Friday, March 13, 2020

Just Another Friday Night

We all have different ways of unwinding after a stressful week. Maybe I should have bought toilet paper. Honestly, it is getting serious. They closed the New Haven Library. That freaked me out a little. To relieve stress I pour myself a glass of wine, usually red, and head for the kitchen and start baking.

Tonight I baked Irish Soda Scones and a new cookie! The Irish Soda Scone recipe is from The Joy of Baking site.

Ingredients -
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cold buttermilk

Method -

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add most of the buttermilk.
Using one hand, a wooden spoon or spatula, mix (adding more buttermilk if necessary) until you have a soft and moist dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently knead the dough into a 7 inch round. Cut this circle into 6 triangular sections. Place the scones on your prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with a little buttermilk or milk and then dust with a little flour. This gives the baked scones a floury brown crust.
Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place it on a wire rack. These scones are best served warm from the oven with a little butter and jam.
Makes 6 large scones.

The Cookie. Biscotti con Formaggio Cremoso. Or Cream Cheese Knot Cookies.
 I love this cookie. I have heard mixed reviews from the sidelines.
The recipe was from Cooking with Nonna Book.

I made 1/2 the recipe. Will I make these again? Yes!

Ingredients-
1 1/5 cups flour
1/2 tbsp baking powder
2 az cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp anise extract
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Icing:
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tbsp Sambuca liqueur
nonpareils

Method -
Preheat oven to 350˚. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl whisk flour, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a bowl for a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add cream cheese, butter, and sugar. Mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the egg. Add the anisette and vanilla. Mix to combine. Reduce the speed to low. Add the flour and baking powder mixture and mix it until fully absorbed. The dough should be soft but not sticky.
On a clean work surface, roll a chunk of dough into a rope 1/2 inch wide. Cut the rope into 4 to 5 inch long pieces. Shape into little knots and place on the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
Bake for10 to 15 minutes or until the cookies just began to color. Cool completely before glazing.
To make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioner's sugar, anisette, and the milk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies and decorate with the nonpareils.

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