

1.Combine the potatoes and coarse sea salt in a large saucepan, and add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender all the way through when tested with a knife. Drain and let stand until just cool enough to handle. Peel the potatoes and pass them through a food mill; this will yield about 2 cups of potatoes.

2.Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a medium baking dish with parchment paper. Spread the potatoes in the dish and bake for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through, to evaporate some of their moisture.

3.Prepare the pâte-à-choux: combine the butter, 12 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Return to low heat and stir for 1 minute, until the mixture forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Stir for 3 more minutes to evaporate some of the moisture.

4.Transfer to a medium mixing bowl and let cool for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, beat 1 egg lightly with a fork. Set aside. Add the second egg to the potato mixture and stir with a spatula until well blended. Stir in the beaten egg, tablespoon by tablespoon, just enough to make the pâte-à-choux smooth, shiny and elastic; the entire egg may not be needed.

5.Add the potatoes to the pâte-à-choux, season with pepper and beat with a spatula to combine. (To store for up to 8 hours, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface, cover and refrigerate.)

6.Heat 4 inches of oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan until a candy thermometer registers 320 to 340 degrees. Line a medium baking dish with a double layer of paper towels. The first pomme dauphine will be a test of the seasoning and the oil temperature. Using 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture, shape a 1-inch ball and drop it into the oil. It should fall to the bottom and bob up after a few seconds. (If it doesn't, the oil isn't hot enough.) Alternately, for fancier presentation, Pipe the dough decoratively into rosettes, fleur de lis, etc onto small pieces of parchment, slide into oil and peel off parchment.

7.Fry until puffy, golden and crisp, about 3 minutes, flipping it from time to time with a mesh skimmer. Remove from the oil with the skimmer, transfer to the prepared dish and season with a pinch of salt. Shake the dish lightly so the paper towels absorb excess oil. Let cool for a minute, taste and adjust the seasoning of the potato mixture accordingly.

8.Repeat with the remaining potato mixture, frying the pommes in batches of 3 or 4 and stirring them gently with a skimmer so they will not stick to each other. Keep warm in a 300-degree oven until all the batter is used. Serve immediately.

YIELDServes 4 to 6 .

 
Estragonerbsen mit Perzwiebeln

1 bag frozen pearl onions
1 large bag frozen baby peas
1 tbls. dried tarragon
4 tbls. butter
1 tbls. sugar
1 pinch of nutmeg

Cook pearl onions in saucepan according to package directions. Add peas, tarragon, sugar, butter, and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer, cook to desired doneness (I do 3 minutes), remove from heat, serve.

 
Krautsalat mit Speck

With a large chef's knive, cut cabbage in half, then into quarters. Shred each quarter by hand into "noodles".

Place in large bowl, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt, toss to coat, let sit for 15 minutes. Pour 1/4 cup cider vinegar, and boiling water over the cabbage and let sit for 2 minutes. Drain.

Dress wilted cabbage with sunflower oil, apple cider vinegar, caraway seeds, 1 tablespoon sugar, salt, and pepper.

Dice and fry crispy 1/2 pound bacon. Sprinkle over top of salad with minced chives.

Serve warm.

 
Zimtapfelkompott

6 cups tart apples, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cider or calvados
2 tbls lemon juice
zest of 1/2 lemon
1 star anise, or 1/4 tsp. powdered star anise
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup cider

Combine, cover, and simmer on low heat for 30-45 minutes, or until apples are tender.

Combine cornstarch with cider, stir into apples over low heat to thicken. Remove from heat and cover for several minutes before serving.

Depending on the water content of the apples, you may need more cornstarch if the stewed apples are especially liquidy after cooking.

 
Yummy!

I will pick up the needed items for these today. Just what I need to go with coffee in the morning.

Thanks.

Earnie

 
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