Blueberry Coconut Scones

Posted on August 9, 2015 by HintofNutmegg

Where do I even begin? Should I start with how much I missed you? Or, where I’ve been the past two months? Or, should we just dive into these scones? Cause, I really can’t decide.

Maybe we’ll just go in order.

I’ve missed you a lot. Like, A LOT, A LOT. Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine you Loved (with a capital L) chocolate chip cookies. They were you’re absolute favorite thing to eat. And then, for two months you just couldn’t eat them. YOU JUST COULDN’T. How much would you miss them?

A lot, right? Like, A LOT, A LOT.

That’s how much I’ve missed you. You’re kind of a big deal to me. Just saying.

So, why did I leave you hanging for two months?

Summer school, that’s why. You know, it wasn’t totally bad, but it was kind of bad. I took two classes and a lab, and was working, and I could go on and tell you every little detail, but instead I’m just going to say: stress + lack of sleep + more coffee than you can imagine + work + studying = no time for baking. Absolutely NO TIME.

Pretty sad, huh?

Now, let’s talk about the goods.

You know, I never even liked blueberries—I would eat around them in a fruit salad or pick them out of parfaits. But then, they opened up a juice bar near my work with acai bowls, which I absolutely love. Please tell me you eat those, cause they are pretty darn delicious. It’s like eating a bowl filled with a really thick, almost ice cream like, fruit smoothie topped with fruits, oats or granola, honey drizzle, and shredded coconuts. Sounds amazing, huh?

But, it has blueberries. Lots of blueberries. Mixed in the bowl. On top of the bowl. And, there’s no way to pick all of them out. Believe me, I tried the first few times. It was just too much.

So, I ate them. All of them. And you know what, it wasn’t half bad. It turns out I actually like blueberries, especially when eaten with a spoonful of shredded coconut. That combo is pure heaven.

You know what else is heaven? These Blueberry Coconut Scones.

The scones are jam-packed with blueberries. Completely jam-packed. As in, every single bite has a blueberry, or four. Aren’t you proud of how far I’ve come?

Lets not forget the coconut shreds. Each scone is filled with them.

Oh and the scones, so soft and moist on the inside and biscuit-like on the outside. This recipe is cream-based, which means no butter, no eggs, and no buttermilk. Best scone recipe ever? I think yes.

Blueberry Coconut Scones
Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 to 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream, plus more for brushing the tops
1 ½ cups blueberries
1/3 cup shredded sweetened coconut
sugar for topping

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
In a liquid measuring cup, mix together 1 1/3 cups of heavy whipping cream and vanilla. Pour liquid into the dry mixture, tossing and stirring as you pour. Add the blueberries and coconut shreds. Toss together. Add up to 2 more tablespoons of heavy cream, if needed, to create a moist, but not sticky, cohesive dough.
Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead the dough into a round disk with a ¾-inch thickness. Using a biscuit cutter (or a cup) cut circles from the dough disk. Brush each disk with a little heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
Bake for 13-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown and cooked all the way through.
Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Chocolate Almond Sweet Rolls

Posted on May 11, 2015 by HintofNutmegg

Hey hey, we’re making sweet rolls today.

Of the almond kind.

Of the CHOCOLATE almond kind.

That’s right, your morning cereal just got a new competitor. I’m no psychic, but, I’m pretty sure I know whose gonna win the competition.

It’s definitely the cereal.

NOT. Please don’t say you thought I was serious there.

What’s the deal with sweet rolls? Well, picture a cinnamon roll with all that soft, fluffy, yeasty, buttery dough, but without the cinnamon filling. Instead it’s jam-packed with an almond filling that has just a hint of chocolate flavor. So, it’s a cinnamon roll without the cinnamon. A sweet roll, if you will.

I’m not gonna be picky here. Call it what you want.

Cinnamon roll. Sweet roll. Get in my belly roll.

Just know, it’s chocolate + almond + yeasty dough.

And, you’re going to want to eat all of it. Well, if you like almond that is. These guys have a whole tube of almond paste inside them. Wait, whattt? Yup, you read that right. A whole 7 oz tube. These rolls are for the almond lovers of the world.

You are so welcome.

Here’s where I tell you my favorite part about these rolls.

When I got up in the morning all I had to do was take the prepped rolls out of the fridge, heat the oven, and bake them. How easy does that sound? I did all of that before having a single drop of coffee.That’s an epic win. No one wants to wake up early and wait for the dough to rise before being able to face plant into a fresh sweet roll.

No one. And, if you are that someone, well, you deserve some sort of award then.

But, if you like your sleep and your sweet rolls too, prepare these the night before and let them sit in the fridge.

Your rested brain will thank you.

Your stomach will thank you.

Heck, the next door neighbor will thank you for that bakery smell that’s floating in the air. They’ll also want a sweet roll.

Maybe it’s best to keep the door closed then. You don’t reallly want to have to share. Right?

I kind of lied to you. There’s one more step you have to do in the morning: the chocolate glaze.

THE. CHOCOLATE. GLAZE.

Okay, okay, hang on. It’s super easy and quick to make. Andddd, can we really count anything made with chocolate as work?

No, no, we can’t.

Or, we can.

But, it’s a small price to pay. A tiny miniscule price.

I mean, naked sweet rolls are good too. Just look at them. All golden brown and puffed up.

But, now, look at this chocolate glazed one.

That’s right my wonderful friends.

Making chocolate glaze will ALWAYS be worth it.

AMIRIGHT?

Yeah, I’m so right.

Chocolate Almond Sweet Rolls
Recipe adapted from Crazy for Crust
Yields: 9 large rolls

Ingredients:
Dough
2 1/4 teaspoons (or 1 package) active dry yeast
3/4 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/3 cup & 1/2 teaspoons sugar, divided
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

Almond Filling
1 (7 oz.) tube of almond paste
1/3 cup sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 egg

Chocolate Glaze
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
slivered almonds, optional

Directions:
Dough
Heat up milk for 35-45 in a microwave safe cup, until it’s about 120 degrees (think hot bathwater when feeling it if you don’t have a thermometer). Stir in yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Let sit for a few minutes to proof–if bubbles form on the top of the mixture that means your yeast is active!
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix 1/3 cup sugar, butter, salt, and egg until butter is evenly distributed–the mixture may be chunky. Stir in yeast/milk mixture until incorporated. Add flour and stir with the paddle attachment just until mixture sticks to the paddle. Switch the paddle out with the dough hook and continue mixing on low until dough forms into a ball in the center of the bowl. The dough should be slightly sticky and in one piece. If the dough is really wet and sticking all over your fingers, add up to 1/2 cup more flour (adding 1/4 cup at a time) until dough is easy to work with.
Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place dough ball in it, making sure to coat the top of the dough lightly with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for 1-2 hours until it doubles in size (I like to preheat the oven, turn it off, and then place the bowl inside the oven to rise).

Almond Filling
Once the dough has risen, make the filling. In a food processor, combine almond paste, cocoa powder, sugar, and egg until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

Assembling Sweet Rolls
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 10×14-inch rectangle. Spread almond filling on the dough and tightly roll it up. Using a serrated or sharp knife, cut the dough into 9 large sweet rolls–the almond filling will stick to the knife, so wipe it off as you go for a cleaner cut. Spray a 9-inch square pan with cooking spray and place the rolls gently in the pan.
Let the dough rise for 30 minutes OR cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (in the morning let rolls come to room temperature while the oven is preheating).
Bake rolls at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on the top. Let sweet rolls cool before icing.

Chocolate Glaze
While the sweet rolls are cooling, make your glaze. Place chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Set aside.
Using a small saucepan heat up heavy cream until simmering. Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate and allow to sit for about 5 minutes. Add corn syrup and whisk until well combined.
Drizzle the tops of the sweet rolls with chocolate glaze and sprinkle with slivered almonds.

Mini Chocolate Fudge Donuts

Posted on April 29, 2015 by HintofNutmegg

Donuts.

That’s the answer.

It’s the only possible solution to the problem.

Wait a minute. I messed that up, didn’t I?

I forgot to even ask the question. Insert monkey emoji here.

You know, the one where the monkey sees no evil so it’s covering its eyes. Yeah, that one. I would totally send you that right about now. But, we aren’t texting, so, let’s settle on saying: Ooops. Ohhh, or, even better, palm to the face. Or, palm to my face to be more exact. Sorry guys, I’m off my game day today. And, being all rambley, which apparently isn’t a word, but it should be, but… okay, I’ll stop now.

Iwilljustshutmyselfupwithadonutorseven. You didn’t catch that, right? Perfect.

Annnnnyways, let’s try this again.

How do we survive the mid-week blues?

Come on, I know you know the answer.

Donuts you say? Why, yes, you are correct? It’s almost as if you read my mind.

I have the smartest internet friends.

Why donuts? Better question, why not donuts?

Donuts equal happiness. It’s that simple. I mean, can you actually name a person who doesn’t like donuts?

Probably not. And, even if you can, I guarantee if they ate the right donut, the perfectttt donut, they would love it.Because, I repeat, donuts = happy. And, honestly I’m at a loss as to why they don’t teach us that formula in math. It seems like a no-brainer to me. Right?

So, Mini Chocolate Fudge Donuts.

Umm, yes please.

I love days that start with chocolate cake, I mean, donuts for breakfast. What? Come on. You know we ~~can’t~~ ~~only occasionally~~ shouldn’t eat cake for breakfast. It’s just not a thing people do. Well, most people. And, I get it, I do, but sometimes Wednesday’s call for extra sweetness.

So, yes, these donuts taste like a chocolate cake lovers dream, but they are one hundred percent donuts. I repeat, donuts. Moist, cakey, soft chocolate donuts with milk chocolate chips dipped in hot fudge sauce and covered with an excessive amount of chocolate sprinkles. Seee, totalllly a donut. A decadent one, but still, a donut.

And, since it’s a donut, it’s totally acceptable to eat five for breakfast, which isn’t as much as you think considering they are bite size.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Mini Chocolate Fudge Donuts
Donut recipe slightly adapted from Buns In My Oven
Yields: about 16 mini donuts

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 cup hot fudge sauce*
chocolate sprinkles

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease mini donut pan. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and chocolate chips.
In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk the egg, vanilla, milk, vegetable oil, and sour cream until just combined. Using a spatula, stir the wet ingredients into dry ingredients until incorporated. Spoon or pipe (I found the piping method to be the easiest!) donut batter into prepared pan. Bake for 5-6 minutes or until tops spring back when touched. Let donuts cool completely.
Once donuts have cooled, warm up fudge sauce for 10 seconds or until of drizzling consistency. Dip the bottoms (dipping the bottoms gives you a nicer, rounder, donut top) of each donut in the fudge sauce and then sprinkle generously with chocolate sprinkles.

NOTE:
*Store-bought or homemade fudge sauce will work. I had a batch of this fudge sauce sitting in my fridge, so that’s what I used. The only change I made to the recipe was using 6 oz of semi-sweet chocolate instead of dark or bittersweet.

Did you notice the fudge dipped, and chocolate sprinkle covered, milk glass? Tell me you noticed that. Best. Idea. Ever.

Raspberry Streusel Muffins

Posted on April 13, 2015 by HintofNutmegg

I was going to make banana bread.

Or, banana muffins.

Or, mini banana loaves.

Something so jam-packed with bananas that all your taste buds would scream in excitement. Well, at the very least, the taste buds of my coworkers. You see, I’ve been getting a ton of ~~demands~~ requests for banana bread, which is actually totally fine with me, because I love the stuff. And, by love, I mean I would live in a house made of banana bread and eat a slice, or seven, with each meal. That’s not even a joke either. I’m one hundred percent serious. Oh, and don’t worry, there’s a spare room waiting for you in my banana house. You’re welcome.

I had one little problem though: no bananas. So, I went to the market, walked right by the stand with bunches of perfectly ripe bananas, and placed two pints of raspberries in my cart.

Wait, what? Yeah, you read that right.

I left the market without a single banana.

Go figure.

I’m not even that huge a fan of raspberries either. We have a rather neutral relationship with each other. Translation: I avoid them for the most part and they avoid me. It really works for us. And, yet, out of the nowhere I felt the need to put them into muffins.Why? Who knows. Who. Even. Knows.

It could be because I’m really into muffins right now. Like, really, really really into them. I want one with every cup of coffee I drink. And, we all know how much coffee I consume. To clarify though, I restrain myself to only eating one a day. To further clarify, the muffins I’ve been eating are blueberry muffins made with Greek yogurt and honey. Yes, they are from Starbucks. And, no, I’m not getting compensated to promote them.

But, I made raspberry muffins.

Not banana.

Not blueberry.

Raspberry.

I can’t even with myself.

I’m all about a bigger muffin too. Why?

‘cause they’re heartier.

‘cause I can pack more raspberries in them.

‘cause I can top them with more streusel. MORE STREUSEL. Oh so sugary and crumbly streusel. If I get to live in a banana bread house, then I want to vacation in a streusel house. Am I right?

So, Jumbo Raspberry Streusel Muffins. That means a large and in charge moist and fluffy muffin packed with raspberry flavor and topped with a sweet streusel crumble.

Umm, yes please.

Take my advice, the next time you want banana or blueberry muffins, buy raspberries.

Let it happen.

Just let it happen.

Raspberry Streusel Muffins
Yields: 6 jumbo muffins

Ingredients:
Streusel Topping
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Raspberry Muffins
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1 1/8 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cool slightly
2 cups fresh raspberries*

Directions:
Streusel Topping
In a small bowl whisk together sugars, cinnamon, and melted butter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the flour. The streusel topping will be very thick, like a paste, and crumbly. Set aside.

Raspberry Muffins
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a jumbo muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until combined. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl combine egg, egg yolk, sugars, vanilla, and Greek yogurt. Add the butter, whisking until just incorporated. Fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just mixed, the batter will be very thick and lumpy. Using a spatula, very gently, to avoid leakage of color, fold in the raspberries–don’t worry if some of the raspberries leak or break apart, it’ll still taste good!
Divide batter evenly between the 6 cupcake liners, filling each to the very top. Sprinkle tops with streusel crumble. Bake muffins at 425 degrees for 5 minutes. Keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 25 more minutes or until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the streusel topping looks like it’s browning too quickly, loosely cover the pan with foil. Allow muffins to cool slightly before digging in.

Notes:
*I’ve made this recipe twice now and the second time, I sprinkled my raspberries with 1/2 tablespoon of sugar before mixing them into the batter. There was more leakage of color, but I liked the added touch of sweetness it added to the muffin.

Toasted Coconut Mocha Cheesecake Cookies

Posted on March 4, 2015 by HintofNutmegg

Hey, serious question time.

Out of all the smells on earth, which is your absolute favorite?

I know, this is kind of personal for a Wednesday, but I feel like we’ve reached that level in our friendship.

And, also, I can’t decide for myself.

I’ve been over the question, in my head, mostly, for the past few days and I can’t settle on one answer. There is too many smells that I love. Seriously, though, like the Juicy perfume I wear, or fresh laundry, or Thanksgiving dinner, or that manly man smell—you know the one I’m talking about—or baby smell, or even the smell when you open a brand new book. How is one supposed to settle on a favorite?

You just can’t. It’s impossible. Or, I should say, it’s impossible for me.

What I can do though, is settle on two. I can’t tell you which is first or second, but I can tell you, without hesitation, these are my absolute favorite smells on earth. PERIOD.

You ready?

My two favorite smells are….

Freshly brewed pot of coffee AND cookies baking in the oven.

I know, kind of predictable considering I ~~consume~~ rant about coffee more than your average person, and have a baking blog that quite often features cookies. But, it’s the truth, predictable or not. Those two smells are absolute heaven to me. Really, they need to be bottled and sold. Don’t you agree?

I’d buy it in bulk. And then I’d send you a bottle of each. Okay, fine, two. But, only because I like you.

The problem is, like I said, I can’t narrow it down to one smell.

I just can’t.

Or, can I?

Oh hi Toasted Coconut Mocha Cheesecake Cookies.

What’s that you say? You have coffee in you? And when you bake you leave a faint smell of coffee in the air?

Oh my. How wonderful.

Toasted coconut shreds, mini chocolate chips, and coconut coffee grinds all combined into a soft and doughy cookie. Oh, and I stuffed the cookies with coffee cheesecake, because…well, because why not?

It’s coffee + cookie + coconut + cheesecake.

I mean, get in my belly, right?

Toasted Coconut Mocha Cheesecake Cookies
Yields: about 21 cookies

Ingredients:
Toasted Coconut Mocha Cookies
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 teaspoon fine or coarse coffee grounds, coconut or mocha or coconut mocha flavored
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sweetened coconut shreds, toasted
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mocha Cheesecake Filling
4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 (.07 oz) packet instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

Directions:
Toasted Coconut Mocha Cookies
In a large bowl combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda,salt, and coffee grinds. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl whisk together melted butter and sugars until no clumps remain. Whisk in the egg, and then the egg yolk. Add coconut and vanilla extracts, whisking until incorporated.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a rubber spatula until just combined. The dough will be soft, but very thick to work with. Using the spatula fold in the toasted coconut shreds and the mini chocolate chips. Cover the dough and let chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days–I let mine sit overnight.

Mocha Cheesecake Filling
While the cookie dough is chilling, make the mocha cheesecake filling. Using a mixer combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and 1/2 of the instant coffee mixture. Mix until smooth–it’ll have the consistency of a no-bake cheesecake. Place bowl in the freezer and freeze for at least 3 hours–I let mine sit overnight.

Assembling the Cookies
Once dough and cheesecake filling have chilled, start assembling the cookies. Roll about a tablespoon and half of cookie dough into a ball. Make a deep thumbprint in the middle of each dough ball, sort of like a well. Place a teaspoon of the coffee cheesecake in the center of the well and fold the edges of the dough over, using your fingers to enclose the cheesecake in the dough ball. Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes–the cookies will look soft and underbaked. Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

NOTE: I had extra coffee cheesecake, which I dipped these cookies into and ate, but if you don’t want extra, I suggest cutting the cheesecake portion in half.

Cookie Dough recipe adapted from this chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Wait, don’t think I forgot, I told you my favorite smells and now it’s your turn to share. That’s how this friendship thing works. I think.

Blueberry Coconut Scones Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker

Chocolate Almond Sweet Rolls Recipe adapted from Crazy for Crust Yields: 9 large rolls

Mini Chocolate Fudge Donuts Donut recipe slightly adapted from Buns In My Oven Yields: about 16 mini donuts

Raspberry Streusel Muffins Yields: 6 jumbo muffins

Toasted Coconut Mocha Cheesecake Cookies Yields: about 21 cookies

Blueberry Coconut Scones
Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker

Chocolate Almond Sweet Rolls
Recipe adapted from Crazy for Crust
Yields: 9 large rolls

Mini Chocolate Fudge Donuts
Donut recipe slightly adapted from Buns In My Oven
Yields: about 16 mini donuts

Raspberry Streusel Muffins
Yields: 6 jumbo muffins

Toasted Coconut Mocha Cheesecake Cookies
Yields: about 21 cookies