Pumpkin Scones

Make these. They are delicious. They are English-style scones, in case you are wondering. I got this recipe several years ago from a friend, who in turn got it from somewhere online. This is slightly adapted.


Pumpkin Scones

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 7 tablespoons sugar 
• 1 tablespoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 6 tablespoons cold butter 
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin 
• 3 tablespoons half-and-half 
• 1 large egg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife, fork, or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball. 

Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide). Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have six triangular slices of dough. (*Side note: I like to then cut the triangles again, so I end up with 12 triangles altogether. The size of scone is much more manageable for my little people.) Place on prepared baking sheet. 

Bake for 12–16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

Spiced Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar 
• 2 tablespoons whole milk 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• 1 pinch ground cloves 

Combine the ingredient for the spiced icing together. Drizzle over each scone. Tip: Put the cooling rack on top of the parchment-covered baking sheet. Then the icing doesn't make a mess when you drizzle it around.

Homemade Oreos

Homemade Oreos

1 box devil's food cake mix

3/4 cup shortening

2 eggs

Mix ingredients together. Roll into balls and bake at 350. Make them into sandwich cookies with cream cheese frosting.


**Lately I've been making my own mix instead of using a box mix. When you do this you have to use three eggs instead of two. Here you go:

Cake mix ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt 

Cowboy Salsa

Cowboy Salsa

10-oz. bag frozen corn
1 can black-eyed peas/butterbeans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
2 green peppers, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
8 roma tomatoes, diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
8-oz. bottle Italian dressing
1-2 limes, freshly squeezed
2 avocados, diced

Mix together and serve with tortilla chips

Creamy Lemon Squares

I love lemon bars with all of my heart, but it's hard to find a really awesome recipe, and sub-par lemon bars are just disappointing. I also love cheesecake with all of my heart, but sometimes I'm not in the mood to buy six packages of cream cheese. Enter creamy lemon squares. These squares combine the best of both worlds, and I've mixed and matched a couple of recipes to create one that I love (and that is super simple). Here you go.

Creamy Lemon Squares

Crust
3/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups flour

Filling
2 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
4 Tbsp flour
6 Tbsp lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (important that it's fresh!)
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 tsp powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper or foil (if using foil, lightly grease). In a large bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar until blended. Gradually beat in 1 1/2 cups flour. Press onto bottom of pan. Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.*

Beat cream cheese and granulated sugar with mixer until blended. Add eggs and 4 Tbsp flour; mix well. Blend in 2 Tbsp lemon zest, lemon juice, and baking powder; pour over crust. Bake 25-28 minutes or until center is set.* Cool. Refrigerate 2 hours. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and remaining lemon zest. Lift out of pan with parchment paper or foil before cutting.

*My crust was done in 12 minutes. The filling was done in 15-17 minutes. But my oven bakes really really fast, so just know your oven and keep an eye on it.

Vanilla Almond Granola

Ever since I first studied in Vienna for a semester, I've been in love with granola. I've experimented in the past with making it, and while I thought it was pretty good, the recipes I tried always required a really long baking time and lots of stirring (not hard, but annoying to babysit a recipe) or lots of honey (expensive and not the healthiest to have tons of sweetener). Anyway, I finally found a recipe that I love and adore! It's tastier and faster and cheaper than those other recipes: win win win.

Vanilla Almond Granola

• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• sprinkle of flax seed*
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 Tbsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all dry ingredients. I always add the flax for a health boost, but of course that's optional (doesn't change the flavor if you're just doing a bit). Add other ingredients and stir it up really well. I cheat and eyeball the honey in the same measuring cup I used for the oil--it's just so handy to have the honey slip right out and not make a mess. Spread on a cookie sheet (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray--or use parchment paper) and bake for 12-15 minutes. You just want it to be lightly golden; you'll have to experiment to see how long your oven takes and how you like it the best. Remove granola from the oven and let it cool before removing from the cookie sheet. Letting it cool first makes it so you get some nice granola clumps, which I love. If you don't like that, you can stir once in the middle of baking and also when you remove from oven. Store in an air-tight container.

I pretty much always have a batch on hand these days, and I usually double it. We eat it with yogurt or even just with milk, like cold cereal. It's healthier and cheaper than cold cereal--and it sticks with us longer. The kids love it and are always asking for more granola. This recipe is also really adaptable--add in dried fruits if that's your thing or change the type of nuts or whatever else you wish. I actually don't like nuts very much, but I really like sliced almonds in this. They're subtle but a good protein/flavor boost.

Here's where I got the original recipe.