Pen Court Cafe scones

Most scones you'll eat are dry and gross. These babies are not. Here is the basic recipe that I used (It doesn't specify how many pecans, 1/2 to 1 cup should probably be fine).

When I made them I wanted almond cherry poppyseed scones so instead of the maple extract, I used almond. Instead of pecans I chopped up a cup of dried cherries. And I added the small amount of poppyseeds I had left but 2 tablespoons would be a good amount.

Also, I only had a cup of cream and I made up the difference with 1% milk--the scones still came out amazing. Since cream is expensive, I think this is a reasonable substitution while still getting great results.

I froze the scone dough overnight and baked them in the morning.

I used milk in the glaze as well.

Scone:
4 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 1/4 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
2/3 cup Light Brown Sugar
2 3/8 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1 1/2 tsp Maple Extract

Glaze:
2 cups Powdered Sugar
1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 cup Maple Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar. Add the pecans. 

2. In a separate bowl, stir together 2 3/8 cups heavy whipping cream and the maple extract. Once combined, use a stand mixer to mix the wet ingredients into the dry ones until just combined. 

3. Line a 9” round pan with plastic wrap and press the dough into the pan. Refrigerate 1 hour. 

4. Preheat oven to 375*F. 

5. Take the dough out of the pan and cut into 12 wedges. Separate and arrange the wedges on one or two cookie sheets. 

6. Bake the scones for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool. 

7. Mix together the powdered sugar, 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to make a glaze. Using either a spoon or a pastry bag, drizzle the glaze over cooled scones. 

8.Enjoy! 

Belgian waffles

We just tried out this awesome Belgian waffle recipe--it was a hit!

https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/belgian-waffles

As usual, I made my own changes:

-doubled the recipe

-2 cups whole fat yogurt+2 cups 1% milk (instead of the buttermilk)

-i use salted butter and decreased added salt by half

-i didn't wait for things to be room temperature--who has time for that???

-i used a half-cup scoop to fill a traditional Belgian waffle iron

-served with whipped cream, strawberries, and syrup

Gingerbread cookies that I will make every year until i die

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/sugar-rush-1-thick-and-chewy-gingerbread-cookies/

My changes: 1.5'ed the recipe, very liberal with spices (ginger 2tbsp, allspice 1 tsp, cloves 1 tsp, cinnamon-2tbsp, etc), and I only baked the cookies for 7 minutes. I used regular brown sugar because that's what I had.

I loved rolling the dough out the night before and having all the dough ready for the kids to just cut the dough.

We used this amazing frosting recipe with rum extract instead of almond:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/11587/sugar-cookie-icing/

These were so good. they were gone in a day. and bear all of the sudden could speak very clearly: "cookie" "milk" "please" "thank you"

Mermaid skirt

I made these cute skirts for my girls for Christmas. I used this tutorial. It was easy to follow. My fabric was not stretchy so I had to make the skirts bigger than her equation. Also, I used elastic for the waist band instead of the skirt material.

Ultimate blueberry cake

I used this recipe to make Ellie's blueberry cake. I will try to remember the modifications I made as best I can even though it was almost a month ago!

http://addapinch.com/the-best-white-cake-recipe/

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
½ cup vegetable shortening
3 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
4-serving instant French vanilla pudding mix
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream--add a little cream or whole milk to thin it out
1/2-1 cup blueberry puree (eyeball amount to get the right consistency, honestly I probably used the entire pint of blueberry puree...)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Also, I used 3 pints of fresh blueberries.

Follow the instructions about the same, cooking time will probably be longer but I always start with the original cooking time minus 5 minutes and go from there.

Once called have cooled, I wrap them and put them in the freezer!

Blueberry puree: put a pint of blueberries in a saucepan with a spoonful of sugar and a little water. Heat until berries are bursting and I can mash then with the back of my spoon.

To assemble cake I made a blueberry buttercream using a buttercream recipe I have and adding some blueberry puree (2nd pint of berries!). I was very careful with how much puree I added to the buttercream because i did not want it too thin.

I take one cake out of the freezer and frost with thin layer of buttercream. Then I took a 3rd pint of blueberries and covered the cake with fresh berries. Then I pour the extra puree leftover from the buttercream on top of all the berries. It was a delicious mess. Then I got the second cake from the freezer and frosted the bottom and placed it on top of the first layer. Then I frosted the whole cake with another thin layer because I put fondant on top to make it a purple blueberry jasmine cake. But if you skip the fondant, just use the rest of the buttercream to frost a beautiful cake. Keep in fridge if it's for the next day, or on the counter if for the same day.

Good luck!

T-shirt turned nightgown

Have some old t-shirts headed to Goodwill? Make some night gowns out of them for your little ones! My girls love these and they are super easy to make. (Click on the pictures to see the full picture and instructions!)

 

Fold neckline edge down and pin to make a pocket for the elastic. Sew, but leave a 2-inch opening and thread elastic through. I use about 24 inches of 1/4-inch elastic. sew ends of elastic together and tuck inside pocket. finish neckline seam. 

 

 

Martial arts belt display

Noah is quickly earning belts in tae kwon do so I wanted a way to display his old belts using wood I already had...