Breakfast Scones

These scones are a staple in our house. We must make them every weekend so that we have portable, delicious breakfasts every day. The original recipe comes, of course, from NPR, but I have made a couple little changes to make this easier for me--for example, I always double the recipe, and I use chocolate instead of cherries. This version reflects those differences:

3 1/2 C. whole-wheat flour
2/3 C. sugar
4 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 C. buttermilk plus up to 2 tablespoons, if needed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
14 T. (2 sticks minus 2 T.) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/3-inch cubes
1 1/2 C, cup quick-cooking oats (not instant)
6 oz. chocolate chips
2/3 C walnut pieces, toasted then chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.

Add the cold butter cubes to the flour mixture and use your hands to work them into the flour, breaking up and flattening some of the chunks as you go, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until you have some shaggy pieces and some small chunks of butter remaining. You will still have plenty of loose flour, not a cohesive dough.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir for a few seconds to barely moisten the flour. Add the oats, chocolate and walnuts, and stir gently just until ingredients are combined. The dough will be thick and will not come together into a ball. If you still have some dry oats or bits of flour at the bottom of the bowl, add up to 2 tablespoons of buttermilk, a few drops at a time, so that all of the ingredients are just moistened. You don't need a wet dough in order to pat it together in the next step.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat it together into 2 balls with floured hands, kneading once or twice. Flatten each ball into a thick disk and roll it into a circle, about 8 inches in diameter and 3/4-inch thick. Lightly dust the dough and work surface with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Cut the each dough disk into 8 wedges with a large, floured knife and transfer the cut scones to the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch of space between the scones.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until bottoms are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

We freeze our scones, taking them out one at a time to defrost on the subway ride and munch on them at our desks.

Cranberried Sweet Potatoes

My mom used to make a casserole she called cranberried sweet potatoes for me that I love, love, loved as a kid. When I was in seventh grade Mr. Hinkle, the technology teacher at Memorial Middle School and also the resident Piney, made us all bring in a dish made with cranberries, and that was dish I chose bring. I've never been able to replicate it, or get the recipe from my mom [update: I now have my mom's recipe!], but the following recipe is one that worked out pretty well for me, and it also contains cranberries and sweet potatoes.

Ingredients
4 Large Sweet Potatoes
6 T. Butter
One bag or about 2 1/2 C. Fresh Cranberries
1/2 C. Orange Juice
4 - 6 T. Sugar

Method
Peel and chop up the sweet potatoes into about 1-inch or so cubes. Boil 30 - 45 minutes until soft. Drain the water off the potatoes, reserving a little--maybe 1/2 a cup or so. While the potatoes are still very hot, throw the butter in and mash it all up with a potato masher. Add a little of the reserved potato water as needed to get a nice consistency. (You can also use milk or orange juice to do this if you like.)

While the potatoes are boiling, heat the orange juice on a sauce pan until it boils and reduces by about half. Mix the reduced orange juice, sugar, and cranberries together in a bowl.

When your potatoes are mashed, spread half of them in a 2-quart casserole dish. Layer on one-half of the cranberries, then the other half of the potatoes, then the rest of the cranberries. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, until the cranberries are hot and bursting.

You can sprinkle some walnuts on top for the last ten minutes of baking, if you like. Serve piping hot.