Skillet Cheese Bread

I saw this mentioned in an article about comfort foods to eat when you're sick but on a keto diet, and sick or no, cheese bread sounded absolutely lovely so I gave it a shot. 

Notes:

• I baked mine in a 9-inch round pan but I would probably bake it in a bigger pan next time to ensure it gets fully cooked in the middle.
• Definitely bake it for longer than it says to. Even with extra time mine did not get fully cooked in the middle and it started growing mold after a couple of days at room temperature.

Verdict: I liked it before it started rotting. I also think I messed it up by unintentionally underbaking it. If I try it again I will definitely bake it for longer, and maybe bake it in a pan that allows it to be thinner (again, so it bakes better/more thoroughly).

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RECIPE:

Skillet Cheese Bread 

1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup flax seed meal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
3/4 cup almond milk, unsweetened 

Preheat oven to 425 F. Grease pan with 1 tbsp butter, or if using a metal or glass pan or skillet, set the butter in the pan and place inside the oven to melt. Mix almond flour, flax seed meal, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup of the shredded cheese in a large bowl until combined. Add eggs, butter, and almond milk. Mix until thoroughly combined. If you used the oven to heat your pan, remove pan from oven and swirl it to coat the inside surface with the butter. Pour batter into pan and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese evenly over the top. Bake for 16-20 minutes or until browned around the edges and set through the center. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

Almond Flour Scones

After a thoroughly disappointing experience with tea service at a fashion event I went to at the end of March, I decided the only way I am going to have a nice tea is if I make it myself. I was telling a friend about tea service and he told me he wished he'd gone to tea when he visited London. He was going to be cat sitting for us soon so I wanted to do something to thank him, and he wanted to get together for the Easter holiday right before our vacation so I invited him to tea at my house. I think he had a really nice time, and I got to replace a sub-par memory with a really nice one.

For an English style tea service it is of course necessary to serve scones and clotted cream and jam, so this was the first thing I tried to find a keto friendly recipe for.

Notes:

• I used Swerve granulated sugar substitute and they got very brown, almost burnt on the bottom the first time I made them. I plan to experiment with the sweetener to hopefully get them to not brown so much in the future.
• I left out the lemon zest one time because I didn't have it and it worked fine. The vanilla is really nice. If you don't want them to have a default sweet kind of taste though you could probably leave it out. 
• I ate these with clotted cream and sugar free homemade raspberry jam.
• I've also used these as a base for strawberry shortcake and liked it! (pictured) 

Verdict: I loved these and have made them one additional time since the keto friendly tea service because I missed them when they were gone. I have a feeling this will be a go-to recipe.

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RECIPE: Grain Free English Scones (Katrin Nürnberger, Sugar Free Londoner)

Almond Flour Biscuits

I can't remember what prompted me to make these, maybe because I was craving bread. But I wanted to give them a try. I made them exactly as written. Shown served with cream cheese and cured salmon.

Verdict: The crumbly texture that almond flour tends to give things works really well for biscuits. I liked these and would make them again.

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RECIPE: Keto Almond Flour Biscuits (Arman Liew, The Big Man's World)

Karelian Pies (Finnish Rice Pasties)

We vacationed in Finland recently and one of the things I fell in love with is Karelian pies (karjalanpiirakka in Finnish). They were often served for breakfast (ohh the lovely hotel breakfast) but can be eaten at any time of day. I missed them enough when I got home that I decided to try making my own.

Notes:

• I used Arborio rice because I didn't think I was going to find the traditional type of rice, and with its creamy texture I thought it would work better than Japanese rice.
• I used half and half instead of milk because it was what I had on hand, and omitted the butter in the filling.
• You can make the filling ahead and chill it to make it a little easier to assemble.
  
• I added an extra splash of water into my crust dough because I thought it was a little too dry.
• I only used maybe 3 tbsp each of the melted butter and milk for brushing, didn't do the brushing step halfway through cooking, and they still tasted fine and there was mixture left over.
  
• The recipe author isn't kidding when they say heavily floured board. The dough is fairly sticky. I poured out what I thought would be too much extra flour and ended up using pretty much all of it.
• 4-5 tbsp filling per pie is a better estimate than the 3 tbsp written in the recipe. I got toward the end and realized I was going to have filling left over so I REALLY piled it in those last few.
• 500 F oven seems quite hot but please trust it! It worked just fine for me.
  
• I made egg butter with 2 boiled eggs and about 4 tbsp Irish style butter and it worked nicely.
• If the rice porridge filling is not your thing, these can also be made with mashed potatoes, fish, or meat as the filling.
  

Verdict: These are definitely bigger than the ones at hotel breakfast, and were kind of a lot of work, but they tasted really good! I would gladly make this recipe again if I had a craving for them.

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RECIPE: Karelian Pies (Inspired by Maps)

Scallion Pancakes

Notes:

• I froze two of them for later. It's a little harder to make sure they get cooked in the middle without burning the outside but they still taste really good.
  

Verdict: I already knew I liked scallion pancakes, and fresh homemade ones are even more of a treat. They're kind of a lot of work, but really delicious.

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RECIPE: Cong You Bing Scallion Pancakes (The Woks of Life)

Cinnamon Rolls

I had some leftover cream cheese frosting from making gingerbread cookies and a hankering for cinnamon rolls, so I made these.

Notes:

• I used active dry yeast instead of instant yeast (letting it bloom in the milk/butter mixture for about 10 minutes before adding it to the recipe) and it worked fine.
• I used a stand mixer to mix and knead the dough.
• I did not make the icing in this recipe so I haven't tried it yet, but this particular recipe author tends to know what she's doing so I bet it's great.
  

Verdict: These are probably the best cinnamon rolls I've ever made. They had a really nice texture, very soft and pillowy on the inside. I would absolutely make them again, and now that I have a recipe I know I like, I can keep using it!

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RECIPE: Easy Cinnamon Rolls (Sally's Baking Addiction)

Mushroom, Caramelized Onion, and Spinach Pizza with Blue Cheese

Inspired by a pair of new friends that made and served us delicious vegan pizza for dinner when we went to visit them a couple of weeks ago. They made a mushroom and caramelized onion pizza and I kept thinking about it. I also had a big tub of spinach in my fridge that needed consuming, and some blue cheese crumbles I also needed to use up, and all of these things sounded good together so I got to work.

I tried a new from-scratch pizza dough recipe for this that was both quicker than my bread machine can make and tasted a lot better too, so I am likely to use it from now on when I make pizza.

Notes:

Dough

• I used all purpose flour.
• I only had active dry yeast so I did let it proof for 10 minutes in warm water mixed with the sugar before adding it to the rest of the dough ingredients and it worked great.
• I added dashes of garlic powder and thyme with the dry ingredients.
  
• Since it's winter and it's cold where I live, I proofed the dough in a very slightly warmed oven. I let my oven preheat to its lowest temperature (170 F), then turned it off as soon as it reached temperature, and let the dough proof in there.

Toppings

• For sauce I used about 1/2 cup jarred alfredo sauce because I had it and it sounded good, but you could also just drizzle/spread the top of the rolled out crust with some olive oil.
  
• I chopped 8 oz crimini/baby portabella mushrooms into bite sized pieces and sauteed them in olive oil with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder until soft but not until all their liquid had been released.
• I caramelized 2 small-medium sweet onions in a couple tablespoons of butter with a pinch of salt for ~20 minutes.
• I wilted about 6 oz spinach in a saucepan with a tiny bit of water, sprinkled some garlic powder and salt on after cooking, waited until it was cool, then squeezed out most of the water. I then chopped it roughly.
• I used about 3-4 oz blue cheese crumbles. These went on last.

Verdict: I was really impressed with the pizza dough! It was pretty straightforward to make, easy to work with and shape, and tasted great (significantly better than my previous go-to recipe). I was especially happy with the texture. The combination of toppings was also better than expected, really wonderful for a clean-out-the-fridge creation. I would gladly make this dough again and even this exact pizza.

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RECIPE: Pizza Dough (Sugar Spun Run)

Brown Soda Bread Scones

I read Smitten Kitchen's Castle Breakfast post and *had* to try these.

Notes:

• I could not find a coarse wholemeal flour in my store so I used the whole wheat flour/wheat germ/wheat bran mix she suggests. She says it should come out to 145 g but unfortunately she didn't include weights for each individual ingredient in the mix, so I weighed them myself:
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour = 75g
• 3/4 cup wheat germ = 55g
• 1/4 cup wheat bran = 15g
• I have used coarsely ground oatmeal to make up part of the wholemeal flour substitute mixture when I didn't have enough of everything and it worked all right. I think as long as it's not the majority of the mixture it should be OK.
• I made a buttermilk substitute. (To make 1 cup, put 1 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar in a liquid measuring cup, fill with milk to 1 cup, and let stand for about 10 minutes to thicken a bit.) I did not need to add extra. I also used Greek yogurt thinned with water a couple of times but the dough ended up a lot thicker and the breads were not quite done in the middle so you may want to cook it for longer, or make sure the consistency of the thinned yogurt is fairly liquid.
  

Verdict: Quick, easy, and delicious, and the absolute perfect vehicle for jam, especially a homemade jam. They reminded me of the oatmeal soda bread I've made before. I will be making these again, both because I like them and because I now have big bags of all three of the components for the wholemeal flour substitute.

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RECIPE: Brown Soda Bread Scones (Smitten Kitchen)

Cinnamon Sugar Scones

This is a recipe I've wanted to try for a long time and finally got around to making.

Verdict: I don't know that I'd go out of my way to make them again because they kind of fell apart as you ate them and were a little fussy for how good they were, but they tasted fine.

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RECIPE: Cinnamon Sugar Scones (Smitten Kitchen)

Focaccia and Pizza Dough

I make this with a bread machine from a cookbook that my mom got with a different bread machine in the 90s. Something's wrong with the heating element on mine so I only use it for doughs (because anything that's supposed to be baked inside the machine doesn't turn out right).

Verdict: Absolutely delicious. I would love to make it again. I will have to find another way when my bread machine finally gives out, but until then this is how I'm going to do it.

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RECIPE:

Pizza Dough / Focaccia
from Salton/MAXIM Housewares bread machine cookbook, 1998
makes 1-2 lb

for 1 lb (makes 12" pizza):
3/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp yeast

for 1.5 lb (makes 15" pizza):
1 1/8 cups warm water
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp yeast

for 2 lb (makes two 12" pizzas):
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
4 1/4 cups (531 g) all purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp yeast

All purpose flour, for dusting

For pizza (per 12" pizza; you'll need slightly more of everything for a 15" pizza)
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- 1 to 1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- Toppings of your choice (suggestions: cooked Italian sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers, sliced olives, chopped fresh tomato, cooked bacon)

For focaccia (per 1 lb dough)
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 tsp fresh or dried herbs of your choice (suggestions: Italian seasoning, rosemary, oregano, basil)
- 2-3 tbsp grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder (optional)
- Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Place liquid ingredients in bottom of bread machine pan, then add flour and other dry ingredients on top. Set machine to Dough cycle and let run until done (mine takes 1 hr 30 min). If using immediately, transfer dough to a floured board. If saving for later, place in a bowl greased with olive oil, turn dough over to coat it in the oil, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

For pizza dough: Heat oven to 400°F. If you made 2 lb dough, divide it into two equal pieces. Pat with your hands or roll the dough with a floured rolling pin into a 12 in or 15 in circle (depending on the size of your batch of dough). Transfer to a baking sheet or pizza peel/stone dusted with cornmeal or flour. Spread pizza sauce over dough, leaving at least 1/2" at the outer edge. Sprinkle cheese in an even layer over the top of the sauce. Place toppings over the cheese. Bake for 13-17 minutes or until edges are lightly golden brown and cheese is bubbly.

For focaccia: Heat oven to 400°F. On a board or other surface dusted with flour, pat the dough into a circle about 1/2 in thick. Place on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal or flour. Spread 2 tbsp olive oil on the top surface of the dough with your hands and dimple the top of the dough with your fingertips (deep enough so that oil will pool in the indentations). Once done, drizzle 1-2 more tbsp of olive oil over the top and sprinkle herbs, cheese, salt, and any optional toppings over the top. Let rise for 15-20 minutes. Bake until golden brown (this took about 20-22 minutes for 1 lb dough in my oven). Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Oatmeal Soda Bread Scones

I made this bread a couple of times a long time ago and had a craving for it recently, so I trotted out the blender and made it again. This time I made it into scone like shapes instead of one big loaf and I think I like it better that way. It's easier to portion and store.

Notes:

• I bake mine on ungreased parchment paper.
  
• Instead of buying buttermilk specially for this, I usually make my own (put 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice or a neutral tasting vinegar into the bottom of your measuring cup, pour milk into it to measure 1 1/2 cups, then let stand for about 10 minutes), or dilute some yogurt.
  
• If you make them into scones like I did, shape the dough into two equal sized rounds about 3/4 inch thick, then cut them into 6 wedges each. Bake for about 12-15 minutes at 450 F. (I tried one large round cut into 8 wedges, but I thought the finished product was rather large for a single serving.)
  
• These are best the day they're made, but will keep a couple of days at room temperature in an airtight container. They also freeze well after being baked.
  

Verdict: I love this and have made it four times now. I love the heft and heartiness that the oats impart. Eat with liberal amounts of soft butter and any kind of jam you like -- strawberry and cherry jam are my favorites with this bread!

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RECIPE: Oatmeal Soda Bread (Simply Recipes)

Corn Pudding

This is the first year that neither my partner nor I have been severely ill over Thanksgiving in 4 years (! an unexpected silver lining of having to stay away from other people I suppose) so I cooked a fancy dinner. I saw this recipe and got very excited to include it in our meal because I wanted corn and I'd had something like this before, but felt better about this recipe because it didn't use any boxed mixes. My partner was very skeptical because of the name, but because I made it he said he would try it. I assured him it was going to be more like bread than what he would typically think of as pudding.

I made it as written, didn't change a thing, and used the honey butter. I even had the same dish as the one the author photographed it in (and promptly broke while washing it after cooking this in it, sad face).

this year's feast. pies are just out of view :)

Verdict: We both loved it. It was served with ham, cheesy potatoes, steamed green beans, and kale and apple salad. I would love to make it again.

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RECIPE: Corn Pudding (Smitten Kitchen)

Ultimate Banana Bread

I have been eating banana bread ever since I was a kid. However, I do not have the church cookbook recipe my mom used when I was little, and I have a feeling it would have a bit too much sugar for me these days anyway.

I mostly tried this one because it had LOTS of banana and I had lots of banana to use up.

Notes:

• I made this in muffin cups because I prefer that to a loaf. It made 17 muffins. I baked them for about 23-25 minutes.
  
• I omitted the raw/turbinado sugar on top because I didn't have any.
  

Verdict: I loved it! It was sweet without being too sugary or cloying, and the texture was nice. I shared some with a friend and she really liked them too.

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RECIPE: Ultimate Banana Bread (Smitten Kitchen)

Sour Cream and Onion Biscuits

I made these because my friend Molly posted about how good they were and included pictures and enough information for how to find the recipe she used. It turns out I had everything I needed already so I was able to make them for breakfast the next morning.

Notes:

• I used 2% Greek yogurt thinned out with some milk instead of sour cream because it was what I had.
• I cut them into 12 smaller biscuits instead of 8 large ones, and reduced the baking time.
• I served them as part of biscuits and gravy but they are also delicious on their own with some butter.

Verdict: YUM. I would definitely make these again. Biscuits are not all that good for you but they do taste amazing.

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RECIPE: Sour Cream and Onion Biscuits

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

This recipe is a common Southern breakfast dish and comes to me through my sister's boyfriend, Sam, who is not Southern but genuinely likes cooking. He cooks things on his own from scratch, not just when she invites him to cook together! Yay.

My mom came to visit this weekend and stay overnight at my house. We normally cook breakfast together when we see each other, so we all convened in my kitchen to cook breakfast in the morning. My sister and Sam brought ingredients for biscuits and gravy, and I was excited when I heard Sam had made this recipe before. I tried biscuits and gravy one time and thought it was fine, but it is not something I grew up eating, and I was unmotivated to make it for myself because I didn't like it enough to go through the process of trying recipes until I found one I liked, and it seems like biscuits and gravy is something for which there would be a lot of dubious recipes.

I love biscuits as a food and have tried to make them from scratch at least 3 or 4 times, but I was never satisfied with the end result. Each time I was disappointed they didn't taste like the canned ones. They were all bitter and metallic tasting so I didn't try for a long time. Today was different. He handed me the recipe for the biscuits, and my sister and I worked on them while he made the gravy. They were pretty easy to make since I was familiar with the process. I got them out of the oven and they actually. tasted. good. Not bitter at all. I can make biscuits I like now!

Notes:

• The photos in this entry depict a doubled batch. We served it to 5 people and had a little less than half left over.
• Use aluminum free baking powder! The biscuits are less likely to be bitter that way.
• Sam sometimes makes these as drop biscuits, either as 8-10 small biscuits like the recipe calls for or 4 larger ones (you may need to bake them longer). I shaped the dough into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle and cut it into 12 pieces (for a single batch, cut into 6) with a chef's knife.
• Sam liked the flaky and layered texture of my batch. I attribute this to not overhandling the dough and cutting in the shortening with a pastry blender rather than a fork -- this keeps the fat in larger chunks.
• I lined the baking sheet with parchment paper instead of greasing it and it worked great.
• I baked the 12 biscuits for 13 minutes and it was perfect -- they were golden brown on top while being fully cooked but not dry in the middle.
• I'm considering making the biscuits with another fat sometime (butter in particular) and seeing how they go because I'm not a fan of shortening.
• If you end up with extra biscuits, they taste great warm with butter and/or jam.
• Sam usually uses Italian sausage for the gravy but I think breakfast sausage might also taste good.
• The leftover gravy can be refrigerated and reheated. It thickens more as it cools, so you will likely need additional milk or water to thin it out.

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RECIPE:

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

from Baker's Corner Baking Powder (biscuits), Betty Crocker (gravy)

Serves 4, up to 6 with additional meal items

Biscuits
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup Crisco or other shortening
3/4 cup milk
1 tbsp butter, melted (for brushing)

Sausage gravy
1/2 lb pork sausage meat (breakfast sausage or mild Italian sausage)
1 tbsp butter or canola oil
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup milk (we used 1%)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Prepare biscuits: Preheat oven to 475°F. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until the texture of coarse crumbs (around 1/8 inch / 3 mm pieces). Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the milk into the well. Stir with a fork until milk is just incorporated and dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured cutting board or other flat work surface and knead for approximately 30 seconds, or until the dough just comes together, taking care not to overwork it. Pat into a rectangle about 7 inches long, 4 1/2 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick, then cut into 6 pieces (3x2). Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and brush the top of each piece with melted butter. Bake for 11-15 minutes or until golden brown. If there's any melted butter left over, brush the baked biscuits with it after removing them from the oven. Serve warm with gravy.

Prepare gravy: Heat a skillet or deep frying pan on the stove over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add sausage to the pan and fry until well browned. Remove browned meat from pan into a medium bowl, keeping the drippings in the pan, and set aside. Return pan to the heat and add butter or oil. When the butter is melted, sprinkle in the flour with a wooden spoon. Stir to combine, being sure to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until mixture bubbles and has turned light brown. Whisk or stir in milk a little at a time, making sure mixture is smooth. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until mixture boils and thickens slightly. If it gets too thick, stir in more milk, a little at a time, to thin it to the desired consistency. Stir in salt and pepper, then add cooked sausage back in, stirring gently to combine. Serve hot over biscuits.

Tea Parties Vol. 4: The Prosecco Party

It had been nearly 2 years since my last tea party and I sorely needed to change that. For this party I went for an English high tea structure to the meal but with some fancy twists. Cucumber sandwiches, but Korean inspired. Chickpea salad instead of chicken or egg (bonus: vegetarians can eat it). Smoked salmon with lots of fresh vegetables. Plain scones, something of a rarity in America. Tiny desserts that taste as great as they look.

This was my first time having the party on Saturday instead of Sunday, and I normally work weekdays, so that meant preparing most of the food Friday evening after a full day of work plus Saturday morning. I am hashtag blessed to have awesome friends who came to help at both times. I significantly underestimated the amount of work this would involve, and I could not have gotten all this food made in time alone. Previously I asked people to arrive at noon but I quickly discovered I'm never actually ready to start then. Starting the party an hour later made a LOT of difference.

The schedule stars finally aligned for my sister to make it to one of these parties, and she let me dress her up! I have the same dress in two different colors and I put together matching outfits for us that didn't require a ton of hair/makeup preparation. It made me extra happy and I think she had fun.

We had 9 people this time, our largest group ever. Despite my best intentions, no actual tea was served (!) We started with sparkling wine and just never switched. Therefore, it was a prosecco party and not a tea party. We went through wayyy more than I thought we would but all the people I asked to bring sparkling wine did, and even some that I didn't ask! ha.

My husband threw on a city pop livestream neither of us had heard before, and it ended up being an incredible gem! It's good background music for frantic cooking working and we decided to just keep it on for the party too. Have a listen if you're into jazz, funk, disco, pop, and reggae from the 70s and 80s! He also took some fun photos to remember the afternoon.

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RECIPES

• SAVORIES
• Focaccia Sandwiches for a Crowd (Smitten Kitchen) -- I used this as the bread for all the sandwiches because I really, really wanted to try it ever since I found it several months ago. It was pretty easy to make and tasted quite good too! I did the quickest rising option, and it took a little more than 25 minutes to bake in my oven. I'd definitely consider making it again if I need to make a large amount of sandwiches where I also want to make my own bread and have enough advance time to make it.
• Korean Style Cucumber Sandwiches with Gochujang Mayo (Gather and Dine) -- we made a chicken version and vegetarian version with dry fried tofu (marinated after dry frying), and I think I like the tofu one a little better since it stayed together better and was a little more salty. The gochujang mayo was really tasty but some found it a little too spicy, so maybe I will dial it back next time. They fall apart easily so maybe keeping the chicken in larger pieces would work better if I made them again.
• Smoked Salmon Sandwiches -- Sarah made these completely differently from how I would have but they did taste pretty good. She blended the cream cheese and salmon and dill with some lemon juice, spread it on a big piece of the focaccia, cut it into squares and then we garnished each with a slice of radish and cucumber.
• Curried Chickpea Salad (She Likes Food) -- Paula made this so I don't have any notes other than that I might have chopped the celery and apple a little smaller than she did, but it significantly exceeded my expectations and I am looking forward to making it again! It's a good balance of curry flavor, creaminess, and sweetness, and it stays together nicely if you mash some of the beans really thoroughly but keep others in large pieces. A keeper for sure.
• Smoky Eggy Deviled Eggs -- for something without bread. This is my personal recipe, so of course I love it. Andrea and Paula prepared the eggs and filling the night before. Caroline stuffed the eggs in the morning and arranged them beautifully with some butter lettuce and sweet peppers from my work colleague's farm share.
• SCONES
• English Style Scones -- Sarah made these the morning of the tea party while I was asleep. She was not impressed with the recipe, and she makes a lot of scones, but I personally liked them. I served them with clotted cream (the Whole Foods in my city sells it), homemade strawberry freezer jam (pick yourself some strawberries and follow the recipe in the Sure-Jell Reduced Sugar Pectin box), and homemade lemon curd (from a frozen batch I made a couple of years ago so I don't remember which recipe I used). Oddly I feel like they tasted better (less bitter) the next day. I'd love to try making them myself.
• SWEETS
• Persian Love Cake (Broma Bakery) -- HOLY CRAP this was delicious. I have a separate entry on it since I did 95% of the preparation and have a lot of (happy) thoughts on it. I absolutely want to make this again.
• Chocolate Ganache Mini Tarts (Bon Appetit) -- I decorated them with edible gold glitter and fresh raspberries instead of the halvah and sesame salt. I will look for a different ganache recipe next time. My ganache did not fully set even after being refrigerated for many hours. The tart shells rolled out and baked nicely but tasted kind of bitter, though they did taste better the next day. I think if they were a little sweeter they'd have been perfect. It made 21 tart shells.
• Lavender Shortbread Sandwich Cookies -- a favorite of mine but with a new challenge: we rolled out the dough and cut them into large (2.5-3 inch) hearts, and were sparing with the filling so they wouldn't slide apart. It made about 4.5 dozen (54) hearts, enough for 27 sandwiches, with extra filling left over. I put about 1 cup more powdered sugar in the filling than the recipe called for and I think between that and the small amount of filling inside the cookies it actually set somewhat after being chilled in the refrigerator. I like these better as small, thick cookies with more filling. If I do make them heart shaped again, I will get a smaller cutter. I also think a firmer filling is the way to go and will continue to work on adjusting the recipe so it is firm but still has enough bright, fresh lemon flavor.

Other things we served that were not made from scratch:

• Sparkling wine (mostly prosecco, some rose)

THE TEA PARTIES

• Vol. 3: An End of Summer Feast
• Vol. 2: Spring Up Speed Up
• Vol. 1: A Birthday Party, and Being Unapologetically Yourself

Honey-Lavender Scones

I was inspired to make these by a gathering I recently went to for my alternative fashion club. It was a small afternoon tea at a pink Victorian house, and the host had made scones with honey and lavender. I inadvertently bought some of the ingredients several days later and then when I went looking for recipes I realized I had everything I needed to make them. I settled on this one from Better Homes and Gardens, mainly because it was the only one I saw with reviews, and the ones that are not on their site are the same recipe anyway.

Notes:

• These are less sweet than many American style scones (there are only 2 tablespoons of honey in the entire batch) but this is OK because they are meant to be eaten with sweetened whipped cream and/or clotted cream and/or jam. Lemon curd is also really tasty on these.
• The dough was still quite sticky even after stirring everything together and kneading. I used a buttered knife to cut them, and a metal spatula to scrape them off the kneading surface and transfer them to a cookie sheet and this worked well.
• Despite having an entire tablespoon of dried lavender in them, the lavender flavor and scent is pretty subtle. If you like lavender a lot you could probably add more.
• My scones ended up measuring about 3x2 inches after baking.
• I froze some of these after baking them to eat later, and I thought the lavender flavor tasted stronger after freezing, which was interesting.

Verdict: Pretty good but could be improved a little. I want to make them slightly sweeter to match the ones I had, maybe with one more tablespoon of honey or sugar or if I had coarse sugar I would have sprinkled it on top of them after brushing with the extra cream (I believe the ones at the afternoon tea had crunchy sugar on top that had melted a bit). I would love to try these again with some tweaks.

RECIPE: Lavender-Honey Scones