cherry, chocolate + almond scones

cherry, chocolate + almond scones

We are a bit spoiled living so close to San Francisco. We could eat every meal of every day at a new place and never reach the last restaurant. There are iconic steakhouses, out of this world oysters harvested right out of the bay and arguably the best bakeries in the state. The Mission, an uber hip neighborhood in the sunny part of the city, is home to a whole bunch of the best eateries in the city. Our church is located in the Mission which could be a coincidence, but it's entirely possible we chose the church we attend based on the quality and quantity of food options for after church brunching. Not really, it's an amazing community of the best people (but really though, the foooooood).

About a block from the front steps of our church is a little bakery called Tartine. It's a San Francisco staple. People line up 45 minutes before they even open the doors in hopes of getting a piping hot ham and cheese croissant and to snag a tiny table on which to enjoy said croissant with a cup of strong coffee. It's a small place but what they lack in space they make up in sugary carbs or flaky carbs with cheese or just straight carbs in the form of a loaf of bread that weighs more than a newborn human baby. The place is magical really. 

cherry, chocolate + almond scones

I try to hold myself back from going there every single Sunday. That takes a lot of self discipline, of which I am seriously deficient. The last time we went I had one of their buttermilk scones with currants. I already had eaten my ham and cheese croissant, but what could a little bit of scone hurt? Well, it was absolutely delicious, which caught me off guard because I was thinking I would just give it a taste, expecting just a normal, mostly boring scone. I mean, I'm comparing this to a ham and cheese croissant, a scone can't compare, right? Really wrong. The scone was awesome and we at the whole thing. AFTER we both ate a ham and cheese croissant. See why I can't go there every Sunday? 

cherry, chocolate + almond scones

If I thought that going to Tartine every Sunday was a bad idea, baking an entire batch of scones probably isn't the most brilliant idea either. Sure, I threw some whole wheat flour in there, but there's also butter and chocolate and they're drenched in a sugar and butter coating. Yep. Good thing my husband doesn't mind taking these types of things to work with him. 

I like this riff on Tartine's currant scones. The chocolate makes these a real treat and the tartness of the cherry balances things out. They aren't as airy as the original version on account of the whole wheat flour, but I like that they feel substantial. I cut these into wedges and after the fact, I really wished I had just cut them into squares or rectangles with a sharp knife. Feel free to do that if you'd like, I think it would be easier to get even sized scones. I'll do that next time. 


cherry, chocolate + almond scones

makes 12

adapted from Tartine

Ingredients: 

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus more for dusting)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, very cold and cut into 1/2" cubes
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, cold
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 3/4 cup dried cherries
  • 3/4 cup dark chocolate pieces (or chips)
  • 3/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly

Preparation: 

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. 
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if mixing by hand), sift both flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Attach the paddle to the mixer and spread the butter over the flour mixture. Turn the mixer onto low and break down the butter until it is the size of peas and the mixture looks more like wet sand. If you're mixing by hand, use a pastry blender or your fingers to break up the butter, working quickly to keep from heating the butter too much. 
  3. Add the orange zest, buttermilk, dried cherries, chocolate and almonds all at once. Mix until just combined. The mixture will be moist. 
  4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press into a rectangle that is 18" by 5" and about 1 1/2" thick. Cut into 12 triangles. Brush with melted butter and top with a generous amount of sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Serve immediately. 

biscuit sandwiches with bacon, egg + tomato

biscuit sandwich with bacon, egg + tomato

I used to go through a major crisis when we went out for brunch. The decision to go sweet or savory was so hard for me, you'd think I was making a life and death decision. Nearly every time, I go the savory route, mostly because so much sweet so early isn't usually my jam but a little something sweet is nice. We finally figured out that if we ordered a pancake for the table, our problem (my problem) was solved. This made all my brunch decisions easy, breakfast sandwich please, with a side of pancake to share.  

If there is a breakfast sandwich on the menu, I want it. If said breakfast sandwich is made with a biscuit, definitely get that in front of my face as soon as possible. My love for biscuit sandwiches probably stems from many childhood mornings at McDonald's. Just a biscuit with sausage, maybe some cheese. No egg (was it even really egg back then?) and definitely NOT on an english muffin. 

buttermilk biscuits

Now that most of our brunches happen at home (have you ever tried to have a civilized meal in public with a toddler?), I've been on the hunt for the perfect biscuit recipe. There isn't a huge amount of variation in the method, except for the additional step of folding the dough to create some extra beautiful layers. Of course, the ingredients or add ins vary, like these gorgeous sweet potato biscuits or these with honey and rosemary, which are both on my to-do list, but for the most part, the magic is in a few basic rules of biscuit making: work with cold ingredients, mix it all quickly and don't overwork the dough. Those luscious layers don't happen by accident, that's the cold butter working to create steam, pushing the dough into sheets of flaky nirvana. The fat in the butter works to tenderize the dough, making it soft AND flaky . YES. That's what we want! Bake them in a hot oven, top them with some salty bacon, a fried egg, a big hunk of tomato and a dollop of mayonnaise and then call me, because I'm coming over. 

biscuit sandwiches with bacon, egg + tomato

When you've got a lazy weekend morning, make a batch of these biscuits. Go wild and double the recipe if you can and freeze half of the biscuits to make weekday biscuits a thing. They could be a thing, you know. I mean, any weekday that starts out with biscuits is all right by me. These biscuits are quite good, too. They're soft, buttery and are the perfect vehicle for all kinds of breakfast sandwich fare. Next time I'll remember the "L" in B.L.T. and add a little spicy arugula for a fresh kick. 


biscuit sandwiches with bacon, egg + tomato

serves 6

find the original biscuit recipe (and much prettier ones at that!) here

Ingredients: 

  • 9 oz all purpose flour (about 2 cups)
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 5 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 3/4 cup cold buttermilk, plus more for the top of the biscuits
  • 6 eggs
  • 12 slices of bacon (you should probably throw a couple extra on in case someone wants a sample)
  • mayonnaise
  • 1 large tomato, cut into thick slices

Preparation: 

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper.

  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter cubes, and use a pastry cutter or a couple of forks to mix the butter into the flour mixture. The pieces of butter should not be smaller than the size of peas and the mixture will start to look like course meal or wet sand. Stick the bowl in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to chill.

  3. Add the cold buttermilk to the flour and butter mixture and mix it quickly with a fork until it's moist. There may still be some dry bits of flour, that's okay. They'll get mixed in in a minute.

  4. Dump the dough (and any extra flour) onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently about 3-4 times until you have a mostly cohesive mass. The dough might still be a little shaggy, but we'll work that out right now. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 9'' by 5". Fold the dough into thirds like a letter, folding the long sides in toward the middle, overlapping one another. Roll out the dough again into a 9" by 5" rectangle. Fold it up again like a letter. Roll it out again into a 9" by 5" rectangle. Repeat the letter folding one more time, and then roll it out to about 3/4 inch thick. With a large knife, cut the dough into six equal pieces. Transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet and brush the top of each biscuit with a little buttermilk. Sprinkle with kosher salt. 

  5. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until the biscuits have puffed and are golden brown around the edges. Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack to cool slightly. 

  6. While the biscuits are in the oven, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium high heat until crisp. Let them drain on some paper towels.

  7. Wipe out the bacon skillet and cook the eggs over easy, until the whites are set, but the yolk is still runny. 

  8. Now that the biscuits are cool enough to handle, cut them in half and spread a good dollop of mayonnaise on the bottom of each biscuit. Place a tomato slice on top of that, and then put an egg on it. Give it a light sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper and top with two slices of bacon. Place the top half of the biscuit on, well, the top and take a giant bite. Let the egg and tomato drip down your elbows. "Mmmm" and "Yumm" loudly. 


house guests: whole grain banana hazelnut muffins

If you're at all like me (and let's hope for the sake of human kind, you aren't), you go a little nuts before you have house guests. I clean the house top to bottom, even the places I don't think anyone else looks besides me. All the cleaning would be quite enough work in and of itself, but I also like to have the house stocked with some quick snacks and a few meal components to make life easier on myself when mealtime rolls round. In the next week, I'll share a few of my favorite ways to prepare for house guests with some recipes and tips on making your guests feel right at home. 


banana hazelnut muffins

It's not often that we have house guests, but when we do, I like to pretend I run a bed and breakfast. Complete with guest baskets in the bathroom and fresh linens for a cozy nights sleep, it's all the fun of running an actual B&B minus the 'stranger danger' factor. The thought of having complete strangers sleeping in our house has always freaked me out, so this is sort of like playing house without actually having to pay the rent. We stock the pantry with homemade granola and the fridge with yogurt and fruit and rich hazelnut milk. I like to make the bulk of our meals ahead of time, that way, I keep my time in the kitchen short so I can spend time at the table, eating and drinking and catching up with our friends.

breakfast bowl

Breakfast is my favorite meal with house guests. There is something so inclusive about sharing a meal in your pajamas. Everyone begins the day on the same plane. No one is wearing makeup and we all have smelly breath and disheveled hair. We all need the exact same thing: a good bite to eat and a hot cup of coffee. Making breakfast for a group can be daunting since many items are made to order which can keep the cook in the kitchen until the last waffle is pressed or the last omelette is flipped. By that time, the bacon is gone, the coffee is cold and everyone is starting to think about hitting the shower. Instead, I like to set out a platter of baked goods, yogurt, fruit, granola and complimentary condiments. I find a big bowl of yogurt covered with granola, fruit, and a dollop jam to be just about the best. Add in a banana nut muffin with butter and a sprinkle of salt and I'm done. Just send me back to bed to dream sweetly of hazelnuts dancing on bananas in a sea of yogurt and honey. 

banana hazelnut muffins

This week I made hazelnut milk, just in time for our friends to fly in from Norway. It's just as good as it sounds and I don't know if I'll ever be able to go back to buying nut milk in a grocery store. Not only was it incredibly easy, it was so darn delicious that I just don't think it can be topped. All that to say, I used the left over hazelnut pulp (what you're left with after you strain the milk out) in these muffins. It adds a nice texture and a subtle hazelnut flavor, a bit more than you would get by just using the chopped hazelnuts. If you happen to make hazelnut milk (do it!), go ahead and throw the pulp in when you whip the bananas and sugar together. If you don't have hazelnut pulp, just follow the recipe as-is and go make yourself some hazelnut milk to enjoy with your freshly baked muffins. 


whole grain banana hazelnut muffins

makes 12 large muffins 

(loosely adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients: 

  • 2 cups whole grain pastry flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 overripe bananas, divided
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup walnut oil (or any mild flavored vegetable oil)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (no need to toast them)

Preparation: 

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 12 cup muffin tin. 
  2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. 
  3. Mash two of the bananas with a fork and set aside. Add the other two bananas to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the brown sugar and beat on high speed until light brown and fluffy, about three minutes. Add the buttermilk, eggs, oil and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in the dry ingredients until just moist (do not over mix) and fold in the mashed banana and chopped nuts with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. 
  4. Fill the muffin tins 3/4 full and bake until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 18-20 minutes. Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. They can be enjoyed warm from the oven, especially with a pat of butter.