Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Dorie and I have not been seeing eye to eye...


You all must know by now my aversion to fruit in my baking (well most fruit) so I had to take a pass on this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe yet again . This weeks recipe was Apple Cheddar Scones (*gag*) chosen by Karina of The Floured Apron. This recipe was as appealing to me as brussels sprouts (not to offend any of you brussels sprouts lovers freaks that you are) not only because it contains apples, but also cheddar. What the hell was Dorie smoking when she thought up this concoction (ha! that sounded dirty or maybe I should get my mind out of the gutter)? Now I'm sure its wonderful since Dorie is a genius, but seriously apples and cheddar? You all are braver than I am, but thanks to Dorie I had scone fever, and decided to get in on the scone lovin anyway:P

*hands out kleenex to all the cry babies because this isn't Dorie's recipe*

I have never had a scone before so I embarked on this adventure with reckless abandon, completely blind in regard to taste and texture. I googled a recipe for banana nut scones and what I ended up with in my opinion is something in between a biscuit and a muffin (weird I know), and I am clueless as to whether or not I achieved the correct flavor or texture. Is that what it is supposed to be like? Please enlighten me because I didn't bring them into work today for fear that someone would take a bite and run screaming to the nearest trash can to puke their brains out and ask if I were trying to poison them. Similar to what my husband did last night. He had never tasted a scone either, and lets just say after trying one of mine he wasn't a fan.



They weren't terrible, but they definitely weren't worthy of using the wonderfully ripened bananas I had saved for a far more exciting occasion. I like my pastries to be sweet (is a scone a pastry?) and threaten a mouth orgasm. These were sort of bland and about as exciting as clipping your toe nails. Well, I honestly dont know whether they were great or not due to the fact that I dont exactly have anything to compare them to because I was a scone virgin. Since they were so bland I drizzled some dulce de leche over them just to make them a bit more exciting and not even that helped. They were a huge pain in the ass to make as well because the dough is super sticky... and I mean SUPER sticky. My fingers looked like giant sausages by the time I finished kneading it because the majority of the dough was off the counter and stuck to my hands. All in all either this was a really bad recipe or I am just not a fan of scones. What a waste of ripe bananas...
Make sure you check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see everyone else's treats.


XOXO
Stay Sweet;)




Banana Nut Scones (supposedly)
Source: I can't find the link now, but really I dont think it was any good so it doesn't matter

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 stick of chilled butter
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup mashed ripe banana about 2-3 bananas
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon brown sugar
I also sprinkled them with cinnamon suger after they were done.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine first five ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine buttermilk, vanilla and egg in a bowl. Stir well with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture and banana to dry ingredients stirring until just moistened. Turn dough out on to a lightly floured surface. With floured hands knead dough lightly 4 times. Pat dough in to a 9 inch circle on a baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle with walnuts and remaining brown sugar. Pressing gently in to dough. Cut dough in to 12 wedges (I used a cookie cutter and cut it into circles). Cutting in to but not threw dough. Bake 20 minutes or until golden.

15 comments:

marae said...

ha ha i love fruit in dessert, actually i love almost any dessert! but these were more 'savory' than sweet. your banana scones look yummy and DULCE DE LECHE. sign me up!

kimberly salem said...

hehe, i wasn't a fan either, sorry you wasted your bananas;) better luck next week!

Hygeian Stew said...

You missed out on one tasty scone, if i do say so my self. I found the cookie carnival here:
http://www.bubbleandsqueak.biz/cleanplateclub/2008/02/join-carnival.html

It's good for slackers like me, since it's just once a month, not every week like TWD. Plus the logo is super cute!

Anonymous said...

You've really never heard of apple and cheese before? That's like one of the most classic combos ever, how odd. You really should try it, it's so good.

LyB said...

I'm not sure a banana nut scone would tickle my fancy either but at least you tried. :)

Thistlemoon said...

Here's the deal. I hate fruit in baked goods too. It just doesn't work for me. Even more so, I hate apples in pretty much every form, besides a nice dry hard cider. I just do not like them...except when mixed with cheddar cheese. Like a slice of apple pie with cheddar cheese. It is a most lovely combination. Weird to imagine, until you try it!

Oh and welcome to The Foodie Blogroll!

Amy said...

Ha ha, you crack me up. I guess I'm a freak, because I actually love roasted brussel sprouts. Anyway... way to take a crack at a scone recipe... too bad you weren't that into it.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry it wasn't a hit... and that you wasted your bananas, but at least you learnt something and you'll never make that recipe again!
You crack me up with your writting.
*And thanks for your comment in my blog.

Anonymous said...

I've had apple pie with cheddar on top before and it was actually quite good, but if you don't like fruit in dessert, then this most definitely wouldn't have worked for you. But then again I didn't make the scones either...I'm not a scone fan! ;)

Jacque said...

I agree that scones are like a biscuit. I upped the sugar in Dorie's recipe because I like sweet too.

Sorry you weren't impressed, but now you know.

Bungalow Barbara said...

Your recipe for banana-nut scones looks like a pretty standard American-style scone. Yes, they're a lot like a biscuit and often not all that sweet.

Good for you for trying a scone recipe! Too bad you found out you're not a scone lover. Now you know...

(I happen to LOVE fruit, apples, and scones, but hey, to each her own!)

Anonymous said...

Scones can be either flaky (like Dorie's recipes), or cakey (like most commercial scones out there). I prefer the flaky. The cakey scones you buy at coffee shops use a lot less butter, and usually have more egg to produce the cakier texture.

In England, and in Dorie's recipes, scones are not super sweet, but you could get a sweeter scone by adding more sugar, or icing them, as you did.

One thing you should always remember when making scones is to treat them like you're making biscuits. You should not be kneading the dough as if it were bread dough. In fact, I try to handle mine as little as possible, and whip everything up in the food processor.

Anonymous said...

Lol...not much for cheese with my apples, either but do love fruit desserts and such. But we're all entitled and I enjoyed reading your thoughts! :)

Anonymous said...

Hey, I remember you posted a Pumkin brownie recipe on the knot a couple of months ago. Would you be able to post it here?

PS: We miss you over there!!

Heather Young Gowdy said...

I enjoyed your blog about the scones. They are more biscuit-y than sweet, meant more for use with tea than anything. At least you were able to find a way to participate! I look forward to reading more of your blogs.