Ahem… Anybody Still Out There? | From Cupcakes To Caviar

I know I know… I disappeared for a little bit (believe me; my FoodBuzz rating shows that I have been gone for a week and a half. Erhmmm…ack?) and shouldn’t be asking you if you are still out there. Instead I should be begging your forgiveness for leaving right?

C’mon now… you know I love you all dearly but can you REALLY see me begging for forgiveness? 😛 Didn’t think so.

I had to leave for a while… honest. Personal issues (and we know I’m just full of issues hehe) plus my grown kids were coming home for Christmas and I was getting too caught up in things that weren’t as important as that.

But… I’M BACK! And I come bearing goodies.

Ok, no I don’t. But I come bearing a recipe for goodies. Do your own baking darn it. 😀

I know a lot of people do New Years Day Brunches so I come bearing a scone recipe. Please say scones in a lively sort of upper crust British accent. Or Scottish. Scottish is good too. I expect a perfect accent before you even attempt to make these.

I was originally going to make a scone with other dried fruits and I am sure I will get to that at some point or another. But today, chocolate possessed me. Surprise huh? So I made chocolate covered strawberry scones. But as my strawberries were dried and rather chewy. added a shot of amaretto to them to rehydrate them. Honest, it HAD to be amaretto… water would not have worked. *Looks innocent* Then I made a creamy strawberry butter to slather all over these bad boys. Or maybe they were girls. I’m not sure; I didn’t check. I tend to leave the gender of baked goods alone. I am big on respecting the privacy of my scones.

Be warned; these spread a lot. So if you like precise more crisp edges, don’t put these close because they will blend together. if you like soft edges however, place them about an inch apart. Either way, they aren’t the prettiest daintiest looking scones in the world but darn, do they taste good!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Scones

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar (plus sugar to sprinkle on the top)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (a stick and a half) of cold unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 4 ounce bag dried strawberries
3 tablespoons amaretto
1 cup dark or semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup strawberry preserves

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Chop the dried strawberries and put them in a bowl with the amaretto. Set aside for about 15 minutes to soften.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Using a pastry blender, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
In a measuring cup, combine the cream, extracts and the eggs. Beat well,
Pour the cream mixture into the flour and mix just until combined.
Mix in the strawberries (leave behind any excess liquid) and the chocolate chips.
Dump mixture onto a lightly floured board and pat into a 1/4 inch thick circle (or triangle or hexagon if that’s your thing). Using a 2 inch biscuit cutter, cut out the scones and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Gently re-pat out the scraps and cut them. I got 12 scones and a teenie tiny baby scone from the dough.
Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until they are golden brown.
To make the strawberry butter, combine the 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup strawberry preserves. Beat until fluffy. Do NOT forget to let your butter soften well or you will end up with strawberry butter that has noticeable butter pieces in it, like in my photo. Oops.
Serve with strawberry butter. Think to yourself that these may not be pretty, but darn, do they taste good! 😛

22 thoughts on “Ahem… Anybody Still Out There?”

Of course we missed you and your recipes! I twinge when I see bloggers apologize for absence though. Live your life, do what you got to do, and cook and write when you have time. 🙂 I hope you enjoyed your time off!

22 thoughts on “Ahem… Anybody Still Out There?”

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