Monday, November 12, 2012

Adventure #9: Cherry & Dark Chocolate Chunk Scones


            Over the weekend Garrett and I went on our ninth culinary adventure! We decided that since we had made mostly dinners and desserts we would try something new and make breakfast. Although the Oreo pancakes from adventure #3 could be considered a breakfast food, we didn’t count them since they were less than edible. Instead, we decided to redeem ourselves in the breakfast category and attempt to make cherry & dark chocolate chunk scones.

            As with every adventure, we began with step one, shopping. We lucked out once again and already had the majority of the ingredients. Our grocery list consisted of fresh cherries, buttermilk, and dark chocolate.

The complete list of ingredients is as follows

 Scones:
3 ¼ cups flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cups cold butter, cut into pieces
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups fresh cherries, pitted and chopped
6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
Melted butter for brushing

Glaze:
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and chopped
2 teaspoons water
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
 
            Overall, Garrett and I completed step one successfully. There was, however, one ingredient that caused us some trouble. The recipe called for fresh cherries, but we were unable to find them. We didn’t have many options before us, so we decided to buy cherry pie filling as a substitute.

            Once we purchased the groceries, we headed home to begin step two, baking. This proved to be a fun yet messy step. However, Garrett and I had a lot of fun with it. As usual, we divided the work and began to prepare the scones.

            Garrett began by chopping the chocolate and then the cherries. Meanwhile, I began to make the dough, combining the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. I then added the butter, buttermilk, and vanilla.

            When Garrett was finished chopping the chocolate and cherries, I folded them into the dough with my hands. Once he saw what a mess this was, he had to be a part of it. Together we finished making the dough and then Garrett kneaded it and cut it into wedges for baking.
 
 
 

            Once placed on the pan, the scones brushed with butter and placed in the oven to bake for 14 minutes at 425 degrees. I prepared the glaze while the scones baked, combining the water, vanilla, powdered sugar, and remaining cherries together until smooth.

            When the timer sounded, Garrett and I removed the scones from the oven. This was a process we ended up doing about three times as our scones refused to bake. Eventually, the scones were ready and we were able to try them.
 
 
 

We may have used a little bit too much flour, but with enough of the cherry glaze, the flour taste could be masked. We learned to use less flour last time, but we also agreed that overall the scones were a success.

 
Next week we will embark on our TENTH adventure! What should we make??

 
The complete recipe for cherry & dark chocolate chunk scones can be found here http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/07/fresh-cherry-dark-chocolate-chunk-scones/

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