Thursday, December 29, 2011

Great recipes for the New Year

Cherry Scones
(32 scones)
Ingredients
1 package Victorian House Scone mix
3 sticks butter
2 cups buttermilk
1-2 cups dried cherries
Instructions
Pour contents of bag into mixing bowl. Cut in 2 sticks of chilled butter, until mixture is fine and crumbly. Stir in 2 cups of buttermilk. Dough will form a soft ballTurn dough out onto floured board or pastry cloth and knead gently 3-4 times.

Divide dough into quarters and shape each quarter into a flattened circle 6-7 inches in diameter, aproximately 3/4 inch thick. Knead in the dried cherries.

Using a biscuit cutter, cut out scones. *Dough may be frozen at this point, to use later. Place scones on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Brush with cream and/or sprinkle with sugar. Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 13-18 minutes, depending on size of scones. Tops should be very light golden brown when done.

Serve warm with butter, preserves, lemon curd and/or clotted cream.
To order scone mix, go to: http://victorianhousescones.com/.


Lemon Curd
Ingredients
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
juice of 4 med-lg lemons
2 tablespoons lemon zest
5 egg yolks
Instructions
Melt butter in sauce pan. Add sugar, lemon juice and zest. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add egg yolks. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly. May be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Clotted Cream
Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar
Instructions
Using a whisk attachment on the mixer, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Remove from mixer, and hand whisk in the sour cream and confectioners' sugar until just combined. Store in refrigerator
If you enjoyed this post, please consider making a comment

If you enjoyed this post, please consider making a comment

Friday, December 2, 2011

Try it for Christmas: Pumpkin Cheesecake

Thanksgiving is over, yes, bout we still have Christmas to enjoy all those wonderful comfort foods, like roast turkey, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and all those scrumptious desserts. Like most people, I love pumpkin and apple pie, bread pudding, and chocolate cake, but ever since my daughter made it for me, I am a big fan of pumpkin cheesecake.

The following recipe calls for a graham cracker crust, but it's also good with a chocolate cookie crust. Another idea for an awesome cheesecake, if you don't care for pumpkin, is a lemon cheesecake with a chocolate cookie crust. I got this recipe from my daughter also, who is very big on cheesecake and a fabulous cook. I will post it after the holidays...or maybe sooner.


Photo of Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham crumbs
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. sugar

Filling:

3- 8oz.pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
Whipped Cream

Instructions:

Mix crust ingredients together, just till coated and crumbly. Press onto the bottom and 2/3 up the sides of an 8″ springform pan. Bake for 5 min. at 350. Set aside.
Combine cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl, mix until smooth with an electric mixer. Add pumpkin, eggs, and spices, beat till smooth and creamy. Pour into the crust. Bake for 60-70 min. or till the top turns a bit darker. Remove from oven and allow to come to room temperature, then refrigerate. After it has thoroughly chilled, remove the pan sides and cut. Serve with whipped cream.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider making a comment