Christelle's Scones with Strawberry and Lemon (The best scone recipe ever)

* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 4 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 cup white sugar + 1 tbsp sugar reserved
* 5 tablespoons butter
* 1/2 cup dried currants or raisins, dried strawberries, or whatever you want.
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon milk

*zest of 2 lemons, or an orange, or a lime, again whatever you want

strawberries and lemon are good, and blueberries and lime are good.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and sugar into a large bowl. Cut in butter using a cheese grater or rubbing between your fingers until it is in pea sized lumps. Stir in the currants or whatever fruit you choose. Mix together 1/2 cup milk and sour cream in a measuring cup. Grate your zest into this mixture. Pour all at once into the dry ingredients, and stir gently until mostly blended. A little flour not fully mixed in is about when you should stop. Overworking the dough results in terrible scones!
3. With floured hands, pat scone dough into balls 2 to 3 inches across, depending on what size you want. The dough is very sticky so just do the best you can. They don't have to be perfect. Place onto a baking sheet, and flatten lightly. Do not grease sheet, there is plenty of butter in the scones that will take care of the sticking and you may end up with burnt bottoms if you grease. Let the scones barely touch each other. Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon of milk. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash, and sprinkle each with a little bit of sugar.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops are golden brown, not deep brown. Allow to cool slightly before eating.

I made this batch into 4 big scones and if you do that then they are 10 weight watchers points a piece. Ouch!!!

Blueberry Banana Bread Hmm...

I made this recipe I found for banana muffins a few days ago and I had so much other stuff going on that I completely forgot to put in the butter. I also added 1/3 of a cup of brown sugar that was not called for, and guess what...They were awesome!!!!! They have strudel on the top which is probably why. Anything with strudel is good usually. I also added fresh strawberries from my garden. They were really yummy. Today I am making them as a loaf instead of muffins. I am leaving out the butter again and changing the sugar to half cup brown half cup white because I think the extra brown sugar was good but maybe a bit too much, they were kinda sticky. I am also adding 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries.

OK. Lets discuss the outcome. There is a ravine running through the middle of my bread. It seems that all the berries dropped to the bottom creating a very soggy messy blueberry puddle, and the whole loaf is structurally unsound. Flavor wise the bread is good. Like I said, strudel, but the blueberries really don't add much. The strawberries were much better. I did cut it while it was still hot so maybe...ultimately though the strawberry muffins were much better. Maybe the batter just cant stand up as a whole loaf of bread, only in muffin cups. Wont be using blueberries again. Wont be using a loaf pan again. Will be using strudel and brown sugar though even though it makes it sticky.

Ingredients

• 3 bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
  

Strudel

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  (I forgot the cinnamon this time OOPS well see what its like)
  
• 2 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven 375 F

In a large bowl mash up 3 very ripe bananas with your mixer

Add 1/2 cup white sugar

Add 1/2 cup brown sugar

Add 1 egg

Beat until combined

Add 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp baking powder. Mix until combined

Add 1 1/2 cup frozen blueberries. Pour batter into greased loaf pan.

In a food processor if you have one, (if you don't just use your hands or a spoon but try not to overwork and melt the butter) add 2/3 cup brown sugar, 4 tbsp flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 2 tbsp butter. Process until butter mixes into sugar and flour evenly.
Sprinkle over loaf and bake in oven at 375 F for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Happy Late Mothers Day Carrot Cake

I made this carrot cake with carrots from my garden. It was the first time I have ever used this recipe. I am used to carrot cake being a layered cake, not a sheet cake. I feel like the frosting layer for this cake was almost as thick as the cake itself and I didn't like this ratio. Also this recipe is not very spicy. It was good but I feel like it needed some clove or something. I think I may try another recipe next time. It tastes good, its moist and carrot cakey. I just don't think its the best recipe out there.
(The flowers and strawberries are from my garden too)

Hes not from my garden but hes growing like a weed thats for sure.

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 
  
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

Add 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Add 2 cups white sugar and 2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix in 2 cups of flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tsp cinnamon

Add 3 cups grated carrot
(forgot to take picture sorry)

Pour into prepared pan.Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool

To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake.

Blueberry Lime Cornmeal Scones

These scones have the potential to be very good, well they are very good but the recipe told me to greese the cookie sheet and also to cook on 450 F and that resulted in burned bottoms. This recipe calls for lime zest and the lime flavor in the scones is really nice with the blueberries but I don't think there was enough of it. I also don't think there were enough blueberries. I am going to write this recipe for you the way I think it ought to be.

1 1/3 cups flour
2/3 cup cornmeal
3 tbsp white sugar
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup cold butter chopped up
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
zest of 2 limes
1 1/2 frozen blueberries
1 tsp cornstarch

Preheat oven to 400 F

Combine 1 1/3 cup flour, 2/3 cup cornmeal

Add 3 tbsp white sugar

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

cut in 1/3 cup cold butter until flour mixture resembles course crumbs

Zest 2 limes

Combine the zest of 2 limes, 1/2 cup buttermilk, and 1 egg

Make a well in dry mixture, and add the buttermilk mixture all at once.
Stir with a fork until just moistened. Don't over mix.

Toss frozen blueberries with cornstarch, and then add to flour mixture.
Drop dough on floured (not greased) sheet pan in 12 mounds 1 inch apart

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden on top.

The recipe I used also called for a a drizzle made with powdered sugar mixed with lime juice. I did not do this because it just adds more calories, and I have never had a good outcome when making icing with just powdered sugar and a moistening agent. It always tastes icky. I used some honey instead. It was pretty but the honey got all over me every time I ate one. Its really not necessary they are good plain. The recipe also called for sliced almonds sprinkled over the top but again, more calories.

Jalapeno Corn Dog Muffins

So in the picture you can see that I used a quarter of a quarter of a hot dog. Upon consulting my husband it has been determined that the hot dog should actually be chopped and spread throughout the batter. Other than that this is a quick and easy way to come close to simulating a jalapeño corn dog.

Here's what you will need
1 box corn muffin mix
1/3 cup of milk
1 egg
1 big hot dog
2 tbsp jalapeños

Prepare the corn muffin mix according to the directions on the box.

Chop your hot dog into small cubes and mix into the muffin batter. Use a good hot dog for better results. I like these and the Johnsonville Hotlinks.

When I was making these I forgot to put the jalapenos in until I had already poured the batter into the muffin tins so I just layed them on top and it worked out fine but its easier just to chop them and add them to the batter so do that.

Bake according to package directions and enjoy.
If you like your corn dogs to have a sweet flavor add a bit of sugar. For moister muffins you can sub 1/2 cup of buttermilk for the regular milk.

Heath Bar Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1-1/3 cups (8 oz. pkg.) HEATH BITS 'O BRICKLE Toffee Bits
• 1 8 oz. pkg. semi sweet chocolate bits.
  

Preheat oven to 350 F

Combine 2 stick softened butter with 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup brown sugar. Blend with hand mixer until combined.
Add 1 tsp. vanilla extract.

Add three whole large eggs and combine.

Add 3 1/2 cups of flour 1 cup at a time until well blended. In between 1st cup of flour and second add 2 tsp. baking soda.
In between 2nd cup of flour add 2 tsp. cream of tartar.

Add 1 bag of Heath-1/3 cups (8 oz. pkg.) HEATH BITS 'O BRICKLE Toffee Bits and 1 8 oz. pkg. semi sweet chocolate bits. Mix well.

Use a tbsp. to measure out your cookies onto a greased cookie sheet and
bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes