One of my fondest childhood memories is of the after school treats I adored when I was in 4^th and 5^th grade. A small store occupied a part of the block just across from my elementary school.  And every afternoon after school I would walk across the street to the store and buy a maple bar. Then I would lovingly carry it to my bus stop and wait for my bus to take me home. And ever since, I have been passionate about the taste of maple.

As an adult, I mostly worked in downtown Seattle or downtown Bellevue. And on every street corner (or so it seemed) there was a Starbucks coffee shop. I didn’t much care for the coffee (I was a Torrefazione fan until they were purchased by – who else? – Starbucks. And no the coffee is not the same anymore!) Anyway, at the time, maple scones were one of the breakfast items that Starbucks offered.  And when I felt I needed a treat, I would buy a scone and eat it at my desk. (A maple scone and a cup of Torrefazione coffee – breakfast of champions I tell you.)

Then, to my dismay, Starbucks stopped making maple scones. I have to say, that was the final straw. Not only did they deprive me of my favorite coffee, they stopped making my favorite breakfast treat. I was devastated! But never being one to let a mega corporation ruin my life, I decided to make my own scones. And I tried. But they were never quite right. (I think the missing ingredient was the ground up oats.) So for several years I went without my beloved maple scones.

Then just before Christmas, I got a wild hair to try once again. So I looked on line and found the basis for this recipe on the Food.com website. I baked up a batch and low and behold, the universe was once again aligned along the right path.

So if you too were fans of Starbuck’s maple scones, I can hardly wait for you to give these a try. They are truly amazing. As far as Starbucks – I never go there anymore, unless of course, it’s a coffee emergency. Then all bets are off!

Scones:

• ¾ c. oats
• 1¾ c. unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¼ c. packed light-brown sugar
• ¼ c. granulated sugar
• 2½ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ c. heavy cream
• 1 lg. egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp. real maple extract
• ¾ tsp. real vanilla extract
• 10 T. cold unsalted butter
• 1 c. chopped toasted pecans, divided

In a food processor, pulse oats until ground into a coarse flour, about 1 – 2 minutes. Pour oats into a large mixing bowl along with the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk well to combine.

Using a box grater, grate cold butter and mix into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. (I use a regular table knife for this action.) Stir in 2/3 cup of the pecans.

In a small mixing bowl whisk together the heavy cream, egg, maple extract, and vanilla extract. Pour cream mixture into flour mixture and stir until evenly moistened and the dough starts to come together in large clumps. Gently knead mixture in bowl by hand several times until it forms a ball.

Scoop onto a lightly floured surface and gently shape into an 8-inch square. Cut into 8 equal squares. Cut each square diagonally. (You will end up with 16 small triangles.)  Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven until set and golden brown on the bottom, about 13-15 minutes. (Don’t overbake.) Cool on a wire rack until just warm to the touch; spoon glaze over scones and sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup pecans. Allow glaze to set before storing in an airtight container.

Glaze:

• 1 c. powdered sugar, or more as needed
• 1 T. heavy cream, or more as needed
• 1 T. whole milk
• 1½ tsp. maple extract, or more to taste

Whisk together all glaze ingredients in a small mixing bowl until well combined. Thin with additional cream as needed, 1 tsp at a time. Or add more powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time.

OK, you may yell at me all you want because I know I have been away from my blog for way too long! But first I was sick with this nasty cold/flu that’s going around. Then I had JazzVox concert food to prepare, then I went on vacation, and then when I got home last Wednesday, I was hit over the head with home owner’s association minutia. (Please note. This is probably the best advice I will ever share with you. Under no circumstance should you ever accept the position of president of your home owner’s association. It’s a thankless job that can only lead to sleepless nights, hair loss, and an inordinate fondness for adult beverages.) You’ve been warned. Now – on to a very pleasant topic – bread.

This recipe calls for 4 types of seeds. Using all of the seeds is not necessary. Any combination will work. You don’t like poppy seeds – don’t use them! You like other types of seeds like flax, by all means add them to the mix. Just whatever you do – make this amazing bread adapted from a recipe by Martha Rose Shulman. It is just wonderful. Of course, there are a couple of basic ingredients missing from this bread recipe. Yep, you’re right. No sugar and no oil. But if you are like me, that isn’t going to bother you in the least. 

So next time you get an urge to bake bread, give this recipe a try. You will be so glad you did. And when you realize how much money you saved by baking your own healthy “specialty” style bread, you might even remember to thank me. Better yet, put a good word in for me with my neighbors. That old adage attributed to John Lydgate – “you can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time” is never more true than for decisions made by the board of a homeowner’s association. Of course Oscar Wilde had it right too. “No good deed goes unpunished.” Enjoy the bread recipe. 

• 1 c. water
• 3 T. sunflower seeds
• 3 T. sesame seeds
• 2 T. pumpkin seeds
• 1 T. poppy seeds  
• ¼ c. rolled oats
• scant T. active dry yeast (or one pkg.)
• 1½ c. bread flour
• 1 c. lukewarm water
• 1¼ c. whole wheat flour (if more flour is required, add additional white bread flour)
• 1½ tsp. kosher salt
• olive oil
• corn meal

In a small bowl containing the 1 cup water, set the seeds and rolled oats to soak covered with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, in the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the yeast, bread flour, and the lukewarm water; mix together until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to ferment at room temperature for two hours or until doubled in volume. Remove the seeds and oats from the refrigerator, drain and set aside to come to room temperature.

After the yeast mixture has doubled in size, add the drained seed mixture, the whole-wheat flour, and the salt. Start mixing on medium speed. If the dough is too dry, add a small amount of additional water. If the dough is still sticking to the bottom of the bowl, add additional bread flour just until the bottom of the bowl is dry. Then, continue mixing the dough until it is elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and pour a small amount of olive oil down the side of the bowl. Using your hands, lift the dough from the bottom of the bowl and coat with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm area to rise for 1 hour. Meanwhile, lightly sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal and set aside.

After the dough has rested for an hour, punch down and divide in half. Set halves on prepared baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes. Then, using your hands, form each half into an elongated, 12-14 inch loaf and place back on the prepared pan. (To shape the dough, I pick up each piece, holding the dough with both hands, then I squeeze the dough up and down its length until I have the desired size I need. Then I finesse it a bit once I have it back on the pan. (A little additional shaping here and there until it is roughly symmetrical.) Then cover the baguettes with a tea towel and place in a warm spot for one hour.

After 30 minutes, place a pan of water on the bottom rack of your oven. Set the other rack in the middle of the oven. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

After your dough has rested for an hour, remove the tea towel, and using a very sharp knife, make an ½-inch deep cut down the length of the loaves from one end to the other.

Place pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for a total of 30 to 35 minutes, or until the loaf is dark brown and sounds hollow when you tap the bottom. 10 minutes into the baking time, carefully remove the pan of water.

After the loaves come out of the oven, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely for at least 45 minutes before slicing. Or prepare a day ahead and keep wrapped in a kitchen towel until needed. Slice and serve with room temperature butter. Or for the most amazing breakfast treat, slice thick pieces of bread, toast, slather with butter, and top with jam. (The best!) 

There is nothing as delicious as a biscuit right out of the oven. Smothered in room temperature butter, there really is nothing finer. And this adaptation of one of Ina Garten’s recipes makes some of the best biscuits I have ever tasted. The combination of cheddar cheese and fresh chives is just amazing. And these biscuits are really easy to make. And there’s no fancy rolling them out, cutting them with a biscuit cutter, smooshing the remaining dough back together, rolling it out, cutting out more biscuits, etc. etc. You just plop the dough on a floured surface, pat the dough out, and cut it into 8 rectangular pieces with a sharp knife. Then drop the biscuits on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake them until they are lightly browned. Absolutely fool proof. And the greatest part. They are perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. A fun story about biscuits.

In a former life I had a father-in-law who loved to make breakfast. His wife was an excellent cook, and she prepared the other 2 meals each day, but breakfast was always my father-in-law’s responsibility. And when we visited, he and I had a running “battle” over who made the better biscuits. Because in his world, biscuits were always a part of breakfast. So when at their home, he would allow me to make the morning biscuits every other day. Well it became a running joke. Because regardless of who made the biscuits that morning, they were always the best biscuits any of us had ever tasted. Of course there was always a lot of kibitzing while the biscuits were being made, but that was half the fun. And of course, the end result was biscuits! Every morning! Yum!   

So if you too are a biscuit lover, please try this recipe. And thank you again Ina for “the bones” of yet another wonderful recipe. You are my hero!

• 2 c. + 1 T.  unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1½ tsp. kosher salt
• 12 T. (1½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
• ½ c. cold buttermilk
• 2 lg. eggs, divided
• ¼ c. chopped fresh chives
• 1 c. grated extra-sharp cheddar
• 1 T. milk or water

Place the 2 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low, add the butter and mix until the butter is the size of peas.

Combine the buttermilk and one of the eggs in a small bowl and beat lightly with a fork. With the mixer still on low, quickly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour and mix only until moistened. In a small bowl, mix the chives with the remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Add the cheddar and loosely coat the cheese with the flour. With the mixer still on low, add the cheese/chive mixture to the dough. Mix only until roughly combined.

Dump out onto a well-floured board and knead lightly about 6 times. Roll the dough into a rectangle 10 by 5 inches. With a sharp, floured knife, cut the dough lengthwise in half and then across in quarters, making 8 rough rectangles. Transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Whisk together the remaining egg and the milk. Brush the tops with the egg/milk mixture. (If you like, you can add a little grated cheddar also.) Bake in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are browned and the biscuits are cooked through. Serve hot or warm.

I think I have already mentioned that I am not really a muffin person. Maybe it’s because muffins are often too sweet. Well then, I can’t begin to explain why this recipe from Southern Living magazine caught my eye. But for some unknown reason, I thought these muffins would be wonderful for the Christmas day brunch I was planning for Mr. Cs family. And when I am right, I am right!

These muffins are absolutely delicious. They are however, a pain in the derrière to get out of the pan! You have to have the patience of a saint, the determination of a 2 year old, and enough will power not to throw the muffins, including the pan, off your back porch! (That thought actually crossed my mind at one point!)

But once they are out of the pan – perfection. The cake part of the muffin itself is tender and moist. But it’s the topping that really sends your whole mouth into “OMG” mode. And yes, I did consider using muffin papers. But I felt then, and I still feel that too much of the muffin would remain on the paper. And I really hate seeing my family and friends chewing on paper!

So if you too love apples, pecans, and streusel – this is the muffin for you. Just don’t wait until next Christmas. This is a muffin for all occasions.

Muffins:

• 1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¾ c. granulated sugar
• ¾ c. firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 lg. eggs, room temperature
• 2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. fine grained salt
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1 c. chopped toasted pecans
• 1 c. peeled and finely chopped Granny Smith apple
• 1 T. vanilla extract
• vegetable cooking spray

Beat the butter with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add granulated sugar and brown sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating at low speed after each addition, just until blended.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in pecans, apples, and vanilla.

Spoon batter into well-greased (with cooking spray) muffin pans, filling only three-fourths full. (I actually use a fairly large ice cream scoop.) Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon Pecan Streusel (recipe below) over each muffin. Makes roughly 22 muffins.

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes before removing (good luck) to wire racks. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Note: As stated above, the muffins are not easy to remove from the tins. If you don’t already have non-stick muffin pans, now is a good time to buy a couple. In fact, after making these muffins I decided I too need new muffin pans. Meet you at Bed, Bath and Beyond!

Pecan Streusel:

• ½ c. firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 T. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 c. chopped toasted pecans
• 2 T. butter, melted

Stir the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Stir in pecans and melted butter until crumbly.