Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Scones

Isn't he adorable? I love gingerbread, I love chocolate chip cookies, and I love scones ... it only made sense to combine them, then, for my entry into the Hodgson Mill "Have a Grain Holiday" recipe contest!

My challenge was to "create an original, sweet or savory holiday treat using Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat flour and/or Hodgson Mill 'Best for Bread' bread flour (products provided). All entries will be judged by Hodgson Mill based on overall appeal, originality and appropriateness to the Hodgson Mill brand – we’re looking for a treat that’s delicious AND nutritious!"

In order to make my treats nutritious, I used primarily whole wheat flour. I also added a bit of wheat germ and flax seed, as well as using yogurt rather than butter. The delicious part comes from the nutty flavor of the whole grains, and also from spices, candied ginger, dark chocolate, and just the tiny touch of sweetness in the optional decoration.

These scones were ridiculously easy to make - stir together the ingredients, roll out the dough, cut them, bake them, then let them cool before decorating. The house smells amazing while these festive treats bake! And scones, of course, are a perfect accompaniment to cocoa, coffee, tea, mulled cider ... anything warm and cozy for a cold winter day.

There's enough junk food surrounding us during the holidays. Enjoy something that tastes good and is also good for you!

Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Scones

1-1/2 cups Hodgson Mill 100% stone ground whole wheat flour
1/2 cup + 1/3 cup Hodgson Mill white flour - unbleached
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons ginger
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon Hodgson Mill whole grain flax seed
2 tablespoons Hodgson Mill wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon minced candied ginger
1/3 cup ginger ale
1 egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup vanilla all-natural yogurt
1/4 cup mini dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon skim milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, combine flours, salt, cinnamon, ginger, turbinado sugar, flax seed, wheat germ, baking powder and candied ginger. In a large measuring cup, combine egg, oil and yogurt; pour over dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Stir in chocolate chips.

Sprinkle a bit of white flour onto the countertop and knead dough just until smooth. Roll out to 1" in height, and use a 5" gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut scones. Re-roll and cut until dough is used up.

Place the scones onto the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes until just lightly golden and set when their bellies are lightly pushed. Remove to a rack and cool completely.

Combine the confectioners' sugar and milk; stir until smooth. Place into a small baggie, snip a tiny corner off, and use the icing to decorate the scones. Let the icing set, then serve.

Makes 6 scones.

Frugal Floozie Friday -- The Ugly Mug

On a blustery day recently, I dropped Jeremy off at an appointment. I could have parked myself in the waiting room for an hour-and-a-half, but that seemed pretty dreary. So I took myself out for a treat at The Ugly Mug, today's Frugal Floozie Friday feature.

It was warm and cozy inside, and very welcoming. It was also kitschy and quirky, so I felt right at home immediately! I perused the numerous options, from bagels to coffee to desserts, but settled pretty quickly on one of my favorite treats: hot Caramel Apple Cider. And who was I to deny myself a scone to accompany my beverage? It was a Friday afternoon, I'd worked hard all week ... I deserved it.

My truly delicious, perfectly satisfying treat cost exactly $4 ($3 for a small cider, $1 for the scone), making it an ideal Frugal Floozie Friday option within our mandatory $5 budget. The change from my $5 bill was placed into the tip jar.

When my drink was ready, I was asked if I wanted whipped cream on top of it. I can't even begin to imagine refusing such an offer, but the kind gentleman who gave me a very generous portion of cream said people actually do so ... wow!

I gathered up some newspapers and took a little while to read and decompress while enjoying my afternoon snack. Warm, sweet, fragrant cider, a freshly baked crumbly scone ... I was transported from the stress of the previous hours, days, weeks and able to relax happily.

The Ugly Mug has lovely treats, a welcoming atmosphere, and offers many potential Frugal Floozie Friday goodies. I highly recommend it!


The Ugly Mug
317 W. Cross
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
734-484-4684


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Frugal Floozie Friday -- Tea Haus

A friend and I ate at Tea Haus recently, to support a fundraiser for my friend Michele; she's in Washington, D.C., this weekend participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure 60-mile walk to raise funds for breast cancer research.

As Michele writes on her personal fundraising site, she is walking "in memory of my maternal grandmother and paternal great aunt. I will walk with, and also in honor of, my friend Buff. She has defeated cancer twice, and I sincerely hope she doesn't have to fight that battle again."

It was wonderful of Tea Haus to donate a portion of a day's proceeds to Michele's effort! And what an easy fundraiser to support - a good cause in conjunction with lovely things to eat and drink. There are over 200 teas to choose from, scones, cookies, soup ... you can enjoy a small snack or a full meal, whatever strikes your fancy.

A charming pick-me-up for a chilly fall day would be a cup of hot tea paired with a simple but delicious lavender shortbread cookie. At $2.60 + $1.95, the total for this cozy snack would be $4.55, which falls easily into the less-than-$5 per person Frugal Floozie Friday budget.

But my friend and I didn't just stop at that option! We also ordered the Scone Plate (pictured at the top) for $5.95. This was plenty of food for two people to share as an afternoon snack.

There was one very large blueberry scone, and a freshly-baked biscuit-like scone that was brought to our table separately - and thus missed its photo op - because we'd placed our order just as a new batch went into the oven. The scones were accompanied by lovely fresh lemon curd and clotted cream, as well as orange marmalade (a personal favorite!) and berry preserves. It was quite filling, especially since it was a mid-afternoon treat rather than a lunch or dinner.

If you're merely thirsty, the 20-ounce iced tea was very refreshing and very generous, too. At $3.55, it also falls within the Frugal Floozie Friday limits if you're only in need of a cool drink. I ordered Earl Grey, whose fragrance I just love! But there are so many options that it could almost make a person dizzy to contemplate it all.

Quiet and restorative, Tea Haus offers several truly wonderful frugal options for food and drinks. Make a point of stopping by, and also pay a visit to Michele's fundraising site and support her good cause, too!


Tea Haus
204-206 N. 4th Ave
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-622-0460



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Lemon-Glazed Blueberry Scones

I felt like baking on a recent Sunday morning, but wasn't quite sure what I wanted to make.

I didn't want anything too sweet, like cookies; and I didn't want to bake muffins (having made Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch muffins fairly recently).

What to do, what to do ...?

And then it came to me: scones! A perfect breakfast to eat on the front porch on the first sunny morning we'd had in maybe two weeks (after days of monsoons and flooding and tornado warnings).

I had blueberries just waiting patiently for this project, and they added a sweet/tart flavor -- not to mention gorgeous color! -- to my beautiful baked goods. A drizzle of lemon glaze was the ideal complement to the crumbly scone and the juicy fruit therein.

I baked, I waited kinda/sorta patiently for the scones to cool, I made a good strong cup of coffee, and I ate a lovely breakfast on the porch ... a perfect peaceful morning ... :)


Lemon-Glazed Blueberry Scones

2 cups unbleached flour
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
3/4 cup quick-cook oats
1/2 cup butter, in small pieces
3/4 cup blueberries
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder and oats. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, mix in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Gently stir in the blueberries, then stir in the buttermilk.

Knead the dough just until it holds together, then press it into an 8" circle on the prepared baking sheet. Score the dough into 8 portions, then bake for 30-35 minutes until the scones are golden and the center is set when lightly pressed. Carefully cut the scones apart, then let cool completely.

Stir together the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice to make a glaze, then drizzle it over each scone. Let the glaze set, then serve.

Makes 8 scones.

White Chocolate Cherry Scones

Virtually everyone I know either didn't care in the slightest about today's royal wedding, or lost interest due to the onslaught of inanity leading up to it. I, however, immersed myself in the IQ-lowering amusement all week!

I was raised on these events, since my mother is Canadian, starting with Princess Anne's first wedding in 1973 and following along to Charles and Diana, Andrew and Sarah/Fergie, Edward and Sophie, then Charles and Camilla.

I've been thrilled about William and Catherine since I first heard the announcement, and am the only person I know -- in the real world, at least -- foolish and devoted enough to be planning to watch the show live (Jeremy plans to watch a re-run with me later), albeit in my jammies rather than in a froofy hat and white gloves.

Since my invitation got lost in the mail -- and I had a brand new perfect dress to wear, too! -- I had to put on my own celebratory meal instead of partaking in the wedding fruitcake, the chocolate biscuit groom's cake, or any of the hors d'oeuvres. So I debated whether to do something original, or whether to go with the old tea time favorites ... and I decided upon tradition with a twist.

Instead of cucumber sandwiches, I chose egg salad. I selected some fruit -- pineapple and strawberries. I found a gorgeous English Double Gloucester cheese that had been layered with a beautiful Stilton ... sigh. And, of course, the requisite tea!

But the cornerstone of my treats had to be the essential scone. I could have made some plain ones, and served them with lemon curd or clotted cream ... or both. But I had some leftover white chocolate-covered dried cherries (a most appreciated gift when an observant friend had to clean out forbidden foods for Passover), and put them to good use in my baking.

The cherries added the perfect amount of sweetness and texture to these lovely scones, which are more cake-like rather than biscuit-y. Chocolate-covered cherries would also make an exceptional addition.

Mazal Tov to the happy couple!!! May they live happily ever after ... :)

White Chocolate Cherry Scones

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached flour
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
3/4 cup quick-cook oats
1/2 cup butter, in small pieces
3/4 cup chopped white chocolate-covered dried cherries
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3 teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder and oats. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, mix in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the chopped cherries, then stir in the buttermilk. Knead the dough just until it holds together, then press it into an 8" circle on the prepared baking sheet. Score the dough into 8 portions, then bake for 25 minutes until the scones are golden and the center is set. Let cool completely.

Cut the scones into individual portions. Stir together the confectioners' sugar and milk to make a glaze, then drizzle it over each scone. Let the glaze set, then serve.

Makes 8 scones.

Sunday Scones

Well, it was Sunday morning and -- before a stomach bug took me down on what may have been one of Michigan's last warm, sunny days 'til April or so -- I was in the mood to bake. This desire to bake on a lazy Sunday morning occurs so often that I should almost make it a weekly posting ... but then I'd feel constrained and obligated, which kinda takes the fun out of it.

I had been thinking of making scones (I was raised to pronounce it [SKAHns], by the way, rather than [SCOEns]) for a couple of weeks now. I bought currants specifically for that purpose. I just needed both time and inclination to converge.

And that's what Sunday mornings are for. So while I waited for my coffee to brew, I mixed together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and candied ginger, the yogurt (Brown Cow Cream-Top Maple, if you've got it ... man, is that stuff amazing!!!), and everything else. It might take a whopping 5 minutes to stir everything together into a batter. Pat the mixture onto a pan, bake it, and that's it -- a lovely accompaniment to cider, to tea, to the morning caffeine fix, to a glass of milk, to cocoa ... truly, these scones could go with anything at any time of day.

Ginger-Walnut Scones

1-1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/3 cup currants
1/4 cup candied ginger pieces, minced
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup maple-flavored yogurt
1 egg
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon apple cider
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, combine whole wheat flour, white flour, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar, walnuts, currants and candied ginger. Stir in the butter and yogurt until mixture is crumbly.

Combine egg and 1/4 cup cider; pour over dry mixture and combine.

Place dough onto the baking sheet. With damp hands, form an 8" circle. Use a wet knife to score the dough into 8 wedges.

Bake for 30 minutes until golden, then let cool completely.

Combine confectioners' sugar with 1 tablespoon cider; drizzle over the circle, then cut into 8 individual scones.