Chocolate and Walnut Sourdough Scones

Scones, tender, flakey, full of yumminess… something I used to make years ago. Gave up on them until I attempted blueberry scones made with excess sourdough starter; it’s generally called discard. I couldn’t find a recipe for blueberry sourdough gf scones, so I took a gluten-based recipe and reconfigured it to make with a one for one blend: they were so good I made more; second try I used a different 1-1 blend; King Arthur’s Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour Blend. I used a half cup of thick starter. I added a touch of cinnamon to complement the nuts and chocolate. They baked a bit faster than the blueberry ones probably because no frozen fruit in it: the chocolate and walnuts were at room temp. I ate the first one slightly warm…. heaven in a scone shape. Crisp outside, tender inside. Bursts of dark chocolate chip. It was another religious experience for me. The crumb was moist and as perfect as I could ask for. If you like scones you have to try this version too!

I mixed it with a spoon and then dumped it out; seemed dryish but as I gently kneaded it the dough became more fully blended, and the dry flour mix disappeared.  Trust me, it is easy to make and utterly decadent despite no fancy sweet icing.

Notes: I don’t know what you can sub for the sourdough starter. Possibly slightly thinned Greek yogurt? Or you should just make starter so you can bake these scones. There are lots of starter recipes out there. Mine is brown rice flour based but you can use sorghum or teff or almost any gf flour around. Not almond flour though…. I recently made it without the nuts; not nearly as tasty and I didn’t chill the made out scones and that inhibited their rising; definitely chill the scones on the baking sheet for 10 or 15 minutes before baking.

The dry mix with wet ingredients just added on top.
The wheel of 8 slices of dough ready to be placed on the baking sheet.
Ready for the oven!
Cooling on the rack; they sure got nice and plump!

Angie’s Chocolate Chip and Walnut Sourdough Scones (makes 8)

Ingredients:

200 grams 1-1 Gluten free flour blend; I used King Aurthur Measure for Measure

50 grams almond flour

100 grams granulated sugar

2 ½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

7.5 Tbsp of cold butter

3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

heaping 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips or semi-sweet if you like them better.

½ cup sourdough starter (Use the discard if you are creating discard)

1 large egg

1/3 c cold whole milk

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter or 2 knives. Until it is tiny pebbles of dough and butter.

Add the egg, starter and ¼ c of the milk. Mix to break up egg and start the blending process. Add in the chocolate and nuts and continue stirring. As it gets to be a thick dough dump it out on your breadboard with all the dry bits and hand knead it to coalesce it into a thick dough. Form it into a large disc; about 8-9 inches across. Cut into 8 wedges; cut in half, then quarters then again into eighths. Spread them out on a cookie sheet that you have sprayed with cooking spray. Put the sheet in a cold place to chill while you heat the oven. Heat to 355 degrees.

Put the sheet in to bake. If you have a convection cycle they will be done in about 22 minutes; the outside needs to be light brown, bottom browned and they look done. If you don’t have convection they will likely take a few more minutes.  Let cool on pan for 5 minutes and move to a rack. They cooled rapidly and I couldn’t resist eating one. Plain. Now I am not hungry for supper. I just want more scones.

Enjoy! I think they will freeze nicely; vacuum sealing would be a good way to go about it.

Terrific Pecan Tart!

Something sweet for Valentine’s Day. I have a bag of pecan halves. Perfect. I wanted an impressive whole tart not some small individual tarts like I’ve made in the past, so I used my long rectangular tart, this is the correct amount of filling. A rectangular one is attractive and fun to cut in narrow slices across the width. And a tart is not quite as thick as a pie; I prefer the crust to filling proportions. You can also use a 9-inch round tart pan.

Notes: You have to use dark corn syrup.  Yes, I know corn syrup is an unhealthy item but sometimes you just have to go wicked!  It’s worth it, I promise. Cross my heart. Oh and NO margarine. Butter! Or Earth Balance if you don’t eat real butter. And the filling only uses 2 eggs so that’s helpful these days.

This tart was awesome as is but are also great with some freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream which is quite popular at my house.

Ready for the oven….

Angie’s GF Pecan Tart

Crust:

1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe)

2 Tbsp sweet rice flour

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

6 Tbsp cold butter cut into 6 chunks

1 large egg

2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Crust directions: Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer.  Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembles coarse meal.  Add egg and juice.  Mix until it comes together into big chunks.  Shape into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes while you get the rest ready.

Filling:

2 large eggs

1/3 c sugar

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 and a half tbsp. melted butter

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

1 cup pecan halves

Sprinkle cinnamon

Filling: Beat eggs, sugar, salt, butter and corn syrup in a bowl until well mixed, can use a hand held mixer.  Stir in pecans and a good sprinkle of cinnamon.

Assembly: Roll out pie crust between the two long sheets of wax paper; try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and lay in long rectangluar tart shell or a round one if that’s what you got.  Crimp edges all around.   Fill your shell with pecan mix.  Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven on a low shelf for 25 or so minutes until set and crust edges lightly browned.  Cool at least 1/2 hour before serving warm or at room temperature or even slightly chilled. 

Freshly baked long pean tart!
My slice!

Shrimp Risotto Made Easy

I love this recipe: fast, easy and delish. We all want easy recipes that taste great, don’t use too many pots/pans and are budget friendly.  I make this in my instant pot electric pressure cooker (IP) and it works fine.

The first try I had some shrimp in the freezer and all the usual ingredients for risotto.  I had read lots of comments on how good IP risotto was but had resisted until I tried this recipe…. being a lover of the traditional endless stirring method.  It still took as long as hand stirred risotto to make but was much easier for a meal made outside my kitchen and it was fresh and ready to enjoy.

Note: I made this again recently using Asiago cheese and was not a real big fan of that flavor; a good quality chunk of Parmesan is what you need for the best result. Other than that it came out with a perfect texture; for that version I put the peas right in the risotto after releasing it; stirred for a minute and it was ready to serve!

shrimp-risotto

IP Shrimp Risotto, serves 4

1 lb large to extra large shrimp; thawed and shelled

4 tbsp. butter divided

1 small yellow or red onion finely chopped

1 ½ cups Arborio rice

2 tbsp. vermouth or dry white wine

4 ½ cups low sodium great quality chicken broth

1 tsp. sea salt

¼-1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

2 minced garlic cloves

Finely grated rind of one small lemon

¼ cup finely chopped fresh herbs like parsley, rosemary, tarragon, thyme OR 2 tsp dried herbs (same ones)

1/3 cup freshly grated good quality parmesan cheese

Directions: Heat IP and add 2 tbsp. butter, melt and add onion, cook 4 minutes, add rice and cook 1 minute, add vermouth and cook 30 seconds, add 3 cups room temp chicken broth, salt and pepper and put lid on. Seal it and set for 9 minutes on manual pressure, do a quick release, add the minced garlic and then the shrimp the rest of the broth. Stir well and cook 5 minutes on Sauté.  Stir frequently. Turn it off and then add the zested lemon and the herbs, stir.  Add the cheese, stir and serve.

Notes: I think you might be able to cut ¼ cup broth; mine seemed just a tad too loose/wet. It was not quite as creamy as hand stirred but the process was a lot easier and a quick clean up.  Is great with a side salad.  The result was a gourmet meal that could be made anywhere, perfect for a stove less situation. Enjoy!

Revised from original post from Spring 2017. No recipe changes.

Not My Mom’s Rice Pudding, Better!

I always loved rice pudding as a child, creamy custard studded with raisins and topped with a good sprinkle of cinnamon.  But the rice itself was kinda drab, not much flavor and it was not well blended with the rest of the pudding.  A few years ago, I found a recipe that caused a rice pudding revolution in my kitchen: it used sweet rice which is a white short grain oriental rice.  You could substitute Arborio rice if you like, what I have used in my most recent batch. I buy sweet rice in oriental grocery stores but I think Wegmans may carry it too.  Each grain absorbs the milk as it cooks and releases a lot of creaminess as well as providing a soft squishier rice that gives the pudding a more blended feel than my mom’s usage of long grain rice that stayed firm and separate from its pudding surrounding.

This recipe is naturally gluten free.  No one eating it will think, “Oh, darn, another of those weird GF recipes!”  They will just think, “I wonder if she will think I am piggy to want seconds of this?

In a pinch you could skip the second part where you briefly bake the pudding but I rarely do, I think it helps form the best texture.  Do sprinkle the top with cinnamon unless it is something you despise.  I recommend whole milk as it makes pudding taste so good but if you prefer two percent that will work.  I do not recommend skim milk for pudding. Ick on the texture and flavor of such a mutant pudding!  And this recipe is great with chopped dried apricots, dried cherries, golden raisins, or even currents or in it instead of raisins. My original recipe had lemon peel and apricots in it. Recently I put a few long orange peelings in it and a cinnamon stick while it cooked on the stove top which gave it a delicate orange flavor which played well with the raisins. So, you can alter it to suit your mood and your ingredients. I sometimes just use 3 whole eggs rather than end up with two extra egg whites.  Especially with the price of eggs these days. For 3 eggs you get a whole pan of lovely pudding so it is worth it!

I made it this week in the “classic” form; with raisins and sprinkled with cinnamon. I so enjoy a cup of creamy rice pudding.

rice pudding

These cold days make pudding such a treat.  What could be more comforting after a cold walk with the dog than a bowl of wickedly creamy homemade rice pudding.

Creamy Rice Pudding

Ingredients

¾ cup sweet or Arborio rice

1 quart whole milk

1/3 cup raisins

1/3-1/2 cup granulated sugar, depending on your sweetness needs! I go with 1/2 cup

2 egg yolks

2 whole large eggs (or just 3 whole eggs, no extra yolks)

1 tsp pure vanilla

A good sprinkle of cinnamon

Directions:

Rinse the rice in a strainer briefly, (I forgot to do this last week!)  place in a heavy bottomed 1 ½ quart saucepan, pour in the milk (4 cups) and stir frequently as it heats on medium to a bubbly simmer.  Add the raisins and turn down the heat to low, cover and cook 25 minutes.  Be sure to stir it every 5-7 minutes to separate the rice and keep it from scorching on the bottom.  Add the sugar, stir well.  Mix up the egg yolk and whole eggs in a bowl with a whisk and add in some of the hot mixture; maybe 1/3 to ½ cup.  Dump it all back in the pot and stir well.  Turn off the heat and add the vanilla.

Heat your oven to 300 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a low ceramic or glass baking dish. I like an oval myself, that shape is what my mom usually used!  Pour in the pudding, removing any lemon or orange peel and the cinnamon stick if you used such and sprinkle it well with cinnamon to dust the surface.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Often,I put it in a hot water bath created with a 9×13 cake pan and some hot tap water. Did this last week.  This method produces a lovely delicate custard, worth the extra fuss.

It is tasty warm and wonderful the next day.  Some people guild the lily with toppings of whipped cream, grated lemon or orange peel or even whipped mascarpone cheese.  Up to you how you dress it up!  I occasionally serve a homemade cookie on the side for added crunch value.  Enjoy!

Originally published in 2015; minor text changes made.

Very Berry Almond Cake

In the winter we are all craving fresh fruit and this cake has that, sort of because we are using frozen berries. But no one eating it will know they were frozen. It’s also easy to make. It doesn’t have a ton of sugar, good.

I used a bag of mixed frozen berries; cherries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries: so much more available and they taste great, I cut up the bigger ones which is important for an even texture. I also added more berries than the original recipe.

This recipe is from King Arthur’s website. I made a few changes; feel free to look at the original recipe. This cake is made with mostly all almond flour. If you want to skip the gf flour, just use all almond flour. I just like how swapping in some flour improves the texture for me. I put it in a larger pan, and it definitely needed that space. Great for a small gathering or to take to someone’s house. They will never know it’s gluten free. Enjoy!

Winter Berry Cake

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 cup gf flour; I used King Arthurs Basic GF Blend

1/4 tsp. xanthan gum

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

6 tbsp soft butter: I cut mine into 6 chunks, put it in a glass measuring cup and nuked it for 30 seconds. I then stirred it to make it all soft and well blended

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar

zest of a small lemon

4 eggs separated

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1 1/4 cup frozen berries; chop in half the bigger ones

Directions:

Spray the inside of a 9-inch deep tart pan or a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray; taller sided is much better. I used a deep tart pan with a removeable bottom. If no removable bottom I suggest a circle of parchment paper in there before spraying it. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Put the 1/2 cup sugar and the soft butter in a mixer. Blend well. Blend in 4 egg yolks. Add zest, vanilla and almond extract. Blend well. Beat the egg whites in a stand mixer, add the 2 Tbsp. sugar as it gets near to soft peaks. Stop when it forms a peak that doesn’t fall over or go flat. Blend the flour mix into the sugar/butter mixture just until blended. Then carefully fold in the egg whites, starting with about a half cup, stir, another half cup, stir and then the rest of the batter. Pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the berries over top evenly. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. test with a cake tester at 40 minutes. If the tester is clean; it’s done, if covered with batter; bake more. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes on a cooling rack and then remove from pan. I pushed mine up out of the walls and put it right back on the cooling rack for an hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if you like. Store any leftovers at room temperature, well wrapped.