Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The coffee shop in the hospital gets pastries fresh every morning from a local bakery.  One day, I discovered the cheddar basil scone.  I never knew that you could make a savory scone, but ohhhhh can you.  It was potentially a defining moment in my life.  Since then, I've wanted to recreate them (or try to) at home.  But it's taken me a long time to get all the ingredients in my apartment at the same time!  I went out and bought cream and then basil, but then realized I didn't have any eggs, then I bought eggs, but used too many, then I bought MORE eggs, but my basil was bad, but luckily my little basil plant I bought with Sarah had grown into a big basil plant, and had MORE then enough to offer for this recipe... then I didn't have time.  Until today.

Today, I made basil cheddar scones.  Lots of them.

I started my collecting the ingredients, just to make sure I had everything...


This is the basil from my plant.  HUGE leaves!  Now maybe the rest of the plant will get some sunlight!


Hey... I used whole wheat flour... that makes them healthy, right???


Until I added this.  I misread the recipe and really needed 1 1/2 C butter, not 1/2C.  No more butter = other solid fat.  Enter, Crisco!!


First, mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder).


Then cut in the butter... I forgot to take a picture of that!  Then, add cream and eggs.


Chop up the basil (finely).


Add the basil and cheese, mix all ingredients together.


I skipped LOTS of steps here (because my hands were covered with dough).  Kneed the dough, spread out, and cut into wedges!


Then, brush the scones with cream (or egg, I saw recipes with both!).  I was pumped to use my new silicon brush!!!


Then, bake.


Side note, this is the leftover crumbs from my home made granola bars... I have yet to master the "forming bars that stay together" part of this recipe, but have DEFINITELY mastered the delicious part.


Rather than just eating 4 scones for dinner, I opted to throw together a chef salad with lettuce tomato, cucumber, green pepper, cheese, and turkey.  Yummmmm.


Here's the actual recipe (with some suggestions)

Cheddar Basil Scones
4C Flour (I used whole wheat, but recommend regular old white... really, lets not pretend that these are something they're not...)
1t salt
2T baking powder
1 1/2 C butter (I used 1/2 C butter, 1C Crisco, but I recommend all butter... Crisco is not quite firm enough)
1C heavy cream
4 large eggs
1C cheddar cheese (I used a bit more)
1/2C basil, finely chopped (I used a bit more of this also...)

1.  Mix first three ingredients.
2.  Cut in butter until a fine crumble.
3.  Add eggs and cream, stir until just combined.
4.  Add cheese and basil, stir until combined.
5.  Place the dough on a floured surface and knead for one minute.
6.  Divide into two balls of dough.
7.  Flatten each ball into a circle, about 1/4 inch thick.  Cut each into 8 wedges.
8.  Brush top with extra egg or cream.
9.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
10.  Eat and be happy.

Enjoy!
Kari



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That all looks extremely tasty... especially the salad! Although I think the scones may ship better... just sayin. I'll send you a box of cookies from my cookie factory on a truck in exchange?

Kari said...

Unfortunately (for you), they've all been eaten. Sorry :( But you are still more than welcome to send me cookies. I'm thinking I might try something new, with pumpkin or sweet potato... maybe you'll get some of that...

About Me

I am a Family Medicine intern at a community hospital in Indiana, navigating the new world of being a physician. I am privileged to work in a field I love, where every day is a new and unpredictable challenge.
I am not only a doctor, but also a cyclist, runner, DIYer in the making, lover of the outdoors, traveler, and human.
Human, MD is a glimpse into the world of a young doctor who is just trying to stay true to herself through the grueling whirlwind of residency.

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