Orange Scones

I used a few scone recipes I found around the internet to create these little beauties. I did not put a glaze on them since they were nice and tasty plain, but there were many orange glaze recipes around that would work well on them.

Mix:
3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cut in:
3/4 cup butter

Mix in:
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup buttermilk
zest of one orange

Roll out on floured surface into a large circle.
Cut into 10 wedges.
Brush with milk.
Bake 375* for about 9 minutes.

*I've been baking everything with convection lately, so you may need to increase the time if you bake with in conventional oven.

Chocolate Summer Squash Bread

I've been getting a lot of summer squash in my farm box lately. I'm not complaining...I love it. Especially when sauteed up with some caramelized onions...super tasty. But I wanted to try something different, and specifically something that my children might eat. (Summer squash is definitely one that they turn their nose up at.) I figured they'd eat the squash if it was hidden in a baked good, so I started looked for Zucchini Bread recipes. Then I stumbled across this chocolate summer squash bread recipe and the search was over. I found the original recipe here. The first time I made it, I followed all directions, except I substituted white whole wheat flour for regular flour. You couldn't tell the difference at all.

Now, I have to be honest. The word "bread" is misleading. This isn't bread. It is cake. You will feel guilty eating this for breakfast. That didn't stop me from eating it then, but I did feel guilty. But if it makes you feel better, you can keep calling it "bread."

Even with the whole wheat flour, I was still feeling badly about the amount of oil and sugar that was in the bread/cake. So today, I added a few more chocolate chips for sweetness, took out 1/2 a cup of sugar, and substituted 1/2 a cup of apple sauce for some of the oil. Since I'm not eating the two side by side, it's too hard to tell if this one is as moist or as sweet. I can tell you that it's still delicious and will be great with vanilla ice cream, so I'll stick with this recipe since it makes me feel better.

2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 applesauce (I used unsweetened)
2 cups grated summer squash
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave chocolate until melted. Stir occasionally until chocolate is smooth.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil, grated summer squash, vanilla and chocolate; beat well.

Sift in the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir to blend. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Mini Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

I was inspired to create these after seeing Naia chomping on an oatmeal raisin cookie. I do not like raisins, but I like cranberries, so I went searching for a recipe. Wouldn't you know, I found one on the back of the craisins bag. I made a few changes to better suit my needs and my pantry stock...I substituted whole wheat flour for regular flour, mini chocolate chips for white chocolate, and more baking powder, cranberries and chocolate than originally called for. Oh, and I added vanilla. I mean, really...who makes a cookie without vanilla extract? I'm giving you the recipe that I made up, not the one on the back of the bag.

2/3 cup unsalted butter, soften
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup mini chocolate chips (Nestle)

Preheat oven 375°. Grease cookie sheets.

In mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time until well mixed.

In separate bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition.

Slowly mix in cranberries and mini chocolate chips.

Roll dough into one inch balls. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Gently flatten a bit with a fork.

Bake about 10 minutes. The size of the cookie will not change drastically, and it might not looked cooked on the top. If the bottoms are brown, they are DONE!

Other notes-Keep the cookies well sealed. These cookies don't seem to last many days, so either freeze some or pass them onto your friends. Ideal shelf life seems to be about 3 days.

Careful...you'll want to eat 7 instead of just one!