Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones

I've been slacking on my baking (and blogging) recently, so Sunday I decided to grab whatever I had in my pantry/refrigerator to make some delicious (and probably oversized) strawberry chocolate chip scones. With all of your basic food group needs - butter, chocolate, and fruit - these scones are sure to keep you extremely happy. And being happy means you're perfectly healthy, right? Enjoy!

What You Need
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into cubes or grated
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 cup strawberries, quartered
- 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- Extra sugar for sprinkling

What You Do

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix together flour (2 1/2c), sugar (2tbsp), baking powder (1 1/2tsp), baking soda (1 1/2tsp), and salt (1/2tsp). Then add the cubed butter and cut the butter in until dough is crumbly. Or if you want life to be just a tad bit simple, use a cheese grater to cut up the butter and then just incorporate the butter into the mixture until crumbly (dip your hands in flour to help prevent butter from melting).

3. In a small bowl, beat together the milk (1c) and egg (1). Then add to flour mixture and mix well with a fork.

4. Add the strawberries (1c) and chocolate chips (1/2c) and incorporate into the mixture.

5. Place dough onto a floured surface and form into a disk shape. Cut dough into 8 triangles.

6. Place the scones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.

Original recipe found at: Baking Glory

Strawberry Lemonade Bars

There's been quite a number of 'fake summers' here in Portland recently. For a few days at a time, Portland has been greeted with amazing warm weather and everyone in this town is loving it! I'm definitely among the masses on this one, and taking full advantage of the nice weather by going on bike rides, putting my summer dresses to use, hanging out/running in the park, eating outside, and baking up something totally delicious AND refreshing.

Now you may ask yourself, what kind of dessert is refreshing other than ice cream? Well...I'll tell you...Strawberry Lemonade Bars! They're like lemon bars, but with strawberries added in!

What You'll Need
Crust
-8oz (1 stick) butter
-1/4 cup sugar
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 cup all-purpose flour

Filling
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-3 egg whites
-1 whole egg
-2/3 cup lemon juice (3 lemons)
-2 tablespoons lemon zest (2 lemons)
-2/3 cup all-purpose flour
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 1/2 cups strawberries, puréed
-Powdered sugar

What You Do
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8X8 pan.

2. For the crust, cream butter (1stick), sugar (1/4cup), and salt (1/4tsp). Mix in the flour (1cup) until just incorporated.

3. Flour your hands, and press the dough evenly in your 8X8 pan. Place in oven, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.

4. For the filling, whisk together the sugar (1/2cups), egg whites (3), egg (1), lemon juice (2/3cup), lemon zest (2tblsp), flour (2/3 cup), salt (1/4tsp) until incorporated. Then whisk in the strawberries (1 1/2cups). Pour mixture onto crust and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until filling is set. 

5. Let cool completely, and then refrigerate to chill. When ready to serve, dust with as much powdered sugar as your heart desires and cut into squares!

This treat is a fresh take on your regular 'ole lemon bars. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy lemon bars very much, but the strawberries add a perfect amount of sweet to balance out the tart lemon flavor. 

So...if you're enjoying the warm weather wherever you may be, then give this recipe a shot! You won't be sorry!

Pie Oh My! Class at Portland's Culinary Workshop

My birthday gift from Adam this year was a set of 3 different cooking-related classes at Portland's Culinary Workshop. Among those 3 was a pie-making class called "Pie Oh My!" In this class, we made two different pies from scratch - Chocolate Cream and Strawberry Rhubarb - all while learning different tips and tricks on making tasty pies!

Oh...and we got to take these pies home to enjoy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. =)

My work station

Chocolate Cream Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I left this class feeling absolutely inspired and more confident in my pie making skills! Stay tuned for my very own pie in the near future. ;)

Mochi Ice Cream Sundae

Last night's dessert took place at Koji Osakaya Restaurant, a lovely sushi place near our new home!

We had a combo of Chocolate, Strawberry, and Mango Mochi. While all were very yummy, I think my favorite was the chocolate!

Kind of looks like a Japanese sundae, doesn't it? =)

'Naked' Strawberry Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

It was a given that I would bake something special for Valentine's Day. So last night I finally had the chance to make some cupcakes that I've never made before- strawberry cupcakes with vanilla frosting! I got this recipe from a cute little recipe box that I got from my boyfriend's family's Christmas gift exchange. It was definitely hard to narrow down which combination of cupcake and frosting to make, but I chose the strawberry cupcake since it had a 'Valentine's Day feel' to it. Overall they turned out great and I think for the first time in history, the cupcake itself was my favorite part!

Naked Strawberry Cupcakes (12 cupcakes)

- 2/3 cup fresh strawberries (unsurprisingly the grocery store was completely out of fresh strawberries, so I opted for the frozen ones...so those will work too. Just thaw them.)

- 1 1/2 cups flower

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1/4 cup whole milk

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 1/2 cup butter

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 egg

- 2 egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tin. Blend strawberries (2/3 cup) in a blender or food processor until pureed. Pulse in milk (1/4 cup) and vanilla (1 tsp).

2. In a small bowl, mix in the dry ingredients: flour (1 1/2 cups), baking powder (1 tsp), salt (1/4 tsp).

3. In a big mixing bowl, cream butter (1/2 cup) and sugar (1 cup) until fluffy, then slowly add egg and both egg whites. 

4. Add half the flour mixture, then the strawberry mixture, then the rest of the flower mixture, until just blended.

5. Divide batter evenly in muffin tin and bake for 22-25 minutes. **Stick a knife in one of the center cupcakes, if it comes out clean, then it's done!**

Simply Vanilla Frosting (frosts 12 cupcakes...maybe more)

- 3 egg whites

- 2 teaspoons corn syrup

- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

- 1/3 cup cold water

- 1 1/2 cups sugar

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a large metal (or glass) mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients.

2. Place bowl over a medium saucepan filled with 2 inches of water over medium high heat (bowl shouldn't touch the water). With a handheld mixer, beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5-6 minutes.

 

3. Remove from heat and beat for 2-3 minutes to cool

4. When both cupcakes and frosting are cool, frost the cupcakes and have a feast!!